Psalms 37
37
PSALM 37
1 To David. [The psalm of David.] Do not thou pursue [or follow] wicked men; neither love thou men doing wickedness.
2For they shall wax dry swiftly as hay; and they shall fall down soon as the worts of herbs.
3Hope thou in the Lord, and do thou goodness; and inhabit thou the land, and thou shalt be fed with his riches.
4Delight thou in the Lord; and he shall give to thee the askings of thine heart.
5Show thy way to the Lord; and hope in him, and he shall do.
6And he shall lead out thy rightfulness [or rightwiseness] as light, and thy doom as midday;
7be thou subject to the Lord, and pray thou him. Do not thou pursue [or follow] him, that hath prosperity in his way; nor a man doing unright-fulness.
8Cease thou of ire, and forsake strong vengeance; do not thou pursue [or follow], that thou do wickedly.
9For they, that do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they that suffer the Lord, shall inherit the land.
10And yet a little, and a sinner shall not be; and thou shalt seek his place, and thou shalt not find it.
11But mild men shall inherit the land; and shall delight in the multitude of peace.
12A sinner shall ambush the rightful [or rightwise] man; and he shall gnash with his teeth on him.
13But the Lord shall scorn the sinner; for he beholdeth that his day cometh.
14Sinners have drawn out sword; they bent their bow. To deceive a poor man and needy; to strangle rightful [or right] men of heart.
15Their sword enter into the heart of themselves; and their bow be broken.
16Better is a little thing to a just [or rightwise] man; than many riches of sinners.
17For the arms of sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord confirmeth just [or rightwise] men.
18The Lord knoweth the days of [the] unwemmed; and their heritage shall be without end.
19They shall not be shamed in the evil time, and they shall be [ful] filled in the days of hunger;
20for sinners shall perish. Forsooth anon as the enemies of the Lord be honoured, and enhanced; they failing shall fail as smoke.
21A sinner shall borrow, and shall not pay back; but a just [or rightwise] man hath mercy, and shall give.
22For they that bless the Lord shall inherit the land; but they that curse him shall perish.
23The goings of a man shall be dressed with the Lord; and he shall delight in his way.
24When he falleth, he shall not be hurtled or hurled down; for the Lord undersetteth his hand.
25I was younger, and soothly I waxed eld; and I saw not a just [or rightwise] man forsaken, neither his seed seeking bread.
26All day he hath mercy, and lendeth; and his seed shall be in blessing.
27Bow thou away from evil, and do good; and dwell thou into the world of world.
28For the Lord loveth doom, and shall not forsake his saints; they shall be kept without end. Unjust men shall be punished; and the seed of wicked men shall perish.
29But just [or rightwise] men shall inherit the land; and shall inhabit thereon into the world of world.
30The mouth of a just [or rightwise] man shall bethink wisdom; and his tongue shall speak doom.
31The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not be deceived.
32A sinner beholdeth a just [or right-wise] man; and seeketh to slay him.
33But the Lord shall not forsake him in his hands; neither he shall condemn him, when it shall be deemed against him.
34Abide thou the Lord, and keep thou his way, and he shall enhance thee, that by heritage thou take the land; when sinners shall perish, thou shalt see.
35I saw the wicked man enhanced above; and raised up as the cedars of Lebanon.
36And I passed by, and lo! he was not there; I sought him, and his place was not found.
37Keep thou innocence, and see equity; for those [or they] be relics or remnants to a peaceable man.
38Forsooth unjust men shall perish; the remnants or relics of wicked men shall perish altogether.
39But the health of just [or rightwise] men is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of tribulation.
40And the Lord shall help them, and shall make them free, and he shall deliver them from sinners; and he shall save them, for they hoped in him.
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Psalms 37: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Psalms 37
37
A Song of Wisdom
Poetic praise by King David # 37 Psalm 37 is an acrostic psalm, in which every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
1Don’t follow after the wicked ones or be jealous of their wealth.
Don’t think for a moment they’re better off than you.
2They and their short-lived success
will soon shrivel up and quickly fade away,
like grass clippings in the hot sun.
3Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes.
Fix your heart on the promises of God, and you will dwell in the land,
feasting on his faithfulness.
4Find your delight # 37:4 The word delight means “to be soft or tender.” and true pleasure in Yahweh,
and he will give you what you desire the most.
5Give # 37:5 The Hebrew word used here can be translated “commit,” which means “to roll over your burdens on the Lord.” God the right to direct your life,
and as you trust him along the way,
you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!
6He will appear # 37:6 The Hebrew verb found here is also used for giving birth. Perhaps this is a reference to the birth of Christ, our righteousness. as your righteousness,
as sure as the dawning of a new day.
He will manifest as your justice,
as sure and strong as the noonday sun.
7Quiet your heart in his presence
and wait # 37:7 The root word of the word for “wait” can mean “to whirl” or “to be in labor [give birth].” What an unusual concept for waiting on God. We may feel like we’re being whirled around by our circumstances, but in the end, our season of waiting gives birth to greater things. patiently for Yahweh.
And don’t think for a moment that the wicked, in their prosperity,
are better off than you.
8Stay away from anger and revenge.
Keep envy far from you, for it only leads you into lies.
9For one day the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord
will inherit the land.
10Just a little while longer and the ungodly will vanish;
you will look for them in vain.
11But the humble of heart will inherit every promise # 37:11 See Matt. 5:5.
and enjoy abundant peace.
12Let the wicked keep plotting against the godly
with all their sneers and arrogant jeers.
13God laughs at the wicked and their plans,
for he knows their day is coming!
14Evil ones take aim at the poor and helpless;
they are ready to slaughter those who do right.
15But the Lord will turn all their weapons of wickedness back on themselves,
piercing their pride-filled hearts until they are helpless.
16It is much better to have little
combined with much of God
than to have the fabulous wealth of the wicked and nothing else.
17For the Lord takes care of all his forgiven ones
while the strength of evil men will surely slip away.
18Day by day the Lord watches the good deeds of the godly,
and he prepares for them his forever-reward.
19Even in a time of disaster he will watch over them,
and they will always have more than enough
no matter what happens.
20All the enemies of God will perish.
For the wicked have only a momentary value, a fading glory.
Then one day they vanish! Here today, gone tomorrow.
21They break their promises, borrowing money
but never paying it back.
The good man returns what he owes with some extra besides.
22Yahweh’s blessed ones receive the land,
but the cursed ones will be cut off
with nothing to show for themselves.
23When Yahweh delights in how you live your life,
he establishes your every step.
24If they stumble badly they will still survive,
for the Lord lifts them up with his hands.
25I was once inexperienced, # 37:25 Or “immature.” The Hebrew word na’ar has a homonym that means “to be driven out,” which may be a reference to David being driven out of Jerusalem by Absalom. but now I’m old.
Not once have I found a lover of God forsaken by him,
nor have any of their children gone hungry.
26Instead, I’ve found the godly ones
to be the generous ones who give freely to others.
Their children are blessed and become a blessing.
27If you truly want to dwell forever in God’s presence,
forsake evil and do what is right in his eyes.
28The Lord loves it when he sees us walking in his justice.
He will never desert his devoted lovers;
they will be kept forever in his faithful care,
but the descendants of the wicked will be banished.
29The faithful lovers of God will inherit the earth
and enjoy every promise of God’s care,
dwelling in peace forever.
30God-lovers make the best counselors.
Their words possess wisdom and are right and trustworthy.
31The ways of God are in their hearts
and they won’t swerve from the paths of steadfast righteousness.
32Evil ones spy on the godly ones, stalking them
to find something they could use to accuse them.
They’re out for the kill!
33But God will foil all their plots.
The godly will not stand condemned when brought to trial.
34So don’t be impatient for Yahweh to act;
keep moving forward steadily in his ways,
and he will exalt you to possess the land.
You’ll watch with your own eyes
and see the wicked lose everything.
35I’ve already seen this happen.
Once I saw a wicked and violent man
overpower all who were around him,
a domineering tyrant with his prideful and oppressive ways.
36Then he died and was forgotten.
Now no one cares that he is gone forever.
37But you can tell who are the blameless and spiritually mature.
What a different story with them!
The godly ones will have a peaceful, prosperous future
with a happy ending.
38Every evil sinner will be destroyed, obliterated.
They’ll be utter failures with no future!
39But the Lord will be the Savior of all who love him.
Even in their time of trouble, God will live in them as strength.
40Because of their faith in him, their daily portion will be
a Father’s help and deliverance from evil.
This is true for all who turn to hide themselves in him!
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