Psalm 37
Wycliffe Bible
37 To David. [The psalm of David.] Do not thou follow wicked men; neither love thou men doing wickedness. (The song of David. Do not thou follow the wicked; nor love thou those who do wickedly.)
2 For they shall wax dry swiftly as hay; and they shall fall down soon as the worts of herbs. (For they shall quickly grow dry like the hay, or the grass; and soon they shall fall down like the best herbs, or the plants.)
3 Hope thou in the Lord, and do thou goodness (Trust thou in the Lord, and do good); and inhabit thou the land, and thou shalt be fed with his riches.
4 Delight thou in the Lord; and he shall give to thee the askings of thine heart.
5 Show thy way to the Lord; and hope in him, and he shall do. (Give all thy ways to the Lord, and trust in him; and he shall make it happen.)
6 And he shall lead out thy rightfulness as light, and thy doom as midday; (And he shall lead forth thy righteousness like the light, and thy judgement like the midday sun;)
7 be thou subject to the Lord, and pray thou him. Do not thou follow him, that hath prosperity in his way; (nor) a man doing unrightfulness. (be thou subject to the Lord, and wait thou for him. Do not thou follow a man, simply because he hath prospered along his way; nor a man doing unrighteousness, or wickedness.)
8 Cease thou of ire, and forsake strong vengeance; do not thou follow, that thou do wickedly. (Cease thou from anger, and abandon taking vengeance; do not thou follow after these things, so that thou do wickedly.)
9 For they, that do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they that suffer the Lord, shall inherit the land. (For they, who do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they who hope in the Lord, shall inherit the earth.)
10 And yet a little, and a sinner shall not be (For after but just a little time, that sinner shall not be); and thou shalt seek his place, and thou shalt not find it.
11 But mild men shall inherit the land (And the humble, or the meek, shall inherit the earth); and shall delight in the multitude of peace.
12 A sinner shall ambush the rightful man; and he shall gnash with his teeth on him. (A sinner shall attack a righteous man; and he shall gnash on him with his teeth.)
13 But the Lord shall scorn the sinner; for he beholdeth that his day cometh.
14 Sinners have drawn out sword; they bent their bow. To deceive a poor man and needy; to strangle rightful men of heart. (The sinners have drawn out their swords; they have bent their bows. Yea, to destroy the poor and the needy; and to kill those with an upright heart.)
15 Their sword enter into the heart of themselves; and their bow be broken. (But their swords shall enter into their own hearts; and their bows shall be broken.)
16 Better is a little thing to a just man; than many riches of sinners. (Better is the little that the righteous have; than the many riches of the sinners.)
17 For the arms of sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord confirmeth just men. (For the strength of the sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.)
18 The Lord knoweth the days of [the] unwemmed; and their heritage shall be (into) without end. (The Lord knoweth all about those without blemish, or without fault; and their inheritance shall last forever.)
19 They shall not be shamed in the evil time, and they shall be [ful]filled in the days of hunger;
20 for sinners shall perish. Forsooth anon as the enemies of the Lord be honoured, and enhanced; they failing shall fail as smoke. (but the sinners shall perish. And after the Lord’s enemies be honoured, and exalted; they shall disappear, just like smoke.)
21 A sinner shall borrow, and shall not pay (back); but a just man hath mercy, and shall give (but the righteous have love, and shall give to others).
22 For they that bless the Lord shall inherit the land; but they that curse him shall perish. (For those who be blessed by the Lord, shall inherit the earth; but they who be cursed by him, shall perish.)
23 The going(s) of a man shall be (ad)dressed with the Lord; and he shall delight in his way. (The goings of a man be directed by the Lord; and he guardeth him on his way.)
24 When he falleth, he shall not be hurtled down/he shall not be hurled down; for the Lord undersetteth his hand.
25 I was younger, and soothly I waxed eld; and I saw not a just man forsaken, neither his seed seeking bread. (I was young, and then I grew old; and I never saw a righteous person abandoned, nor his children seeking bread.)
26 All day he hath mercy, and lendeth; and his seed shall be in blessing. (All day long he hath love, and lendeth to others; and his children, or his descendants, shall be blessed.)
27 Bow thou away from evil, and do good; and dwell thou into the world of world. (Turn thou away from evil, and do good; and thou shalt live forever.)
28 For the Lord loveth doom, and shall not forsake his saints; they shall be kept [into] without end. Unjust men shall be punished; and the seed of wicked men shall perish. (For the Lord loveth justice, and shall not forsake his saints; they shall be kept safe forever. The unjust, or the unrighteous, shall be punished; and the descendants of the wicked shall perish.)
29 But just men shall inherit the land; and shall inhabit thereon into the world of world. (But the righteous shall inherit the land; and shall inhabit it forever.)
30 The mouth of a just man shall bethink wisdom; and his tongue shall speak doom. (The righteous person speaketh wisdom; yea, his tongue shall speak of justice, or fairness.)
31 The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not be deceived. (The Law of God is in his heart; and his steps shall not slip/and his feet shall not stumble.)
32 A sinner beholdeth a just man; and seeketh to slay him.
33 But the Lord shall not forsake him in his hands; neither he shall condemn him, when it shall be deemed against him.
34 Abide thou the Lord, and keep thou his way, and he shall enhance thee, that by heritage thou take the land; when sinners shall perish, thou shalt see. (Wait thou for the Lord, and keep thou to his way, and he shall raise thee up, or shall exalt thee, so that thou take the land by inheritance; and when the sinners shall perish, thou shalt see it.)
35 I saw the wicked man enhanced above; and raised up as the cedars of Lebanon. (Once I saw a wicked man exalted; yea, raised up as high as the cedars in Lebanon.)
36 And I passed (And then I passed by later), and lo! he was not (there); I sought him, and his place was not found.
37 Keep thou innocence, and see equity; for those be relics to a peaceable man. (Mark thou the innocent, and look upon the righteous; for they be the progeny of peaceful people.)
38 Forsooth unjust men shall perish; the remnants/the relics of wicked men shall perish (al)together. (But the unjust, or the unrighteous, shall perish; yea, the progeny of the wicked shall altogether perish.)
39 But the health of just men is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of tribulation. (But the salvation, or the deliverance, of the righteous is from the Lord; and he is their defender in their time of trouble.)
40 And the Lord shall help them, and shall make them free, and he shall deliver them from sinners; and he shall save them, for they hoped in him (and he shall save them, for they trusted in him).
Psalm 37
Easy-to-Read Version
[a] A song of David.
37 Don’t get upset about evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 They are like grass and other green plants
that dry up quickly and then die.
3 So trust in the Lord and do good.
Live on your land and be dependable.[b]
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you whatever you ask for.
5 Depend on the Lord.
Trust in him, and he will help you.
6 He will make it as clear as day that you are right.
Everyone will see that you are being fair.
7 Trust in the Lord and wait quietly for his help.
Don’t be angry when people make evil plans and succeed.
8 Don’t become so angry and upset that you, too, want to do evil.
9 The wicked will be destroyed,
but those who call to the Lord for help will get the land he promised.
10 In a short time there will be no more evil people.
You can look for them all you want, but they will be gone.
11 Humble people will get the land God promised,
and they will enjoy peace.
12 The wicked plan bad things for those who are good.
They show their teeth in anger at them.
13 But our Lord will laugh at them.
He will make sure they get what they deserve.
14 The wicked draw their swords to kill the poor and the helpless.
They aim their arrows to murder all who live right.
15 But their bows will break,
and their swords will pierce their own hearts.
16 A few good people are better
than a large crowd of those who are evil.
17 The wicked will be destroyed,
but the Lord cares for those who are good.
18 The Lord protects pure people all their life.
Their reward will continue forever.
19 When trouble comes,
good people will not be destroyed.
When times of hunger come,
good people will have plenty to eat.
20 But evil people are the Lord’s enemies,
and they will be destroyed.
Their valleys will dry up and burn.
They will be destroyed completely.
21 The wicked borrow money and never pay it back.
But good people are kind and generous.
22 Everyone the Lord blesses will get the land he promised.
Everyone he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord shows us how we should live,
and he is pleased when he sees people living that way.
24 If they stumble, they will not fall,
because the Lord reaches out to steady them.
25 I was young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen good people left with no one to help them;
I have never seen their children begging for food.
26 They are kind and generous,
and their children are a blessing.
27 Stop doing anything evil and do good,
and you will always have a place to live.
28 The Lord loves what is right,
and he will never leave his followers without help.
He will always protect them,
but he will destroy the families of the wicked.
29 Good people will get the land God promised
and will live on it forever.
30 Those who do what is right give good advice.
Their decisions are always fair.
31 They have learned God’s teachings,
and they will never stop living right.[c]
32 The wicked are always looking for ways to kill good people.
33 But the Lord will not let the wicked defeat them.
He will not let good people be judged guilty.
34 Do what the Lord says, and wait for his help.
He will reward you and give you the land he promised.
You will see the wicked being forced to leave.
35 I once saw a wicked man who was powerful.
He was like a strong, healthy tree.
36 But then he was gone.
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
37 Be pure and honest.
Peace loving people will have many descendants.
38 But those who break the law will be destroyed completely.
And their descendants will be forced to leave the land.[d]
39 The Lord saves those who are good.
When they have troubles, he is their strength.
40 The Lord helps good people and rescues them.
They depend on him, so he rescues them from the wicked.
Footnotes
- Psalm 37:1 Psalm 37 In Hebrew, about every other verse in this psalm begins with the next letter of the alphabet.
- Psalm 37:3 be dependable Literally, “shepherd faithfulness.”
- Psalm 37:31 they … right Literally, “his steps will not slip.”
- Psalm 37:38 forced to leave the land Or “destroyed.” Literally, “cut off.”
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International