Psalm 37:4-44:21

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.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
    or his children ^(AN)begging for bread.
²⁶ He is ever ^(AO)lending generously,
    and his children become a blessing.

^27 (AP)Turn away from evil and do good;
    so shall you ^(AQ)dwell forever.
²⁸ For the Lord ^(AR)loves justice;
    he will not forsake his ^(AS)saints.
They are preserved forever,
    but the children of the wicked shall be ^(AT)cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land
    and ^(AU)dwell upon it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
    and his tongue speaks justice.
^31 (AV)The law of his God is in his heart;
    his ^(AW)steps do not slip.

³² The wicked ^(AX)watches for the righteous
    and seeks to put him to death.
³³ The Lord will not ^(AY)abandon him to his power
    or let him ^(AZ)be condemned when he is brought to trial.

^34 (BA)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on ^(BB)when the wicked are cut off.

^35 (BC)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
    spreading himself like ^(BD)a green laurel tree.^[b]
36 But he passed away,^[c] and behold, ^(BE)he was no more;
    though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
    for there is a future for the man of ^(BF)peace.
³⁸ But ^(BG)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
    the future of the wicked ^(BH)shall be cut off.

^39 (BI)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in ^(BJ)the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and ^(BK)delivers them;
    ^(BL)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they ^(BM)take refuge in him.

³ There is ^(BR)no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
there is no health in my ^(BS)bones
    because of my sin.
⁴ For my ^(BT)iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

⁵ My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
⁶ I am ^(BU)utterly bowed down and ^(BV)prostrate;
    all the day I ^(BW)go about mourning.
⁷ For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is ^(BX)no soundness in my flesh.
⁸ I am feeble and crushed;
    I ^(BY)groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹ O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my ^(BZ)sighing is not hidden from you.
¹⁰ My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and ^(CA)the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
¹¹ My ^(CB)friends and companions ^(CC)stand aloof from my ^(CD)plague,
    and my nearest kin ^(CE)stand far off.

¹² Those who seek my life ^(CF)lay their snares;
    those who seek my hurt ^(CG)speak of ruin
    and meditate ^(CH)treachery all day long.

¹³ But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
    like ^(CI)a mute man who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴ I have become like a man who does not hear,
    and in whose mouth are no ^(CJ)rebukes.

¹⁵ But for ^(CK)you, O Lord, do I wait;
    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
¹⁶ For I said, “Only ^(CL)let them not rejoice over me,
    who ^(CM)boast against me when my ^(CN)foot slips!”

¹⁷ For I am ^(CO)ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
¹⁸ I ^(CP)confess my iniquity;
    I am ^(CQ)sorry for my sin.
¹⁹ But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me ^(CR)wrongfully.
²⁰ Those who ^(CS)render me evil for good
    ^(CT)accuse me because I ^(CU)follow after good.

²¹ Do not forsake me, O Lord!
    O my God, be not ^(CV)far from me!
^22 (CW)Make haste to help me,
    O Lord, my ^(CX)salvation!

⁴ “O Lord, ^(DE)make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and ^(DF)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely ^(DG)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶     Surely a man ^(DH)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[d] they are in turmoil;
    man ^(DI)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷ “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    ^(DJ)My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    ^(DK)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
^9 (DL)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    ^(DM)for it is you who have done it.
^10 (DN)Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹ When you discipline a man
    with ^(DO)rebukes for sin,
you ^(DP)consume like a ^(DQ)moth what is dear to him;
    ^(DR)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

^12 (DS)“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am ^(DT)a sojourner with you,
    ^(DU)a guest, like all my fathers.
^13 (DV)Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    ^(DW)before I depart and ^(DX)am no more!”

⁴ Blessed is the man who ^(EG)makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who ^(EH)go astray after a lie!
⁵ You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your ^(EI)wondrous deeds and your ^(EJ)thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are ^(EK)more than can be told.

^6 (EL)In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ^(EM)ear.^[e]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written ^(EN)of me:
^8 (EO)I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is ^(EP)within my heart.”

⁹ I have told the glad news of deliverance^[f]
    in ^(EQ)the great congregation;
behold, I have not ^(ER)restrained my lips,
    ^(ES)as you know, O Lord.
¹⁰ I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

¹¹ As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your ^(ET)steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
¹² For evils have ^(EU)encompassed me
    beyond number;
my ^(EV)iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot ^(EW)see;
they are ^(EX)more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart ^(EY)fails me.

^13 (EZ)Be pleased, O Lord, to ^(FA)deliver me!
    O Lord, ^(FB)make haste to help me!
^14 (FC)Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be ^(FD)turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
¹⁵ Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who ^(FE)say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶ But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    ^(FF)say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
¹⁷ As for me, I am ^(FG)poor and needy,
    but ^(FH)the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

⁴ As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^(FL)be gracious to me;
    ^(FM)heal me,^[i] for I have sinned against you!”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶ And when one comes to see me, ^(FN)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷ All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.^[j]

⁸ They say, “A deadly thing is poured out^[k] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹ Even my ^(FO)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ^(FP)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

¹¹ By this I know that ^(FQ)you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹² But ^(FR)you have upheld me because of ^(FS)my integrity,
    and ^(FT)set me in your presence ^(FU)forever.

^13 (FV)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

^5 (GH)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you ^(GI)in turmoil within me?
^(GJ)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation^{[n] 6} and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I ^(GK)remember you
^(GL)from the land of Jordan and of ^(GM)Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
^(GN)all your breakers and your ^(GO)waves
    have gone over me.
⁸ By day the Lord ^(GP)commands his steadfast love,
    and at ^(GQ)night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
⁹ I say to God, ^(GR)my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
^(GS)Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰ As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
^(GT)while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

^11 (GU)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

^3 (HB)Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your ^(HC)holy hill
    and to your ^(HD)dwelling!
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

^5 (HE)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
^(HF)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

^4 (HP)You are my King, O God;
    ^(HQ)ordain salvation for Jacob!
⁵ Through you we ^(HR)push down our foes;
    through your name we ^(HS)tread down those who rise up against us.
⁶ For not in ^(HT)my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
⁷ But you have saved us from our foes
    and have ^(HU)put to shame those who hate us.
^8 (HV)In God we have boasted continually,
    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

⁹ But you have ^(HW)rejected us and disgraced us
    and ^(HX)have not gone out with our armies.
¹⁰ You have made us ^(HY)turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
¹¹ You have made us like ^(HZ)sheep for slaughter
    and have ^(IA)scattered us among the nations.
^12 (IB)You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
¹³ You have made us ^(IC)the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and ^(ID)scorn of those around us.
¹⁴ You have made us ^(IE)a byword among the nations,
    ^(IF)a laughingstock^[p] among the peoples.
¹⁵ All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and ^(IG)shame has covered my face
¹⁶ at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of ^(IH)the enemy and the avenger.

^17 (II)All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
¹⁸ Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our ^(IJ)steps ^(IK)departed from your way;
¹⁹ yet you have ^(IL)broken us in the place of ^(IM)jackals
    and covered us with ^(IN)the shadow of death.
²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or ^(IO)spread out our hands to ^(IP)a foreign god,
^21 (IQ)would not God discover this?
    ^(IR)For he knows the secrets of the heart.