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 40

New American Standard Bible

God Sustains His Servant.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(A)waited ^[a]patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and ^(B)heard my cry.
²He brought me up out of the ^(C)pit of ^[b]destruction, out of the mud;
And ^(D)He set my feet on a rock, ^(E)making my footsteps firm.
³He put a ^(F)new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will ^(G)see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴How ^(H)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And ^(I)has not turned to the ^[c]proud, nor to those who ^(J)become involved in falsehood.
⁵Many, Lord my God, are ^(K)the wonders which You have done,
And Your ^(L)thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They ^(M)would be too numerous to count.

⁶^(N)You have not desired ^[d]sacrifice and meal offering;
You have ^[e]opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is ^[f]written of me in the scroll of the book.
⁸^(O)I delight to do Your will, my God;
^(P)Your Law is within my ^[g]heart.”

⁹I have ^(Q)proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will ^(R)not restrain my lips,
Lord, ^(S)You know.
¹⁰I have ^(T)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have ^(U)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.

¹¹You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
^[h]Your ^(V)mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
¹²For evils beyond number have ^(W)surrounded me;
My ^(X)guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are ^(Y)more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my ^(Z)heart has ^[i]failed me.

¹³^(AA)Be pleased, Lord, to rescue me;
^(AB)Hurry, Lord, to help me.
¹⁴May those be ^(AC)ashamed and humiliated together
Who ^(AD)seek my ^[j]life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight ^[k]in my hurt.
¹⁵May those ^(AE)be ^[l]appalled because of their shame
Who ^(AF)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
¹⁶^(AG)May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually ^(AH)say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
¹⁷But ^(AI)I am afflicted and needy;
^(AJ)May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.