Psalm 36-39
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 36[a]
Human Wickedness and Divine Providence
1 For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
I
2 Sin directs the heart of the wicked man;
his eyes are closed to the fear of God.(A)
3 For he lives with the delusion:
his guilt will not be known and hated.[b]
4 Empty and false are the words of his mouth;
he has ceased to be wise and do good.
5 On his bed he hatches plots;
he sets out on a wicked way;
he does not reject evil.(B)
II
6 [c]Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your fidelity, to the clouds.(C)
7 Your justice is like the highest mountains;
your judgments, like the mighty deep;
human being and beast you sustain, Lord.
8 How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.[d](D)
9 They feast on the rich food of your house;
from your delightful stream(E) you give them drink.
10 For with you is the fountain of life,(F)
and in your light we see light.(G)
11 Show mercy on those who know you,
your just defense to the upright of heart.
12 Do not let the foot of the proud overtake me,
nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.
13 There make the evildoers fall;
thrust them down, unable to rise.
Psalm 37[e]
The Fate of Sinners and the Reward of the Just
1 Of David.
Aleph
Do not be provoked by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(H)
2 Like grass they wither quickly;
like green plants they wilt away.(I)
Beth
3 Trust in the Lord and do good
that you may dwell in the land[f] and live secure.(J)
4 Find your delight in the Lord
who will give you your heart’s desire.(K)
Gimel
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will act(L)
6 And make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like noonday.(M)
Daleth
7 Be still before the Lord;
wait for him.
Do not be provoked by the prosperous,
nor by malicious schemers.
He
8 Refrain from anger; abandon wrath;
do not be provoked; it brings only harm.
9 Those who do evil will be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the earth.(N)
Waw
10 Wait a little, and the wicked will be no more;
look for them and they will not be there.
11 But the poor will inherit the earth,(O)
will delight in great prosperity.
Zayin
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 But my Lord laughs at them,(P)
because he sees that their day is coming.
Heth
14 The wicked unsheath their swords;
they string their bows
To fell the poor and oppressed,
to slaughter those whose way is upright.(Q)
15 Their swords will pierce their own hearts;
their bows will be broken.
Teth
16 Better the meagerness of the righteous one
than the plenty of the wicked.(R)
17 The arms of the wicked will be broken,
while the Lord will sustain the righteous.
Yodh
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless;
their heritage lasts forever.
19 They will not be ashamed when times are bad;
in days of famine they will be satisfied.
Kaph
20 The wicked perish,
enemies of the Lord;
They shall be consumed like fattened lambs;
like smoke they disappear.(S)
Lamedh
21 The wicked one borrows but does not repay;
the righteous one is generous and gives.
22 For those blessed by the Lord will inherit the earth,
but those accursed will be cut off.
Mem
23 The valiant one whose steps are guided by the Lord,
who will delight in his way,(T)
24 May stumble, but he will never fall,
for the Lord holds his hand.
Nun
25 Neither in my youth, nor now in old age
have I seen the righteous one abandoned(U)
or his offspring begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
and his offspring become a blessing.
Samekh
27 Turn from evil and do good,
that you may be settled forever.(V)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and does not abandon the faithful.
Ayin
When the unjust are destroyed,
and the offspring of the wicked cut off,
29 The righteous will inherit the earth
and dwell in it forever.(W)
Pe
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;(X)
his tongue speaks what is right.
31 God’s teaching is in his heart;(Y)
his steps do not falter.
Sadhe
32 The wicked spies on the righteous
and seeks to kill him.
33 But the Lord does not abandon him in his power,
nor let him be condemned when tried.
Qoph
34 Wait eagerly for the Lord,
and keep his way;(Z)
He will raise you up to inherit the earth;
you will see when the wicked are cut off.
Resh
35 I have seen a ruthless scoundrel,
spreading out like a green cedar.(AA)
36 When I passed by again, he was gone;
though I searched, he could not be found.
Shin
37 Observe the person of integrity and mark the upright;
Because there is a future for a man of peace.(AB)
38 Sinners will be destroyed together;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
Taw
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
their refuge in a time of distress.(AC)
40 The Lord helps and rescues them,
rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 38[g]
Prayer of an Afflicted Sinner
1 A psalm of David. For remembrance.
I
2 Lord, do not punish me in your anger;
in your wrath do not chastise me!(AD)
3 Your arrows have sunk deep in me;(AE)
your hand has come down upon me.
4 There is no wholesomeness in my flesh because of your anger;
there is no health in my bones because of my sin.(AF)
5 My iniquities overwhelm me,
a burden too heavy for me.(AG)
II
6 Foul and festering are my sores
because of my folly.
7 I am stooped and deeply bowed;(AH)
every day I go about mourning.
8 My loins burn with fever;
there is no wholesomeness in my flesh.
9 I am numb and utterly crushed;
I wail with anguish of heart.(AI)
10 My Lord, my deepest yearning is before you;
my groaning is not hidden from you.
11 My heart shudders, my strength forsakes me;
the very light of my eyes has failed.(AJ)
12 Friends and companions shun my disease;
my neighbors stand far off.
13 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
they seek my misfortune, they speak of ruin;
they plot treachery every day.
III
14 But I am like the deaf, hearing nothing,
like the mute, I do not open my mouth,
15 I am even like someone who does not hear,
who has no answer ready.
16 Lord, it is for you that I wait;
O Lord, my God, you respond.(AK)
17 For I have said that they would gloat over me,
exult over me if I stumble.
IV
18 I am very near to falling;
my wounds are with me always.
19 I acknowledge my guilt
and grieve over my sin.(AL)
20 My enemies live and grow strong,
those who hate me grow numerous fraudulently,
21 Repaying me evil for good,
accusing me for pursuing good.(AM)
22 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
my God, be not far from me!(AN)
23 Come quickly to help me,(AO)
my Lord and my salvation!
Psalm 39[h]
The Vanity of Life
1 For the leader, for Jeduthun.(AP) A psalm of David.
I
2 I said, “I will watch my ways,
lest I sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth.”
3 Mute and silent before the wicked,
I refrain from good things.
But my sorrow increases;
4 my heart smolders within me.(AQ)
In my sighing a fire blazes up,
and I break into speech:
II
5 Lord, let me know my end, the number of my days,
that I may learn how frail I am.
6 To be sure, you establish the expanse of my days;
indeed, my life is as nothing before you.
Every man is but a breath.(AR)
Selah
III
7 Man goes about as a mere phantom;
they hurry about, although in vain;
he heaps up stores without knowing for whom.
8 And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
You are my only hope.
9 From all my sins deliver me;
let me not be the taunt of fools.
10 I am silent and do not open my mouth
because you are the one who did this.
11 Take your plague away from me;
I am ravaged by the touch of your hand.
12 You chastise man with rebukes for sin;
like a moth you consume his treasures.
Every man is but a breath.
Selah
13 Listen to my prayer, Lord, hear my cry;
do not be deaf to my weeping!
For I am with you like a foreigner,
a refugee, like my ancestors.(AS)
14 Turn your gaze from me, that I may smile
before I depart to be no more.
Footnotes
- Psalm 36 A Psalm with elements of wisdom (Ps 36:2–5), the hymn (Ps 36:6–10), and the lament (Ps 36:11–13). The rule of sin over the wicked (Ps 36:2–5) is contrasted with the rule of divine love and mercy over God’s friends (Ps 36:6–10). The Psalm ends with a prayer that God’s guidance never cease (Ps 36:11–12).
- 36:3 Hated: punished by God.
- 36:6–7 God actively controls the entire world.
- 36:8 The shadow of your wings: metaphor for divine protection. It probably refers to the winged cherubim in the holy of holies in the Temple, cf. 1 Kgs 6:23–28, 32; 2 Chr 3:10–13; Ez 1:4–9.
- Psalm 37 The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic.
- 37:3 The land: the promised land, Israel, which became for later interpreters a type or figure of heaven, cf. Hb 11:9–10, 13–16. The New Testament Beatitudes (Mt 5:3–12; Lk 6:20–26) have been influenced by the Psalm, especially their total reversal of the present and their interpretation of the happy future as possession of the land.
- Psalm 38 In this lament, one of the Penitential Psalms (cf. Ps 6), the psalmist acknowledges the sin that has brought physical and mental sickness and social ostracism. There is no one to turn to for help; only God can undo the past and restore the psalmist.
- Psalm 39 The lament of a mortally ill person who at first had resolved to remain silently submissive (Ps 39:2–4). But the grief was too much and now the psalmist laments the brevity and vanity of life (Ps 39:5–7), yet remaining hopeful (Ps 39:8–10). The psalmist continues to express both acceptance of the illness and hope for healing in Ps 39:11–13.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.