Psalms 37

Do not get upset because of people who do evil. Do not be jealous of those who do wrong.

1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

Note"Fret not thyself" renders a Hebrew verb meaning to get heated or inflamed, the picture is of burning up inside, not of mild worry. The psalm is also an acrostic: in Hebrew its sections begin with the letters of the alphabet in order, roughly one letter every two verses. That structure makes it a collected string of sayings on one theme rather than an argument that builds.

2For they will soon be cut down like grass. They will dry up and die like green plants.

2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

NoteIn a climate with a long dry season, grass springs up fast after the rains and is dead within weeks. It was a stock image for something that looks vigorous and is in fact short-lived.

3Trust the LORD, and do good. Then you will live in the land, and you will surely have food to eat.

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

NoteThe Hebrew of the last clause is genuinely uncertain. The words can mean "feed on faithfulness," "graze securely," or "cultivate faithfulness": that is, either a promise of being fed safely in the land, or a command to keep practicing loyalty. Translations split between them.

4Take your joy in the LORD, and he will give you what your heart wants.

4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Note"Heart" in Hebrew usage covers the mind and the will as much as the feelings; "the desires of thine heart" means what a person is set on, not merely what he feels.

5Hand your whole way of life over to the LORD. Trust him, and he will act for you.

5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Note"Commit thy way" is literally "roll your way onto the LORD", the image is of rolling a load off your own back onto someone else's.

6He will make your right living shine out like the light, and the justice of your case shine like the sun at noon.

6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Note"Judgment" in 1611 English usually means justice, or the just verdict in a lawsuit. Here it is the vindication of the reader's own case, a right ruling in his favor, not his act of judging others.

7Be still before the LORD, and wait for him patiently. Do not get upset about the person whose life goes well, the one who carries out evil plans and succeeds.

7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Note"Rest in the LORD" is literally "be silent before the LORD." The picture is of holding your peace and waiting, rather than of relaxation.

8Stop being angry, and let go of your rage. Do not get upset; it only leads you toward doing harm.

8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

NoteThe last clause is compressed in Hebrew and can be read two ways: that fretting brings only harm on the one who frets, or that it drives him into doing wrong himself. Both readings are current.

9For those who do evil will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD will receive the land as their own.

9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Note"Cut off" is a recurring idiom in this psalm: to be removed, destroyed, or severed from one's family line and landholding. "Inherit the earth" translates a Hebrew word meaning land or ground; in context it is the land of Israel and, concretely, the family plot handed down through generations. To inherit the land is to hold secure title to property that stays in the family.

10In a little while the wicked will be gone. You can look carefully at the place where they were, and they will not be there.

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

11But those who are humble will receive the land as their own, and they will enjoy peace in full measure.

11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Note"Meek" translates a Hebrew word for the poor, the powerless, the pushed-around, people with no leverage. It describes a social position, not a mild temperament.

12The wicked person plots against the one who lives rightly, and grinds his teeth at him in anger.

12The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

NoteGrinding or baring the teeth at someone was a recognized gesture of open hostility, drawn from the way an animal shows its teeth before attacking.

13The Lord laughs at him, because he sees that this man's day is coming.

13The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

Note"His day" is a standard idiom for the day fixed for a person's downfall or reckoning.

14The wicked have pulled out their swords and bent their bows. They mean to bring down the poor and the needy, and to kill those who live upright lives.

14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

Note"Conversation" in 1611 English means conduct or manner of life generally, not talk. "Such as be of upright conversation" means people who live straight lives.

15But their swords will go into their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

15Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

16The little that a good person owns is better than the great wealth of many wicked people.

16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD holds up those who live rightly.

17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

NoteThe arm stands for strength and the ability to act; breaking someone's arm is a stock way of saying his power has been taken away.

18The LORD knows the days of those who live blameless lives, and what they receive will last forever.

18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

Note"Knoweth" here carries the sense of watching over and caring for, not merely being informed. "Their inheritance" is again landholding passed down in the family.

19They will not be put to shame when bad times come. In days of famine they will have plenty.

19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

20But the wicked will die. The enemies of the LORD will be like the fat of lambs: they will burn away and vanish like smoke.

20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

NoteThe Hebrew phrase behind "the fat of lambs" is uncertain. The same consonants can be read as "the glory of the pastures", the flowers of the field that blaze up and fade, which is how many translations take it. The KJV reading points instead to the fat of a sacrificial animal, the part burned up entirely on the altar. Either way the image is of something bright that is consumed fast.

21The wicked person borrows and does not pay it back, but the person who lives rightly is generous and gives.

21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

NoteLending among Israelites was not a commercial matter: charging a fellow Israelite interest was forbidden, and debts were to be released at set intervals, so a loan was closer to relief than to business. Failing to repay therefore cheated a benefactor rather than a creditor.

22Those the LORD blesses will receive the land as their own, but those he curses will be cut off.

22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

Note"Blessed" and "cursed" are formal terms here, drawn from the language attached to grants of land: those under blessing keep their holding, those under curse lose it and their line with it.

23The LORD sets each step of a good man in place, and he is pleased with the road that man walks.

23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

NoteThe Hebrew simply says "a man," without "good." The second clause is ambiguous: it can mean the LORD delights in that man's way of life, or that the man delights in the LORD's way. Translators divide.

24Even if he falls, he will not be thrown down for good, because the LORD holds him up with his hand.

24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

25I was young once, and now I am old, but I have never seen a person who lives rightly left with no help, or his children begging for bread.

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

Note"Seed" throughout this psalm means offspring or descendants.

26He is always kind and lends freely, and his children are a blessing.

26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

27Turn away from evil, do good, and live forever.

27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

28For the LORD loves justice and does not abandon his faithful people. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be cut off.

28For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

Note"Saints" translates a Hebrew word for those bound to God by loyal, committed love, his loyal ones. It has nothing to do with the later use of "saint" for a formally recognized holy person.

29Those who live rightly will receive the land as their own, and they will live in it forever.

29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

30The mouth of a good person speaks wisdom, and his tongue tells what is just.

30The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

31The law of his God is in his heart, so his steps do not slip.

31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Note"The law" is the Hebrew word torah, meaning teaching or instruction, the body of instruction given through Moses, not a legal code in the modern sense.

32The wicked person watches the one who lives rightly and looks for a chance to kill him.

32The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

33The LORD will not leave him in that man's power, or let him be declared guilty when he is put on trial.

33The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

NoteCourtroom language: the second clause can mean either that the LORD will not himself declare the man guilty, or that he will not let the man be declared guilty when the case comes to trial.

34Wait for the LORD and stay on his road. He will lift you up to receive the land as your own. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

34Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

35I have seen a wicked man with great power, spreading himself out like a tree growing strong in its own soil.

35I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

NoteThe Hebrew describing the tree is obscure. It appears to mean a flourishing tree growing where it sprang up, in its own soil, rather than one transplanted; the ancient Greek translation read it instead as "the cedars of Lebanon." The KJV translators guessed at the bay, or laurel, an evergreen.

36Yet he passed away, and he was gone. I looked for him, but he could not be found.

36Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

37Take note of the blameless person. Look closely at the one who lives upright. That man has a future of peace.

37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Note"Perfect" in 1611 English means whole, sound, of undivided integrity, not faultless. "The end" translates a Hebrew word meaning what comes afterwards, which can point either to a person's later outcome or to his posterity, the descendants who survive him. Both senses are live here and in the next verse.

38But those who break God's law will all be destroyed together. The future of the wicked will be cut off.

38But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

39Rescue for those who live rightly comes from the LORD. He is their place of strength when trouble comes.

39But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

Note"Salvation" here means rescue from concrete danger, enemies, violence, ruin. "Strength" translates a word for a stronghold or fortified place people ran to for safety.

40The LORD helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, because they take shelter in him.

40And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

Note"Trust in him" is literally "take refuge in him," the image of running into a shelter.