Psalm 37
English Standard Version
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
[a] Of David.
37 (A)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not (B)envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon (C)fade like (D)the grass
and wither (E)like the green herb.
3 (F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
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;
(K)trust in him, and he will act.
6 (L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as (M)the noonday.
7 (N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
(O)fret not yourself over the one who (P)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 (Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 (S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall (T)inherit the land.
10 In (U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at (V)his place, he will not be there.
11 But (W)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in (X)abundant peace.
12 The wicked (Y)plots against the righteous
and (Z)gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord (AA)laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his (AB)day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and (AC)bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose (AD)way is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their (AE)bows shall be broken.
16 (AF)Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For (AG)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord (AH)upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord (AI)knows the days of the blameless,
and their (AJ)heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in (AK)the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like (AL)the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like (AM)smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous (AN)is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord[c] shall (AO)inherit the land,
but those cursed by him (AP)shall be cut off.
23 The (AQ)steps of a man are (AR)established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 (AS)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord (AT)upholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children (AU)begging for bread.
26 He is ever (AV)lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 (AW)Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you (AX)dwell forever.
28 For the Lord (AY)loves justice;
he will not forsake his (AZ)saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be (BA)cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and (BB)dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 (BC)The law of his God is in his heart;
his (BD)steps do not slip.
32 The wicked (BE)watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not (BF)abandon him to his power
or let him (BG)be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 (BH)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on (BI)when the wicked are cut off.
35 (BJ)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like (BK)a green laurel tree.[d]
36 But he passed away,[e] and behold, (BL)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 (BM)peace.
38 But (BN)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked (BO)shall be cut off.
39 (BP)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in (BQ)the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and (BR)delivers them;
(BS)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they (BT)take refuge in him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- Psalm 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture
- Psalm 37:22 Hebrew by him
- Psalm 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain
- Psalm 37:36 Or But one passed by
Tehillim 37
Orthodox Jewish Bible
37 (Of Dovid) Fret not thyself because of re’im (evildoers); neither have thou kina (jealousy, envy) of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the khatzir (grass), and wither as the green desheh (herb, plant).
3 Trust in Hashem, and do tov; so shalt thou dwell in the Eretz (land), ure’eh emunah (and thou be pastured securely).
4 Delight thyself also in Hashem, and He shall give thee the desires of thine lev.
5 Commit thy derech (road, way) unto Hashem; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.
6 And He shall bring forth thy tzedakah (righteousness) as the ohr (light), and thy mishpat (justice) as the tzohorayim (noonday).
7 Rest in Hashem, and wait patiently for Him; fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his derech, because of the ish who bringeth wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake chemah (wrath); fret not thyself in any wise to do rah.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon Hashem, they shall inherit the Eretz (land).
10 For yet a little while, and the rasha shall not be; yes, thou shalt watch his place, and he will not be.
11 But the anavim (meek ones) shall inherit Eretz; and shall delight themselves in rov shalom (great peace; see Psa 119:165).
12 The rasha plotteth against the tzaddik, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13 Adonoi shall laugh at him, for He seeth that his yom is coming.
14 The resha’im have drawn out the cherev, and have bent their keshet, to cast down the oni (poor) and evyon (needy), and to slay such as be yishrei derech (upright ones on the road, that walk uprightly).
15 Their cherev shall enter into their own lev, and their keshatot (bows) shall be broken.
16 A little that a tzaddik hath is better than the riches of resha’im rabbim.
17 For the zero’ot (arms, powers) of the resha’im shall be broken; but Hashem upholdeth the tzaddikim.
18 Hashem knoweth the yamim of the temimim (blameless ones); and their nachalah (inheritance) shall be l’olahm (forever).
19 They shall not be put to shame in time of evil; and in the days of famine yisba’u (they shall be satisfied, enjoy plenty).
20 But the resha’im shall perish, and the oyvei Hashem (enemies of Hashem) shall be like the glory of the meadows; they shall disappear like ashan (smoke), they shall vanish.
21 The rasha borroweth, and repayeth not; but the tzaddik showeth chonen (generosity), and giveth.
22 For such as be blessed of Him shall inherit Eretz; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a gever (man) konanu (are ordered, made firm) by Hashem and He delighteth in his derech.
24 Though he stumble, he shall not utterly fall; for Hashem upholdeth him with His yad (hand, power).
25 I have been na’ar (young), and now am old; yet I have not seen the tzaddik forsaken, nor his zera begging lechem.
26 He is ever chonen (generous, merciful; see verse 21), and lendeth; and his zera is blessed.
27 Depart from rah, and do tov; and dwell l’olahm (for evermore).
28 For Hashem loveth mishpat, and forsaketh not His chasidim; they are preserved l’olahm; but the zera resha’im shall be cut off.
29 The tzaddikim shall inherit Eretz, and dwell therein forever.
30 The mouth of the tzaddik speaketh chochmah, and his leshon uttereth mishpat.
31 The torat Elohav is in his lev; no steps of his shall slip.
32 The rashah lieth in wait to ambush the tzaddik, and seeketh to slay him.
33 Hashem will not leave him in his yad (hand, power), nor condemn him b’hishshafto (when he is judged, brought to trial).
34 Wait on Hashem, and be shomer over His Derech, and He shall exalt thee to inherit Eretz; when the resha’im are cut off, thou shalt see it.
35 I have seen the violently powerful rashah, spreading himself like an indigenous green tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and, hinei, he was no more; yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the yashar (upright); for the end of that ish is shalom.
38 But the poshe’im (rebels, transgressors) shall be made shmad together; the latter end [i.e., future] of the resha’im shall be cut off.
39 But the Teshu’at Tzaddikim is of Hashem; He is their ma’oz (stronghold, refuge) in the time of tzoros.
40 And Hashem helps them, and delivers them; He shall deliver them from the resha’im, and save them, because they take refuge in Him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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