ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version

37 u Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not v envious of wrongdoers!
 2 For they will soon w fade like x the grass
and wither y like the green herb.

 3 z Trust in the Lord, and do good;
a dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. [2]
 4 b Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will c give you the desires of your heart.

 5 d Commit your way to the Lord;
z trust in him, and he will act.
 6 e He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as f the noonday.

 7 g Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
h fret not yourself over the one who i prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

 8 j Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
h Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
 9 k For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall l inherit the land.

10 In m just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at n his place, he will not be there.
11 But o the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in p abundant peace.

12 The wicked q plots against the righteous
and r gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord s laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his t day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword and u bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose v way is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their w bows shall be broken.

16 x Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For y the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord z upholds the righteous.

18 The Lord a knows the days of the blameless,
and their b heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in c the days of famine they have abundance.

20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like d the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like e smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous f is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord [3] shall g inherit the land,
but those cursed by him h shall be cut off.

23 The i steps of a man are j established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 k though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord l upholds his hand.

25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children m begging for bread.
26 He is ever n lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.

27 o Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you p dwell forever.
28 For the Lord q loves justice;
he will not forsake his r saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be s cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and p dwell upon it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 t The law of his God is in his heart;
his u steps do not slip.

32 The wicked v watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not w abandon him to his power
or let him x be condemned when he is brought to trial.

34 y Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on z when the wicked are cut off.

35 a I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like b a green laurel tree. [4]
36 But he passed away, [5] and behold, c he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.

37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of d peace.
38 But e transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked f shall be cut off.

39 g The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in h the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and i delivers them;
j he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they k take refuge in him.