Psalm 37
New American Standard Bible
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (A)Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Do not be (B)envious of wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass,
And (D)decay like the green plants.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Live in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out (K)your righteousness as the light,
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and (M)wait [c]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not get upset because of one who is (O)successful in his way,
Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
10 Yet (S)a little while and the wicked person will be no more;
And you will look carefully for (T)his place and he will not be there.
11 But (U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (V)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (W)plots against the righteous,
And (X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (Y)laughs at him,
For He sees that (Z)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AA)bent their bow
To take down the (AB)afflicted and the needy,
To (AC)kill off those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (AD)bows will be broken.
16 (AE)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (AG)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (AH)knows the days of the [d]blameless,
And their (AI)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (AJ)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
20 But the (AK)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(AL)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (AM)is gracious and gives.
22 For (AN)those blessed by Him will (AO)inherit the land,
But those (AP)cursed by Him will be eliminated.
23 (AQ)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (AR)delights in his way.
24 When (AS)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because (AT)the Lord is the One [f]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (AU)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (AV)his [g]descendants begging for bread.
26 All day long (AW)he is gracious and lends,
And (AX)his [h]descendants are a blessing.
27 (AY)Turn from evil and do good,
So that you will dwell (AZ)forever.
28 For the Lord (BA)loves [i]justice
And (BB)does not abandon His godly ones;
They are (BC)protected forever,
But the [j](BD)descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.
29 The righteous will (BE)inherit the land
And (BF)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (BH)speaks justice.
31 The (BI)Law of his God is in his heart;
His (BJ)steps do not slip.
32 The (BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (BL)seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will (BM)not leave him in his hand
Or (BN)let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 (BO)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (BP)wicked are eliminated, you will see it.
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [k]tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and behold, he (BS)was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the [l](BT)blameless person, and look at the (BU)upright;
For the person of peace will have (BV)a future.
38 But wrongdoers will altogether be (BW)destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be (BX)eliminated.
39 But the (BY)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength (BZ)in time of trouble.
40 (CA)The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He (CB)rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (CC)take refuge in Him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 37:3 Or feed securely; or feed on His faithfulness
- Psalm 37:7 Or Be still
- Psalm 37:7 Or longingly
- Psalm 37:18 Lit complete; or perfect
- Psalm 37:20 I.e., flowers
- Psalm 37:24 Or who sustains him with His hand
- Psalm 37:25 Lit seed
- Psalm 37:26 Lit seed
- Psalm 37:28 Lit judgment
- Psalm 37:28 Lit seed
- Psalm 37:35 Lit native; Heb obscure
- Psalm 37:37 Lit complete; or perfect
Psalm 37
International Children’s Bible
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 Like the grass, they will soon dry up.
Like green plants, they will soon die away.
3 Trust the Lord and do good.
Live in the land and enjoy its safety.
4 Enjoy serving the Lord.
And he will give you what you want.
5 Depend on the Lord.
Trust him, and he will take care of you.
6 Then your goodness will shine like the sun.
Your fairness will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Wait and trust the Lord.
Don’t be upset when others get rich
or when someone else’s plans succeed.
8 Don’t get angry.
Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.
9 Evil people will be sent away.
But people who trust the Lord will inherit the land.
10 In a little while there will be no more wicked people.
You may look for them, but they will be gone.
11 People who are not proud will inherit the land.
They will enjoy complete peace.
12 The wicked make evil plans against good people.
They grind their teeth at them in anger.
13 But the Lord laughs at the wicked.
He sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords.
They bend their bows.
They try to kill the poor and helpless.
They want to kill those who are honest.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts.
Their bows will break.
16 It’s better to have little and be right
than to have much and be wrong.
17 The power of the wicked will be broken.
But the Lord supports those who do right.
18 The Lord watches over the lives of the innocent.
Their reward will last forever.
19 They will not be ashamed when trouble comes.
They will be full in times of hunger.
20 But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies will be like the flowers of the fields.
They will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked people borrow but don’t pay back.
But those who do right give freely to others.
22 Those people the Lord blesses will inherit the land.
But those he curses will be sent away.
23 When a man’s steps follow the Lord,
God is pleased with his ways.
24 If he stumbles, he will not fall,
because the Lord holds his hand.
25 I was young, and now I am old.
But I have never seen the Lord leave good people helpless.
I have never seen their children begging for food.
26 Good people always lend freely to others.
And their children are a blessing.
27 Stop doing evil and do good.
Then you will live forever.
28 The Lord loves justice.
He will not leave those who worship him.
He will always protect them.
But the children of the wicked will die.
29 Good people will inherit the land.
They will live in it forever.
30 A good person speaks with wisdom.
He says what is fair.
31 The teachings of his God are in his heart.
He does not fail to keep them.
32 The wicked watch for good people.
They want to kill them.
33 The Lord will not take away his protection.
He will not judge good people guilty.
34 Wait for the Lord’s help
and follow him.
He will honor you and give you the land.
And you will see the wicked people sent away.
35 I saw a wicked and cruel man.
He looked strong like a healthy tree in good soil.
36 But he died and was gone.
I looked for him, but he couldn’t be found.
37 Think of the innocent person.
Watch the honest one.
The man who has peace
will have children to live after him.
38 But sinners will be destroyed.
In the end the wicked will die.
39 The Lord saves good people.
He is their strong city in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and saves them.
He saves them from the wicked
because they trust in him for protection.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
