Psalm 37-39

New American Standard Bible

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.
²For 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.
⁶He 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.
⁸Cease from anger and ^(P)abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹For ^(Q)evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will ^(R)inherit the land.
¹⁰Yet ^(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.
¹¹But ^(U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in ^(V)abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked ^(W)plots against the righteous,
And ^(X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³The Lord ^(Y)laughs at him,
For He sees that ^(Z)his day is coming.
¹⁴The 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.
¹⁵Their 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.
¹⁷For the ^(AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord ^(AG)sustains the righteous.
¹⁸The Lord ^(AH)knows the days of the ^[d]blameless,
And their ^(AI)inheritance will be forever.
¹⁹They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And ^(AJ)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
²⁰But 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.
²¹The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous ^(AM)is gracious and gives.
²²For ^(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.
²⁴When ^(AS)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because ^(AT)the Lord is the One ^[f]who holds his hand.
²⁵I 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.
²⁶All 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.
²⁸For 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.
²⁹The righteous will ^(BE)inherit the land
And ^(BF)dwell in it forever.
³⁰The mouth of the righteous ^(BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue ^(BH)speaks justice.
³¹The ^(BI)Law of his God is in his heart;
His ^(BJ)steps do not slip.
³²The ^(BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And ^(BL)seeks to kill him.
³³The 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.

³⁵I have ^(BQ)seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a ^(BR)luxuriant ^[k]tree in its native soil.
³⁶Then he passed away, and behold, he ^(BS)was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷Observe the ^[l]^(BT)blameless person, and look at the ^(BU)upright;
For the person of peace will have ^(BV)a future.
³⁸But wrongdoers will altogether be ^(BW)destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be ^(BX)eliminated.
³⁹But 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.

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.

A Psalm of David, for a memorial.

38 Lord, ^(CD)do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
And do not punish me in Your burning anger.
²For Your ^(CE)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And ^(CF)Your hand has pressed down on me.
³There is ^(CG)no healthy part in my flesh ^(CH)because of Your indignation;
There is no health ^(CI)in my bones because of my sin.
⁴For my ^(CJ)guilty deeds have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
⁵My ^[m]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of ^(CK)my foolishness.
⁶I am bent over and ^(CL)greatly bowed down;
I ^(CM)go in mourning all day long.
⁷For my ^[n]sides are filled with ^(CN)burning,
And there is ^(CO)no healthy part in my flesh.
⁸I feel ^(CP)faint and ^[o]badly crushed;
I ^[p]^(CQ)groan because of the ^[q]agitation of my heart.

⁹Lord, all ^(CR)my desire is ^[r]before You;
And my ^(CS)sighing is not hidden from You.
¹⁰My heart throbs, ^(CT)my strength fails me;
And the ^(CU)light of my eyes, even ^[s]that ^[t]has gone from me.
¹¹My ^[u]^(CV)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen ^(CW)stand far away.
¹²Those who ^(CX)seek my life ^(CY)lay snares for me;
And those who ^(CZ)seek to injure me have ^[v]threatened destruction,
And they ^(DA)plot deception all day long.

¹³But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear;
And I am like a ^(DB)person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴Yes, I am like a person who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
¹⁵For ^(DC)I wait for You, Lord;
You ^(DD)will answer, Lord my God.
¹⁶For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, ^(DE)would exalt themselves over me.”
¹⁷For I am ^(DF)ready to fall,
And ^(DG)my ^[w]sorrow is continually before me.
¹⁸For I ^(DH)admit my guilt;
I am full of ^(DI)anxiety because of my sin.
¹⁹But my ^(DJ)enemies are vigorous and ^[x]strong,
And those who wrongfully ^(DK)hate me are many.
²⁰And those who ^(DL)repay evil for good,
They ^(DM)become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
²¹Do not abandon me, Lord;
My God, ^(DN)do not be far from me!
²²^(DO)Hurry to help me,
Lord, ^(DP)my salvation!

The Futility of Life.

For the music director, for ^[y]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will ^(DQ)keep watch over my ways
So that I ^(DR)do not sin with my tongue;
I will keep watch over ^(DS)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
²I was ^(DT)mute ^[z]and silent,
I ^[aa]refused to say even something good,
And my pain was stirred up.
³My ^(DU)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
⁴“Lord, let me know ^(DV)my end,
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how ^(DW)transient I am.
⁵Behold, You have made ^(DX)my days like ^[ab]hand widths,
And my ^(DY)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Certainly all mankind standing is ^[ac]a mere ^(DZ)breath. Selah
⁶Certainly every person ^(EA)walks around as ^[ad]a fleeting shadow;
They certainly make an ^(EB)uproar for nothing;
He ^(EC)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My ^(ED)hope is in You.
⁸^(EE)Save me from all my wrongdoings;
Do not make me an object of ^(EF)reproach for the foolish.
⁹I have become ^(EG)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is ^(EH)You who have done it.
¹⁰^(EI)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of ^(EJ)the opposition of Your hand I am ^[ae]perishing.
¹¹With ^(EK)rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing;
You ^(EL)consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Certainly ^(EM)all mankind is mere breath! Selah

¹²“^(EN)Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help;
Do not be silent ^(EO)to my tears;
For I am ^(EP)a stranger with You,
^(EQ)One who lives abroad, like all my fathers.
¹³^(ER)Turn Your eyes away from me, that I may become cheerful again
Before I depart and am no more.”