Psalms 36
1 A Psalm of
David.
Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be envious of them that do
iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be
withered as the grass, and shall soon fall away as the green herbs.
3 Hope in the Lord, and do good; and
dwell on the land, and thou shalt be fed with the wealth of it.
4 Delight
thyself in the Lord; and he shall grant thee the
requests of thine heart. 5 Disclose
thy way to the Lord, and hope in him; and he shall bring
it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy
righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day.
7 Submit thyself to the Lord, and
supplicate him: fret not thyself because of him that prospers in his way, at
the man that does unlawful deeds.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:
fret not thyself so as to do evil.
9 For evil-doers shall be destroyed:
but they that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land.
10 And yet a little while, and the
sinner shall not be, and thou shalt seek for his place, and shalt not find
it. 11 But
the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight
themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The sinner will watch for the
righteous, and gnash his teeth upon him.
13 But the Lord shall laugh at him:
for he foresees that his day will come.
14 Sinners have drawn their swords,
they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy one,
and to slay the upright in heart.
15 Let their sword enter into their
own heart, and their bows be broken.
16 A little is better to the
righteous than abundant wealth of sinners.
17 For the arms of sinners shall be
broken; but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the ways of the
perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in an
evil time; and in days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 For the sinners shall perish; and
the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honoured and exalted have
utterly vanished like smoke. 21 The
sinner borrows, and will not pay again: but the righteous has compassion, and
gives. 22 For they that bless him
shall inherit the earth; and they that curse him shall be utterly destroyed.
23 The steps of a man are rightly
ordered by the Lord: and he will take pleasure in his way.
24 When he falls, he shall not be
ruined: for the Lord supports his hand.
25 I was
once young, indeed I am now old; yet I have not seen
the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.
26 He is merciful, and lends
continually; and his seed shall be
aGr. for a blessing.blessed.
27 Turn aside from evil, and do good;
and dwell for ever. 28 For the Lord
loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints; they shall be preserved for
ever: the blameless shall be
bOr, cleared in judgement.avenged, but the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.
29 But the righteous shall inherit
the earth, and dwell upon it for ever.
30 The mouth of the righteous will
meditate wisdom, and his tongue will speak of judgment.
31 The law of his God is in his
heart; and his steps shall not
cGr. be tripped up, or supplanted.slide. 32 The sinner watches the
righteous, and seeks to slay him.
33 But the Lord will not leave him in
his hands, nor by any means condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his
way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are
destroyed, thou shalt see it.
35 I saw the ungodly very highly
exalting himself, and lifting himself up like the cedars of Libanus.
36 Yet I passed by, and lo! he was
not: and I sought him, but his place was not found.
37 Maintain innocence, and behold
uprightness: for there is a remnant to the peaceable man.
38 But the transgressors shall be
utterly destroyed together: the remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly
destroyed. 39 But the salvation of
the righteous is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of
affliction. 40 And the Lord shall
help them, and deliver them: and he shall rescue them from sinners, and save
them, because they have hoped in him.