Beginning
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within [a]his heart;
There is (A)no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For [b]it (B)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
3 The (C)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has (D)ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.
4 He (E)plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a (F)path that is not good;
He (G)does not despise evil.
5 Your (H)lovingkindness, O Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your (I)righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;
Your (J)judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You (K)preserve man and beast.
7 How (L)precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men (M)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (N)drink their fill of the [f]abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the (O)river of Your delights.
9 For with You is the (P)fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
10 O continue Your lovingkindness to (Q)those who know You,
And Your (R)righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been thrust down and (S)cannot rise.
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (T)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (U)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (V)wither quickly like the grass
And (W)fade like the green herb.
3 (X)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(Y)Dwell in the land and [g](Z)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (AA)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (AB)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (AC)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (AD)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (AE)as the noonday.
7 [h]Rest in the Lord and (AF)wait [i]patiently for Him;
(AG)Do not fret because of him who (AH)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (AI)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (AJ)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (AK)inherit the land.
10 Yet (AL)a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for (AM)his place and he will not be there.
11 But (AN)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (AO)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (AP)plots against the righteous
And (AQ)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (AR)laughs at him,
For He sees (AS)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AT)bent their bow
To cast down the (AU)afflicted and the needy,
To (AV)slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (AW)bows will be broken.
16 (AX)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (AY)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (AZ)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (BA)knows the days of the [j]blameless,
And their (BB)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (BC)in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the (BD)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [k]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(BE)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (BF)is gracious and gives.
22 For (BG)those blessed by Him will (BH)inherit the land,
But those (BI)cursed by Him will be cut off.
23 (BJ)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (BK)delights in his way.
24 When (BL)he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because (BM)the Lord is the One [l]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (BN)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (BO)his [m]descendants begging bread.
26 All day long (BP)he is gracious and lends,
And (BQ)his [n]descendants are a blessing.
27 (BR)Depart from evil and do good,
[o]So you will abide (BS)forever.
28 For the Lord (BT)loves [p]justice
And (BU)does not forsake His godly ones;
They are (BV)preserved forever,
But the [q](BW)descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will (BX)inherit the land
And (BY)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (BZ)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (CA)speaks justice.
31 The (CB)law of his God is in his heart;
His (CC)steps do not slip.
32 The (CD)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (CE)seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will (CF)not leave him in his hand
Or (CG)let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 (CH)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (CI)wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have (CJ)seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a (CK)luxuriant [r]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [s]he passed away, and lo, he (CL)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [t](CM)blameless man, and behold the (CN)upright;
For the man of peace will have a [u](CO)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (CP)destroyed;
The [v]posterity of the wicked will be (CQ)cut off.
39 But the (CR)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength (CS)in time of trouble.
40 (CT)The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He (CU)delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (CV)take refuge in Him.
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (CW)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (CX)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (CY)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (CZ)no soundness in my flesh (DA)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (DB)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (DC)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [w]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (DD)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (DE)greatly bowed down;
I (DF)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (DG)burning,
And there is (DH)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (DI)benumbed and [x]badly crushed;
I [y](DJ)groan because of the [z]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (DK)my desire is [aa]before You;
And my (DL)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (DM)my strength fails me;
And the (DN)light of my eyes, even [ab]that [ac]has gone from me.
11 My [ad](DO)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (DP)stand afar off.
12 Those who (DQ)seek my life (DR)lay snares for me;
And those who (DS)seek to injure me have [ae]threatened destruction,
And they (DT)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (DU)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (DV)I [af]hope in You, O Lord;
You (DW)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (DX)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (DY)ready to fall,
And (DZ)my [ag]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [ah](EA)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (EB)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (EC)enemies are vigorous and [ai]strong,
And many are those who (ED)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (EE)repay evil for good,
They (EF)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (EG)do not be far from me!
22 Make (EH)haste to help me,
O Lord, (EI)my salvation!
The Vanity of Life.
For the choir director, for [aj]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (EJ)guard my ways
That I (EK)may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard (EL)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (EM)mute [ak]and silent,
I [al]refrained even from good,
And my [am]sorrow grew worse.
3 My (EN)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know (EO)my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (EP)transient I am.
5 “Behold, You have made (EQ)my days as handbreadths,
And my (ER)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man [an]at his best is [ao]a mere (ES)breath. [ap]Selah.
6 “Surely every man (ET)walks about as [aq]a phantom;
Surely they make an (EU)uproar for nothing;
He (EV)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My (EW)hope is in You.
8 “(EX)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the (EY)reproach of the foolish.
9 “I have become (EZ)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is (FA)You who have done it.
10 “(FB)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of (FC)the opposition of Your hand I am [ar]perishing.
11 “With (FD)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You (FE)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely (FF)every man is a mere breath. Selah.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.