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.
²For 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.
⁶He 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.
⁸Cease from anger and ^(P)abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹For ^(Q)evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will ^(R)inherit the land.
¹⁰Yet ^(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.
¹¹But ^(U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in ^(V)abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked ^(W)plots against the righteous,
And ^(X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³The Lord ^(Y)laughs at him,
For He sees that ^(Z)his day is coming.
¹⁴The 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.
¹⁵Their 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.
¹⁷For the ^(AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord ^(AG)sustains the righteous.
¹⁸The Lord ^(AH)knows the days of the ^[d]blameless,
And their ^(AI)inheritance will be forever.
¹⁹They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And ^(AJ)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
²⁰But 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.
²¹The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous ^(AM)is gracious and gives.
²²For ^(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.
²⁴When ^(AS)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because ^(AT)the Lord is the One ^[f]who holds his hand.
²⁵I 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.
²⁶All 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.
²⁸For 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.
²⁹The righteous will ^(BE)inherit the land
And ^(BF)dwell in it forever.
³⁰The mouth of the righteous ^(BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue ^(BH)speaks justice.
³¹The ^(BI)Law of his God is in his heart;
His ^(BJ)steps do not slip.
³²The ^(BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And ^(BL)seeks to kill him.
³³The 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.

³⁵I have ^(BQ)seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a ^(BR)luxuriant ^[k]tree in its native soil.
³⁶Then he passed away, and behold, he ^(BS)was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷Observe the ^[l]^(BT)blameless person, and look at the ^(BU)upright;
For the person of peace will have ^(BV)a future.
³⁸But wrongdoers will altogether be ^(BW)destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be ^(BX)eliminated.
³⁹But 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 73

New American Standard Bible

BOOK 3

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 God certainly is ^(A)good to Israel,
To those who are ^(B)pure in heart!
²But as for me, ^(C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps ^[a]had almost slipped.
³For I was ^(D)envious of the ^[b]arrogant
As I saw the ^(E)prosperity of the wicked.
⁴For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
⁵They are ^(F)not ^[c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they ^(G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
⁶Therefore arrogance is ^(H)their necklace;
The ^(I)garment of violence covers them.
⁷Their eye ^[d]bulges from ^(J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
⁸They ^(K)mock and ^[e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They ^(L)speak from on high.
⁹They have ^(M)set their mouth ^[f]against the heavens,
And their tongue ^[g]parades through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore ^[h]his people return here,
And ^(N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
¹¹They say, “^(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge ^[i]with the Most High?”
¹²Behold, ^(P)these are the wicked;
And always ^(Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
¹³Surely ^(R)in vain I have ^[j]kept my heart pure
And ^(S)washed my hands in innocence;
¹⁴For I have been stricken ^(T)all day long,
And ^[k]^(U)punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the ^(V)generation of Your children.
¹⁶When I ^(W)thought of understanding this,
It was ^[l]troublesome in my sight
¹⁷Until I entered the ^[m]^(X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their ^(Y)end.
¹⁸You indeed put them on ^(Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into ^[n]^(AA)ruin.
¹⁹How they are ^[o]^(AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by ^(AC)sudden terrors!
²⁰Like a ^(AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when ^(AE)stirred, You will ^(AF)despise their image.

²¹When my ^(AG)heart was embittered
And I was ^(AH)pierced ^[p]within,
²²Then I was ^(AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an ^(AJ)animal ^[q]before You.
²³Nevertheless ^(AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
²⁴You will ^(AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward ^(AM)receive me ^[r]to glory.

²⁵^(AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
²⁶My ^(AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the ^[s]strength of my heart and my ^(AP)portion forever.
²⁷For, behold, ^(AQ)those who are far from You will ^(AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who ^[t]^(AS)are unfaithful to You.
²⁸But as for me, ^(AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord ^[u]God my ^(AU)refuge,
So that I may ^(AV)tell of all Your works.