Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Davidic.
1 Do[a] not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[b](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and He will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the man who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.[c](K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land[d](M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because He sees that his day is coming.(Q)
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[e] bow
to bring down the afflicted and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.(R)
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.(S)
16 The little that the righteous man has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.(T)
17 For the arms[f] of the wicked will be broken,(U)
but the Lord supports the righteous.(V)
18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.(W)
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.(X)
20 But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.(Y)
21 The wicked man borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.(Z)
22 Those who are blessed by Him will inherit the land,[g]
but those cursed by Him will be destroyed.(AA)
23 A man’s steps are established by the Lord,
and He takes pleasure in his way.(AB)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord holds his hand.[h](AC)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(AD)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(AE)
27 Turn away from evil and do what is good,
and dwell there[i] forever.(AF)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon His faithful ones.(AG)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(AH)
29 The righteous will inherit the land[j]
and dwell in it permanently.(AI)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(AJ)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(AK)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and seeks to kill him;(AL)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(AM)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(AN)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent man
well-rooted[k] like a flourishing native tree.(AO)
36 Then I passed by and[l] noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(AP)
Solomon’s Unfaithfulness to God
11 King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter:(A) Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women(B) 2 from the nations that the Lord had told the Israelites about, “Do not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn you away from Me to their gods.”(C) Solomon was deeply attached to these women and loved them. 3 He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines,(D) and they turned his heart away from the Lord.(E)
4 When Solomon was old, his wives seduced him to follow other gods. He was not completely devoted to Yahweh his God, as his father David had been.(F) 5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth,(G) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom,(H) the detestable idol of the Ammonites.(I) 6 Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not completely follow Yahweh.
7 At that time, Solomon built a high place(J) for Chemosh,(K) the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom,[a](L) the detestable idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem.(M) 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.
9 The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.(N) 10 He had commanded him about this, so that he would not follow other gods, but Solomon did not do what the Lord had commanded.(O)
11 Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this[b] and did not keep My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.(P) 12 However, I will not do it during your lifetime because of your father David;(Q) I will tear it out of your son’s hand. 13 Yet I will not tear the entire kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son(R) because of my servant David and because of Jerusalem that I chose.”
The Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness.(A) 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth.(B) 15 Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.(C) 16 For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.(D) 18 And the fruit of righteousness(E) is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.
Proud or Humble
4 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings(F) that are at war within you?[a] 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.(G)
4 Adulteresses![b][c] Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy.(H) 5 Or do you think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously?[d](I)
6 But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says:
7 Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.(K) 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!(L) 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow.(M) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers. He who criticizes a brother or judges his brother criticizes the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.(N) 12 There is one lawgiver and judge[f] who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?(O)
12 Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?”
13 Again they shouted, “Crucify Him!”
14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What has He done wrong?”
But they shouted, “Crucify Him!” all the more.
15 Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged,[a] he handed Him over to be crucified.
Mocked by the Military
16 Then(A) the soldiers led Him away into the courtyard (that is, headquarters(B)) and called the whole company together. 17 They dressed Him in a purple(C) robe, twisted together a crown(D) of thorns, and put it on Him. 18 And they began to salute Him, “Hail,(E) King(F) of the Jews!” 19 They kept hitting Him on the head with a reed and spitting on Him. Getting down on their knees,(G) they were paying Him homage. 20 When they had mocked(H) Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.
Crucified between Two Criminals
21 They(I) forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’ cross.(J) He was Simon, a Cyrenian,(K) the father of Alexander and Rufus.(L)
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