Psalm 37:1-18

Contemporary English Version

³ Trust the Lord and live right!
The land will be yours,
    and you will be safe.
⁴ Do what the Lord wants,
and he will give you
    your heart's desire.

⁵ Let the Lord lead you
    and trust him to help.
⁶ Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
    that you were right.

⁷ Be patient and trust the Lord.
    Don't let it bother you
when all goes well for those
    who do sinful things.
⁸ Don't be angry or furious.
    Anger can lead to sin.
⁹ All sinners will disappear,
but if you trust the Lord,
    the land will be yours.

¹⁰ Sinners will soon disappear,
    never to be found,
^11 (A) but the poor will take the land
    and enjoy a big harvest.

¹² Merciless people make plots
against good people
    and snarl like animals,
¹³ but the Lord laughs and knows
    their time is coming soon.
¹⁴ The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows to murder
    the poor and the needy
    and all who do right.
¹⁵ But they will be killed
    by their own swords,
and their arrows
    will be broken.

¹⁶ It is better to live right
and be poor
    than to be sinful and rich.
¹⁷ The wicked will lose all
    of their power,
but the Lord gives strength
    to everyone who is good.

¹⁸ Those who obey the Lord
    are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
    will be theirs forever.