37:1
[Of David] Do not get heated about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.
37:2
Quick as the grass they wither, fading like the green of the fields.
37:3
Put your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the land and live secure.
37:4
Make Yahweh your joy and he will give you your heart's desires.
37:5
Commit your destiny to Yahweh, be confident in him, and he will act,
37:6
making your uprightness clear as daylight, and the justice of your cause as the noon.
37:7
Stay quiet before Yahweh, wait longingly for him, do not get heated over someone who is making a fortune, succeeding by devious means.
37:8
Refrain from anger, leave rage aside, do not get heated -- it can do no good;
37:9
for evil-doers will be annihilated, while those who hope in Yahweh shall have the land for their own.
37:10
A little while and the wicked will be no more, however well you search for the place, the wicked will not be there;
37:11
but the poor will have the land for their own, to enjoy untroubled peace.
37:12
The wicked plots against the upright and gnashes his teeth at him,
37:13
but Yahweh only laughs at his efforts, knowing that his end is in sight.
37:14
Though the wicked draw his sword and bend his bow to slaughter the honest and bring down the poor and the needy,
37:15
his sword will pierce his own heart, and his bow will be shattered.
37:16
What little the upright possesses outweighs all the wealth of the wicked;
37:17
for the weapons of the wicked shall be shattered, while Yahweh supports the upright.
37:18
The lives of the just are in Yahweh's care, their birthright will endure for ever;
37:19
they will not be put to shame when bad times come, in time of famine they will have plenty.
37:20
The wicked, enemies of Yahweh, will be destroyed, they will vanish like the green of the pasture, they will vanish in smoke.
37:21
The wicked borrows and will not repay, but the upright is generous in giving;
37:22
those he blesses will have the land for their own, and those he curses be annihilated.
37:23
Yahweh guides a strong man's steps and keeps them firm; and takes pleasure in him.
37:24
When he trips he is not thrown sprawling, since Yahweh supports him by the hand.
37:25
Now I am old, but ever since my youth I never saw an upright person abandoned, or the descendants of the upright forced to beg their bread.
37:26
The upright is always compassionate, always lending, so his descendants reap a blessing.
37:27
Turn your back on evil and do good, you will have a home for ever,
37:28
for Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful. Evil-doers will perish eternally, the descendants of the wicked be annihilated,
37:29
but the upright shall have the land for their own, there they shall live for ever.
37:30
Wisdom comes from the lips of the upright, and his tongue speaks what is right;
37:31
the law of his God is in his heart, his foot will never slip.
37:32
The wicked keeps a close eye on the upright, looking out for a chance to kill him;
37:33
Yahweh will never abandon him to the clutches of the wicked, nor let him be condemned if he is tried.
37:34
Put your hope in Yahweh, keep to his path, he will raise you up to make the land your own; you will look on while the wicked are annihilated.
37:35
I have seen the wicked exultant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
37:36
When next I passed he was gone, I searched for him and he was nowhere to be found.
37:37
Observe the innocent, consider the honest, for the lover of peace will not lack children.
37:38
But the wicked will all be destroyed together, and their children annihilated.
37:39
The upright have Yahweh for their Saviour, their refuge in times of trouble;
37:40
Yahweh helps them and rescues them, he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in him.
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