1 A psalm of David. Don't be upset over wicked people, or be jealous of those who do wrong. 2 For like grass, they will quickly dry up; like plants, they will soon wither away. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good. Live in the land and feed on faithfulness. 4 Find your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you what you want the most. 5 Entrust all that you do to the Lord. Place your confidence in him and he will help you. 6 He will make your vindication shine like a light, the rightness of your cause like the noonday sun. 7 Be still in God's presence; wait patiently for him. Don't be upset over people who prosper when they carry out their evil schemes. 8 Give up your anger! Let go of your rage! Don't get mad—it only results in evil! 9 For the wicked will be destroyed, and those who trust in the Lord will take possession of the land. 10 In a little while the wicked will be no more—though you look for them you won't find them. 11 The humble will own the land; they will live there happily, in peace and prosperity. 12 The wicked plot evil against those who do good, gnashing their teeth at them. 13 But the Lord laughs at them, for he sees their coming day of judgment. 14 The wicked draw their swords, and bend their bows to destroy the poor and needy, to kill those who live right. 15 But the swords of the wicked will slice through their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. 16 It's better to do right and only have a little, than to be wicked and rich. 17 For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports those who do right. 18 The Lord knows what is happening to the innocent and grants them an eternal inheritance. 19 They will not be humiliated in bad times; even in days of famine they will have plenty to eat. 20 But the wicked will die. The enemies of the Lord are like the flowers of the field—they will vanish like smoke. 21 The wicked borrow, but don't repay; while those who do right give generously. 22 Those who are blessed by God will own the land, but those he curses will die. 23 The Lord shows the right path to those who follow him, and is happy with the way they live. 24 Though they may trip up, they will not fall to the ground, for the Lord holds their hand. 25 Once I was young, and now I've grown old, yet I've never seen those who do right abandoned, nor their children having to beg for bread. 26 They are always kind, and generous with their loans; their children are a blessing. 27 Reject evil, do what is good, and you will live forever in the land. 28 For the Lord loves fairness and he will never abandon those who are trustworthy. He will protect them forever. But the children of the wicked will die. 29 Those who do right will own the land and will live there forever. 30 People who do right give good advice, explaining what is fair. 31 God's law lives in their minds, so they will not slip from his way. 32 The wicked lie in wait for those who do good, intending to kill them. 33 But the Lord will not let them fall into the hands of the wicked, and he will not let those who do good be condemned when they are put on trial. 34 Trust in the Lord, and stay on his path. He will lift you up and give you the land to own. You will see when the wicked are destroyed. 35 I have watched the wicked acting brutally, spreading like a large tree in its native land. 36 But when I passed that way the next time, they were gone. I searched for them but couldn't find them. 37 Observe the innocent, look at those who do right! Those who love peace have a future! 38 But those who are rebellious will be altogether destroyed; the wicked have no future. 39 The Lord saves those who live right; he is their protection in times of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and rescues them from the wicked. He saves them because they go to him for protection.
Psalm 37 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.
Cross references (40)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Psalm 37:7; Proverbs 23:17; Proverbs 24:19; Proverbs 3:31; Proverbs 24:1
- 2 Psalm 92:7; Psalm 90:5–6; James 1:10–11; Psalm 37:35–36; Job 14:2
- 3 Jeremiah 17:7–8; Matthew 6:31–33; Psalm 62:8; 1 Corinthians 15:57–58; Psalm 34:9–10
- 4 John 15:7; Psalm 145:19; John 15:16; Isaiah 58:14; 1 John 5:14–15
- 5 Proverbs 16:3; 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6–7; Matthew 6:25; Psalm 55:22
- 6 Isaiah 54:17; Job 11:17; Isaiah 58:8; Micah 7:8–9; Matthew 13:43
- 7 James 5:7–11; Psalm 27:14; Psalm 62:5; Hebrews 10:36–37; Lamentations 3:25–26
- 8 Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 16:32; James 1:19–20; Ephesians 4:31; Ephesians 4:26
- 9 Isaiah 60:21; Psalm 25:13; Proverbs 2:21; Psalm 37:29; Isaiah 57:13
- 10 Job 24:24; 1 Peter 4:7; Psalm 37:35–36; Psalm 107:42–43; Psalm 103:16
- 11 Matthew 5:5; Galatians 5:22–23; Isaiah 26:3; James 3:13; Psalm 119:165
- 12 Psalm 35:16; Micah 2:1; Daniel 8:12; Psalm 31:13; Matthew 26:16
- 13 Psalm 2:4; Proverbs 1:26; Daniel 5:26; 1 Samuel 26:10; Ezekiel 21:25
- 14 Proverbs 29:27; Psalm 11:2; 1 John 3:12; Proverbs 29:10; Psalm 64:2–6
- 15 Psalm 7:14–15; Psalm 35:8; Hosea 2:18; 1 Samuel 31:4; Jeremiah 51:56
- 16 Proverbs 16:8; Proverbs 15:16–17; 1 Timothy 6:6; Proverbs 13:25; Proverbs 3:33
- 17 Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 63:8; Psalm 145:14; Isaiah 42:1; Psalm 37:24
- 18 Psalm 1:6; Psalm 103:17; Romans 6:23; 2 Timothy 2:19; Revelation 11:3–5
- 19 Psalm 33:19; Proverbs 10:3; Job 5:20–22; Isaiah 33:16; Amos 5:13
- 20 Psalm 68:2; Psalm 102:3; Luke 13:3; Deuteronomy 33:14–16; Judges 5:31
- 21 Hebrews 13:16; Psalm 112:5; Proverbs 22:7; Psalm 112:9; Luke 6:30
- 22 Proverbs 3:33; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Psalm 37:9; Psalm 37:28; Psalm 37:11
- 23 Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 119:133; Proverbs 4:26; 1 Samuel 2:9; Psalm 40:2
- 24 Proverbs 24:16; Psalm 145:14; Psalm 94:18; Micah 7:7–8; John 10:27–30
- 25 Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 37:28; Psalm 25:13; Psalm 112:2; 1 Samuel 12:22
- 26 Psalm 112:5; Psalm 37:21; Matthew 5:7; Jeremiah 32:39; Deuteronomy 15:8–10
- 27 Psalm 34:14; Proverbs 16:6; 1 John 2:16–17; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Hebrews 13:16
- 28 Proverbs 2:22; Psalm 11:7; Psalm 21:10; Isaiah 59:21; 1 Peter 1:5
- 29 Proverbs 2:21; Psalm 37:9; 2 Peter 3:13; Psalm 37:11; Psalm 37:18
- 30 Colossians 4:6; Proverbs 25:11–13; Proverbs 15:7; Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 12:35
- 31 Psalm 40:8; Deuteronomy 6:6; Isaiah 51:7; Psalm 119:11; Jeremiah 31:33
- 32 Jeremiah 20:10; Luke 14:1; Luke 20:20; Psalm 10:8–10; Luke 19:47–48
- 33 Psalm 109:31; 2 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:33–34; 2 Timothy 4:17
- 34 Psalm 27:14; Proverbs 20:22; Psalm 37:9; Matthew 24:13; Psalm 52:5–6
- 35 Job 5:3; Psalm 73:3–11; Job 21:7–17; Ezekiel 31:6–10; Isaiah 14:14–19
- 36 Psalm 37:10; Acts 12:22–23; Isaiah 10:16–19; Exodus 15:19; Isaiah 10:33–34
- 37 Isaiah 32:17; Isaiah 57:1–2; 2 Timothy 4:6–8; Acts 7:59–60; Job 42:12–17
- 38 Proverbs 14:32; Psalm 52:5; Matthew 13:49–50; 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9; Psalm 1:4–6
- 39 Psalm 9:9; Psalm 91:15; Isaiah 12:2; Psalm 3:8; 2 Timothy 4:17
- 40 Isaiah 31:5; Daniel 3:17; 1 Chronicles 5:20; Isaiah 46:4; Daniel 3:28
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
"The ungodly hath said in himself that he will sin: there is no fear of God before his eyes" (ver. 1). Not of one man, but of a race of ungodly men he speaketh, who fight against their own selves, by not understanding, that so they may live well; not because they cannot, but because they will not.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
It was Thou, O my God, who didst it, for the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord, and He shall dispose his way. Or how can we procure salvation but from Thy hand, remaking what it hath made?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
And besides, since in the Old Testament the prophet used to say continually, "The meek shall inherit the earth;" He thus weaves into His discourse the words to which they were accustomed, so as not everywhere to speak a strange language.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
"Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desire of thine heart." Do you love riches?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)
… saith, "Great peace have they who love Thy law, and nothing is an offence to them." To this sentiment also agrees the passage which we have chanted in course; "But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Because, "great peace have they who love Thy law." For these "meek" ones are they …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)