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 fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Dwell 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 forth (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 fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
10 Yet (S)a little while and the wicked man 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 (Z)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AA)bent their bow
To cast down the (AB)afflicted and the needy,
To (AC)slay 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 abundance.
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 cut off.
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 headlong,
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 bread.
26 All day long (AW)he is gracious and lends,
And (AX)his [h]descendants are a blessing.
27 (AY)Depart from evil and do good,
[i]So you will abide (AZ)forever.
28 For the Lord (BA)loves [j]justice
And (BB)does not forsake His godly ones;
They are (BC)preserved forever,
But the [k](BD)descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
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 cut off, you will see it.
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [l]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [m]he passed away, and lo, he (BS)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [n](BT)blameless man, and behold the (BU)upright;
For the man of peace will have a [o](BV)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (BW)destroyed;
The [p]posterity of the wicked will be (BX)cut off.
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 delivers them;
He (CB)delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (CC)take refuge in Him.
God’s Judgment Unavoidable
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the (A)altar, and He said,
“Smite the capitals so that the (B)thresholds will shake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)slay the rest of them with the sword;
They will (E)not have a fugitive who will flee,
Or a refugee who will escape.
2 “Though they dig into (F)Sheol,
From there will My hand take them;
And though they (G)ascend to heaven,
From there will I bring them down.
3 “Though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
I will (H)search them out and take them from there;
And though they (I)conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea,
From there I will command the (J)serpent and it will bite them.
4 “And though they go into (K)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword that it slay them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”
5 The Lord [a]God of hosts,
The One who (M)touches the land so that it melts,
And (N)all those who dwell in it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
6 The One who builds His [b](O)upper chambers in the heavens
And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,
He who (P)calls for the waters of the sea
And (Q)pours them out on the face of the earth,
(R)The Lord is His name.
7 “Are you not as the sons of (S)Ethiopia to Me,
O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the (T)Philistines from Caphtor and the (U)Arameans from (V)Kir?
8 “Behold, the (W)eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I will (X)destroy it from the face of the earth;
Nevertheless, I will (Y)not totally destroy the house of Jacob,”
Declares the Lord.
9 “For behold, I am commanding,
And I will (Z)shake the house of Israel among all nations
As grain is shaken in a sieve,
But not a [c]kernel will fall to the ground.
10 “All the (AA)sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘(AB)The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’
Message to Smyrna
8 “And to the angel of the church in (A)Smyrna write:
(B)The first and the last, who [a](C)was dead, and has come to life, says this:
9 ‘I know your (D)tribulation and your (E)poverty (but you are (F)rich), and the blasphemy by those who (G)say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of (H)Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be (I)tested, and you will have tribulation (J)for ten days. [b]Be (K)faithful until death, and I will give you (L)the crown of life. 11 (M)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (N)He who overcomes will not be hurt by the (O)second death.’
Message to Pergamum
12 “And to the angel of the church in (P)Pergamum write:
The One who has (Q)the sharp two-edged sword says this:
13 ‘I know where you dwell, where (R)Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny (S)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My (T)witness, My (U)faithful one, who was killed among you, (V)where Satan dwells. 14 But (W)I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the (X)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, (Y)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the (Z)Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore (AA)repent; or else (AB)I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with (AC)the sword of My mouth. 17 (AD)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (AE)To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden (AF)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a (AG)new name written on the stone (AH)which no one knows but he who receives it.’
Eight Woes
13 “(A)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, (B)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven [a]from [b]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 [[c]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because (C)you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one [d](D)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of [e](E)hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, (F)blind guides, who say, ‘(G)Whoever swears by the [f]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the [g]temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! (H)Which is [h]more important, the gold or the [i]temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the [j]offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, (I)which is [k]more important, the [l]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the [m]offering? 20 Therefore, [n]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by [o]the altar and by everything on it. 21 And [p]whoever swears by the [q]temple, swears both by [r]the temple and by Him who (J)dwells within it. 22 And [s]whoever swears by heaven, (K)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 “(L)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and [t]cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You (M)blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (N)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full [u]of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first (O)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.