The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked
A
Psalm
of David.
1 Donot fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut downlike the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in theLord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in theLord,
# And He shall give you the desires of yourheart.
5 Commit your way to theLord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bringitto pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in theLord,and wait patiently for Him;
# Do not fret because of him whoprospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
# Do not fret—itonlycausesharm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on theLord,
# They shallinherit the earth.
10 Foryet a little while and the wickedshallbenomore;
# Indeed,you will look carefully for his place,
But itshallbenomore.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,
# And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
# For He sees thathis day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
16 A little that a righteous man has
Isbetter than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But theLordupholds the righteous.
18 TheLordknows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of theLord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
# Butthe righteous shows mercy and gives.
22 Forthoseblessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
Butthosecursed by Him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of agoodman are ordered by theLord,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For theLordupholdshimwithHis hand.
25 I have been young, andnowam old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
26 Heisever merciful, and lends;
And his descendantsareblessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
28 For theLordloves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
31 The law of his Godisin his heart;
None of his steps shall slide.
32 The wickedwatches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
33 TheLordwill not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on theLord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall seeit.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and behold, hewasnomore;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blamelessman,and observe the upright;
For the future ofthatmanispeace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteousisfrom theLord;
# Heistheir strengthin the time of trouble.
40 AndtheLordshall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
# Because they trust in Him.