Book of Common Prayer
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.
2 For 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.
6 He 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.
8 Cease from anger and (P)abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
10 Yet (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.
11 But (U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (V)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (W)plots against the righteous,
And (X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (Y)laughs at him,
For He sees that (Z)his day is coming.
14 The 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.
15 Their 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.
17 For the (AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (AG)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (AH)knows the days of the [d]blameless,
And their (AI)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (AJ)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
20 But 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.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (AM)is gracious and gives.
22 For (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.
24 When (AS)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because (AT)the Lord is the One [f]who holds his hand.
25 I 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.
26 All 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.
28 For 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.
29 The righteous will (BE)inherit the land
And (BF)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (BH)speaks justice.
31 The (BI)Law of his God is in his heart;
His (BJ)steps do not slip.
32 The (BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (BL)seeks to kill him.
33 The 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.
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [k]tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and behold, he (BS)was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the [l](BT)blameless person, and look at the (BU)upright;
For the person of peace will have (BV)a future.
38 But wrongdoers will altogether be (BW)destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be (BX)eliminated.
39 But 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.
30 There is (A)no wisdom, no understanding,
And no [a]plan against the Lord.
31 The (B)horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But the (C)victory belongs to the Lord.
On Life and Conduct
22 A (D)good name is to be more desired than great wealth;
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor [b]have a common bond,
The Lord is the (E)Maker of them all.
3 A (F)prudent person sees evil and hides himself,
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.
4 The reward of humility and [c]the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor, and life.
5 (G)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
One who guards himself will be far from them.
6 (H)Train up a child [d]in the way he should go,
Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
Abandonment of Faith
4 But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God has created to be (I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (K)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (L)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (M)the brothers and sisters, you will be a good (N)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the (O)good doctrine which you (P)have been following. 7 But [b]stay away from (Q)worthless (R)stories that are typical of old women. Rather, [c]discipline yourself for the purpose of (S)godliness; 8 for (T)bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but (U)godliness is beneficial for all things, since it (V)holds promise for the (W)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (X)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set (Y)our hope on (Z)the living God, who is (AA)the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.
11 [d](AB)Prescribe and teach these things. 12 (AC)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, (AD)love, faith, and purity, show yourself (AE)an example [e]of those who believe. 13 (AF)Until I come, give your attention to the public [f](AG)reading, to exhortation, and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was granted to you through words of (AH)prophecy with (AI)the laying on of hands by the [g](AJ)council of elders. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 (AK)Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will (AL)save both yourself and those who hear you.
Weeds among Wheat
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed [b]weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 And when the [c]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. 27 And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? [d]How then does it have weeds?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘[e]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but (B)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.