Psalm 37:4-24

English Standard Version

^5 (C)Commit your way to the Lord;
    ^(D)trust in him, and he will act.
^6 (E)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
    and your justice as ^(F)the noonday.

^7 (G)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    ^(H)fret not yourself over the one who ^(I)prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

^8 (J)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    ^(K)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
^9 (L)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the Lord shall ^(M)inherit the land.

¹⁰ In ^(N)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at ^(O)his place, he will not be there.
¹¹ But ^(P)the meek shall inherit the land
    and delight themselves in ^(Q)abundant peace.

¹² The wicked ^(R)plots against the righteous
    and ^(S)gnashes his teeth at him,
¹³ but the Lord ^(T)laughs at the wicked,
    for he sees that his ^(U)day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and ^(V)bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ^(W)way is upright;
¹⁵ their sword shall enter their own heart,
    and their ^(X)bows shall be broken.

^16 (Y)Better is the little that the righteous has
    than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For ^(Z)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
    but the Lord ^(AA)upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord ^(AB)knows the days of the blameless,
    and their ^(AC)heritage will remain forever;
¹⁹ they are not put to shame in evil times;
    in ^(AD)the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish;
    the enemies of the Lord are like ^(AE)the glory of the pastures;
    they vanish—like ^(AF)smoke they vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
    but the righteous ^(AG)is generous and gives;
²² for those blessed by the Lord^[a] shall ^(AH)inherit the land,
    but those cursed by him ^(AI)shall be cut off.

²³ The ^(AJ)steps of a man are ^(AK)established by the Lord,
    when he delights in his way;
^24 (AL)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
    for the Lord ^(AM)upholds his hand.