Psalms 37:3-20

3Trust the Lord, and do good things. Live in the land, and practice being faithful.

4Be happy with the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5Entrust your ways to the Lord. Trust him, and he will act ⌞on your behalf⌟.

6He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the noonday sun.

7Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Do not be preoccupied with ⌞an evildoer⌟ who succeeds in his way when he carries out his schemes.

8Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. Do not be preoccupied. It only leads to evil.

9Evildoers will be cut off ⌞from their inheritance⌟, but those who wait with hope for the Lord will inherit the land.

10In a little while a wicked person will vanish. Then you can carefully examine where he was, but there will be no trace of him.

11Oppressed people will inherit the land and will enjoy unlimited peace.

12The wicked person plots against a righteous one and grits his teeth at him.

13The Lord laughs at him because he has seen that his time is coming.

14Wicked people pull out their swords and bend their bows to kill oppressed and needy people, to slaughter those who are decent.

15⌞But⌟ their own swords will pierce their hearts, and their bows will be broken.

16The little that the righteous person has is better than the wealth of many wicked people.

17The arms of wicked people will be broken, but the Lord continues to support righteous people.

18The Lord knows the daily ⌞struggles⌟ of innocent people. Their inheritance will last forever.

19They will not be put to shame in trying times. Even in times of famine they will be satisfied.

20But wicked people will disappear. The Lord’s enemies will vanish like the best part of a meadow. They will vanish like smoke.