Psalms 37

 
1 A psalm for David himself. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.

2 For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.

4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.

5 Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.

6 And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Be subject to the Lord and pray to him Envy not the man who prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.

8 Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.

9 For the evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it.

11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace.

12 The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him with his teeth.

13 But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day shall come.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow. To cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart.

15 Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken.

16 Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the Lord strengtheneth the just.

18 The Lord knoweth the days of undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever.

19 They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled:

20 Because the wicked shall perish. And the enemies of the Lord, presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to nothing and vanish like smoke.

21 The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth mercy and shall give.

22 For such as bless him shall inherit the land: but such as curse him shall perish.

23 With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way.

24 When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under him.

25 I have been young, and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.

26 He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed shall be in blessing.

27 Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.

28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish.

29 But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for evermore.

30 The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment.

31 The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted.

32 The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to death,

33 But the Lord will not leave in his hands; nor condemn him when he shall be judged.

34 Expect the Lord and keep his way: and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see.

35 I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus.

36 And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his place was not found.

37 Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for the peaceable man.

38 But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish.

39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him.

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