Psalm 37

New International Version

Psalm 37^[a]

Of David.

¹Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious^(A) of those who do wrong;^(B)
²for like the grass they will soon wither,^(C)
like green plants they will soon die away.^(D)

³Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land^(E) and enjoy safe pasture.^(F)
⁴Take delight^(G) in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.^(H)

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him^(I) and he will do this:
⁶He will make your righteous reward^(J) shine like the dawn,^(K)
your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still^(L) before the Lord
and wait patiently^(M) for him;
do not fret^(N) when people succeed in their ways,^(O)
when they carry out their wicked schemes.^(P)

⁸Refrain from anger^(Q) and turn from wrath;
do not fret^(R)—it leads only to evil.
⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed,^(S)
but those who hope^(T) in the Lord will inherit the land.^(U)

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked will be no more;^(V)
though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹But the meek will inherit the land^(W)
and enjoy peace and prosperity.^(X)

¹²The wicked plot^(Y) against the righteous
and gnash their teeth^(Z) at them;
¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.^(AA)

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword^(AB)
    and bend the bow^(AC)
to bring down the poor and needy,^(AD)
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts,^(AE)
    and their bows will be broken.^(AF)

¹⁶Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth^(AG) of many wicked;
¹⁷for the power of the wicked will be broken,^(AH)
but the Lord upholds^(AI) the righteous.

¹⁸The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,^(AJ)
and their inheritance will endure forever.^(AK)
¹⁹In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰But the wicked will perish:^(AL)
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.^(AM)

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;^(AN)
²²those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses^(AO) will be destroyed.^(AP)

²³The Lord makes firm the steps^(AQ)
of the one who delights^(AR) in him;
²⁴though he may stumble, he will not fall,^(AS)
for the Lord upholds^(AT) him with his hand.

²⁵I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken^(AU)
    or their children begging^(AV) bread.
²⁶They are always generous and lend freely;^(AW)
    their children will be a blessing.^[b]^(AX)

²⁷Turn from evil and do good;^(AY)
then you will dwell in the land forever.^(AZ)
²⁸For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.^(BA)

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed^[c];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.^(BB)
²⁹The righteous will inherit the land^(BC)
and dwell in it forever.^(BD)

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,^(BE)
and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹The law of their God is in their hearts;^(BF)
their feet do not slip.^(BG)

³²The wicked lie in wait^(BH) for the righteous,^(BI)
intent on putting them to death;
³³but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned^(BJ) when brought to trial.^(BK)

³⁴Hope in the Lord^(BL)
and keep his way.^(BM)
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed,^(BN) you will see^(BO) it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing^(BP) like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.^(BQ)

³⁷Consider the blameless,^(BR) observe the upright;^(BS)
a future awaits those who seek peace.^[d]^(BT)
³⁸But all sinners^(BU) will be destroyed;^(BV)
there will be no future^[e] for the wicked.^(BW)

³⁹The salvation^(BX) of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.^(BY)
⁴⁰The Lord helps^(BZ) them and delivers^(CA) them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves^(CB) them,
    because they take refuge^(CC) in him.

Footnotes

Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 37:26 Or freely; / the names of their children will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or freely; / others will see that their children are blessed
Psalm 37:28 See Septuagint; Hebrew They will be protected forever
Psalm 37:37 Or upright; / those who seek peace will have posterity
Psalm 37:38 Or posterity

1 Corinthians 3

New International Version

The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit^(A) but as people who are still worldly^(B)—mere infants^(C) in Christ. ²I gave you milk, not solid food,^(D) for you were not yet ready for it.^(E) Indeed, you are still not ready. ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling^(F) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”^(G) are you not mere human beings?

⁵What, after all, is Apollos?^(H) And what is Paul? Only servants,^(I) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶I planted the seed,^(J) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.^(K) ⁹For we are co-workers in God’s service;^(L) you are God’s field,^(M) God’s building.^(N)

¹⁰By the grace God has given me,^(O) I laid a foundation^(P) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.^(Q) ¹²If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³their work will be shown for what it is,^(R) because the Day^(S) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.^(T) ¹⁴If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.^(U) ¹⁵If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.^(V)

¹⁶Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple^(W) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?^(X) ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

¹⁸Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise^(Y) by the standards of this age,^(Z) you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness^(AA) in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”^[a];^(AB) ²⁰and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”^[b]^(AC) ²¹So then, no more boasting about human leaders!^(AD) All things are yours,^(AE) ²²whether Paul or Apollos^(AF) or Cephas^[c]^(AG) or the world or life or death or the present or the future^(AH)—all are yours, ²³and you are of Christ,^(AI) and Christ is of God.