Psalms 37:1-24

1 ¹Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not ²envious of wrongdoers!

2 For they will soon ³fade like ⁴the grass and wither ⁵like the green herb.

3 ⁶Trust in the LORD, and do good; ⁷dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.^[a]

4 ⁸Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will ⁹give you the desires of your heart.

5 ¹⁰Commit your way to the LORD; ¹¹trust in him, and he will act.

6 ¹²He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as ¹³the noonday.

7 ¹⁴Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; ¹⁵fret not yourself over the one who ¹⁶prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 ¹⁷Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! ¹⁸Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9 ¹⁹For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall ²⁰inherit the land.

10 In ²¹just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at ²²his place, he will not be there.

11 But ²³the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in ²⁴abundant peace.

12 The wicked ²⁵plots against the righteous and ²⁶gnashes his teeth at him,

13 but the Lord ²⁷laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his ²⁸day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword and ²⁹bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ³⁰way is upright;

15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their ³¹bows shall be broken.

16 ³²Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

17 For ³³the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD ³⁴upholds the righteous.

18 The LORD ³⁵ knows the days of the blameless, and their ³⁶heritage will remain forever;

19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in ³⁷the days of famine they have abundance.

20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like ³⁸the glory of the pastures; they vanish--like ³⁹smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous ⁴⁰is generous and gives;

22 for those blessed by the LORD ^[b] shall ⁴¹inherit the land, but those cursed by him ⁴²shall be cut off.

23 The ⁴³steps of a man are ⁴⁴established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

24 ⁴⁵though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD ⁴⁶upholds his hand.

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Psalms 37:1-24 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 37

\\<<[A Psalm] of David>>\\. This psalm, it is very probable, was written at the same time, and upon the same occasion, with the former; and describes the different states of good and bad men; and is full of exhortations, instructions, and advice to the people of God; intermixed with various encouraging promises. A late learned writer {h} thinks it was written for Mephibosheth's consolation under Ziba's calumny. {h} Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 219.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 46

1. ver. 7, 8; Proverbs 24:19
2. Psalms 73:3; Proverbs 3:31; Proverbs 23:17; Proverbs 24:1, 19
3. Job 14:2; See Job 27:13-23
4. Psalms 90:5, 6
5. Psalms 129:6
6. Psalms 62:8; Psalms 115:9-11; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 26:4
7. Leviticus 26:5; Proverbs 2:21
8. Job 22:26; Isaiah 58:14; [Philippians 3:1; Philippians 4:4]
9. Matthew 6:33
10. Psalms 22:8; Psalms 55:22; Proverbs 16:3; 1 Peter 5:7
11. [See ver. 3 above]
12. Isaiah 58:8, 10; Micah 7:9
13. Job 11:17
14. [Psalms 62:1; Isaiah 30:15; Lamentations 3:26]
15. ver. 1
16. Jeremiah 12:1
17. [Ephesians 4:26]
18. [See ver. 7 above]
19. ver. 2, 22
20. Psalms 25:13; Proverbs 2:21; Isaiah 57:13; Isaiah 60:21
21. Job 24:24
22. Job 7:10
23. Cited Matthew 5:5
24. Psalms 119:165; [Isaiah 32:17]
25. Psalms 31:13
26. See Psalms 35:16
27. See Psalms 2:4
28. See Job 18:20
29. Psalms 7:12
30. See Psalms 7:10
31. See 1 Samuel 2:4
32. Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 16:8; [1 Timothy 6:6]
33. Psalms 10:15; Job 38:15; Ezekiel 30:21, 22
34. ver. 24
35. See Psalms 1:6
36. ver. 9
37. Psalms 33:19; Job 5:20
38. [Matthew 6:30; James 1:11]
39. Psalms 68:2; Psalms 102:3; Hosea 13:3
40. ver. 26
41. See ver. 9
42. ver. 2
43. Psalms 25:12; 1 Samuel 2:9
44. Psalms 40:2; Psalms 119:5
45. Proverbs 24:16; Micah 7:8; 2 Corinthians 4:9
46. ver. 17

Footnotes 2

[a]. Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture
[b]. Hebrew by him

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.