New Living Translation

Psalms • Chapter 37

1 Don’t worry about the wicked<br>or envy those who do wrong.<br> 2 For like grass, they soon fade away.<br>Like spring flowers, they soon wither.<br> 3 Trust in the LORD and do good.<br>Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.<br> 4 Take delight in the LORD,<br>and he will give you your heart’s desires.<br> 5 Commit everything you do to the LORD.<br>Trust him, and he will help you.<br> 6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,<br>and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.<br> 7 Be still in the presence of the LORD,<br>and wait patiently for him to act.<br>Don’t worry about evil people who prosper<br>or fret about their wicked schemes.<br> 8 Stop being angry!<br>Turn from your rage!<br>Do not lose your temper —<br>it only leads to harm.<br> 9 For the wicked will be destroyed,<br>but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.<br> 10 Soon the wicked will disappear.<br>Though you look for them, they will be gone.<br> 11 The lowly will possess the land<br>and will live in peace and prosperity.<br> 12 The wicked plot against the godly;<br>they snarl at them in defiance.<br> 13 But the Lord just laughs,<br>for he sees their day of judgment coming.<br> 14 The wicked draw their swords<br>and string their bows<br>to kill the poor and the oppressed,<br>to slaughter those who do right.<br> 15 But their swords will stab their own hearts,<br>and their bows will be broken.<br> 16 It is better to be godly and have little<br>than to be evil and rich.<br> 17 For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,<br>but the LORD takes care of the godly.<br> 18 Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent,<br>and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.<br> 19 They will not be disgraced in hard times;<br>even in famine they will have more than enough.<br> 20 But the wicked will die.<br>The LORD’s enemies are like flowers in a field —<br>they will disappear like smoke.<br> 21 The wicked borrow and never repay,<br>but the godly are generous givers.<br> 22 Those the LORD blesses will possess the land,<br>but those he curses will die.<br> 23 The LORD directs the steps of the godly.<br>He delights in every detail of their lives.<br> 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,<br>for the LORD holds them by the hand.<br> 25 Once I was young, and now I am old.<br>Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned<br>or their children begging for bread.<br> 26 The godly always give generous loans to others,<br>and their children are a blessing.<br> 27 Turn from evil and do good,<br>and you will live in the land forever.<br> 28 For the LORD loves justice,<br>and he will never abandon the godly.<br> He will keep them safe forever,<br>but the children of the wicked will die.<br> 29 The godly will possess the land<br>and will live there forever.<br> 30 The godly offer good counsel;<br>they teach right from wrong.<br> 31 They have made God (Elohim)’s law their own,<br>so they will never slip from his path.<br> 32 The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,<br>looking for an excuse to kill them.<br> 33 But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed<br>or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.<br> 34 Put your hope in the LORD.<br>Travel steadily along his path.<br>He will honor you by giving you the land.<br>You will see the wicked destroyed.<br> 35 I have seen wicked and ruthless people<br>flourishing like a tree in its native soil.<br> 36 But when I looked again, they were gone!<br>Though I searched for them, I could not find them!<br> 37 Look at those who are honest and good,<br>for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.<br> 38 But the rebellious will be destroyed;<br>they have no future.<br> 39 The LORD rescues the godly;<br>he is their fortress in times of trouble.<br> 40 The LORD helps them,<br>rescuing them from the wicked.<br>He saves them,<br>and they find shelter in him.<br>