‏ Psalms 37

He Will Not Forsake His Saints

This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Of David.

1 bFret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not cenvious of wrongdoers!
2For they will soon dfade like ethe grass
and wither flike the green herb.
3 gTrust in the Lord, and do good;
hdwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Or  and feed on faithfulness, or  and find safe pasture

4 jDelight yourself in the Lord,
and he will kgive you the desires of your heart.
5 lCommit your way to the Lord;
mtrust in him, and he will act.
6 nHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as othe noonday.
7 pBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
qfret not yourself over the one who rprospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 sRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
tFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 uFor the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall vinherit the land.
10In wjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at xhis place, he will not be there.
11But ythe meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in zabundant peace.
12The wicked aaplots against the righteous
and abgnashes his teeth at him,
13but the Lord aclaughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his adday is coming.
14The wicked draw the sword and aebend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose afway is upright;
15their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their agbows shall be broken.
16 ahBetter is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17For aithe arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord ajupholds the righteous.
18The Lord akknows the days of the blameless,
and their alheritage will remain forever;
19they are not put to shame in evil times;
in amthe days of famine they have abundance.
20But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like anthe glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like aosmoke they vanish away.
21The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous apis generous and gives;
22for those blessed by the Lord
Hebrew  by him
shall arinherit the land,
but those cursed by him asshall be cut off.
23The atsteps of a man are auestablished by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 avthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord awupholds his hand.
25I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children axbegging for bread.
26He is ever aylending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 azTurn away from evil and do good;
so shall you badwell forever.
28For the Lord bbloves justice;
he will not forsake his bcsaints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be bdcut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land
and bedwell upon it forever.
30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 bfThe law of his God is in his heart;
his bgsteps do not slip.
32The wicked bhwatches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33The Lord will not biabandon him to his power
or let him bjbe condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 bkWait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on blwhen the wicked are cut off.
35 bmI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like bna green laurel tree.
The identity of this tree is uncertain

36But he passed away,
Or  But one passed by
and behold, bqhe was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of brpeace.
38But bstransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked btshall be cut off.
39 buThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in bvthe time of trouble.
40The Lord helps them and bwdelivers them;
bxhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they bytake refuge in him.
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