The Destiny of the Wicked and of the Good

Psalm 37

Good News Translation (GNT)

37 Don't be worried on account of the wicked;
    don't be jealous of those who do wrong.
² They will soon disappear like grass that dries up;
    they will die like plants that wither.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    live in the land and be safe.
⁴ Seek your happiness in the Lord,
    and he will give you your heart's desire.

⁵ Give yourself to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will help you;
⁶ he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be patient and wait for the Lord to act;
    don't be worried about those who prosper
    or those who succeed in their evil plans.

⁸ Don't give in to worry or anger;
    it only leads to trouble.
⁹ Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land,
    but the wicked will be driven out.

¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear;
    you may look for them, but you won't find them;
¹¹ but the humble will possess the land
    and enjoy prosperity and peace.

¹² The wicked plot against good people
    and glare at them with hate.
¹³ But the Lord laughs at wicked people,
    because he knows they will soon be destroyed.

¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows
    to kill the poor and needy,
    to slaughter those who do what is right;
¹⁵ but they will be killed by their own swords,
    and their bows will be smashed.

¹⁶ The little that a good person owns
    is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked,
¹⁷ because the Lord will take away the strength of the wicked,
    but protect those who are good.

¹⁸ The Lord takes care of those who obey him,
    and the land will be theirs forever.
¹⁹ They will not suffer when times are bad;
    they will have enough in time of famine.
²⁰ But the wicked will die;
    the enemies of the Lord will vanish like wild flowers;
    they will disappear like smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and never pay back,
    but good people are generous with their gifts.
²² Those who are blessed by the Lord will possess the land,
    but those who are cursed by him will be driven out.

²³ The Lord guides us in the way we should go
    and protects those who please him.
²⁴ If they fall, they will not stay down,
    because the Lord will help them up.

²⁵ I am old now; I have lived a long time,
    but I have never seen good people abandoned by the Lord
    or their children begging for food.
²⁶ At all times they give freely and lend to others,
    and their children are a blessing.

²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good,
    and your descendants will always live in the land;
²⁸ for the Lord loves what is right
    and does not abandon his faithful people.
He protects them forever,
    but the descendants of the wicked will be driven out.
²⁹ The righteous will possess the land
    and live in it forever.

³⁰ The words of good people are wise,
    and they are always fair.
³¹ They keep the law of their God in their hearts
    and never depart from it.

³² Wicked people watch good people
    and try to kill them;
³³ but the Lord will not abandon them to their enemy's power
    or let them be condemned when they are on trial.

³⁴ Put your hope in the Lord and obey his commands;
    he will honor you by giving you the land,
    and you will see the wicked driven out.

³⁵ I once knew someone wicked who was a tyrant;
    he towered over everyone like a cedar of Lebanon;
³⁶ but later I passed by, and he wasn't there;
    I looked for him, but couldn't find him.

³⁷ Notice good people, observe the righteous;
    peaceful people have descendants,
³⁸ but sinners are completely destroyed,
    and their descendants are wiped out.

³⁹ The Lord saves the righteous
    and protects them in times of trouble.
⁴⁰ He helps them and rescues them;
    he saves them from the wicked,
    because they go to him for protection.