1 By David: Don't be upset by evildoers
or envious of those who do wrong,
2 for soon they will wither like grass
and fade like the green in the fields.
3 Trust in ADONAI, and do good; settle
in the land, and feed on faithfulness.
4 Then you will delight yourself in
ADONAI, and he will give you your heart's desire.
5 Commit your way to ADONAI; trust in
him, and he will act.
6 He will make your vindication shine
forth like light, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before ADONAI; wait
patiently till he comes. Don't be upset by those whose way succeeds because of
their wicked plans.
8 Stop being angry, put aside rage, and
don't be upset - it leads to evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off, but
those hoping in ADONAI will inherit the land.
10 Soon the wicked will be no more; you
will look for his place, and he won't be there.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
12 The wicked plots against the
righteous and grinds his teeth at him;
13 but Adonai laughs at the wicked,
knowing his day will come.
14 The wicked have unsheathed their
swords, they have strung their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to
slaughter those whose way is upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their
own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous
has than the wealth of all the wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be
broken, but ADONAI upholds the righteous.
18 ADONAI knows what the wholehearted
suffer, but their inheritance lasts forever.
19 They will not be distressed when
times are hard; when famine comes, they will have plenty.
20 For the wicked will perish; ADONAI's
enemies will be like sheep fat, ending up as smoke, finished.
21 The wicked borrows and doesn't
repay, but the righteous is generous and gives.
22 For those blessed by [ADONAI] will
inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be cut off.
23 ADONAI directs a person's steps, and
he delights in his way.
24 He may stumble, but he won't fall
headlong, for ADONAI holds him by the hand.
25 I have been young; now I am old; yet
not once have I seen the righteous abandoned or his descendants begging for
bread.
26 All day long he is generous and
lends, and his descendants are blessed.
27 If you turn from evil and do good,
you will live safely forever.
28 For ADONAI loves justice and will
not abandon his faithful; they are preserved forever. But the descendants of
the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and live in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous
articulates wisdom, his tongue speaks justice.
31 The Torah of his God is in his
heart; his footsteps do not falter.
32 The wicked keeps his eye on the
righteous, seeking a chance to kill him.
33 But ADONAI will not leave him in his
power or let him be condemned when judged.
34 Put your hope in ADONAI, keep to his
way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut
off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked man wielding
great power, flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.
36 But I passed by again, and he was no
longer there; I looked for him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the pure person, consider
the upright; for the peaceful person will have posterity.
38 But transgressors will all be
destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
39 ADONAI is the one who saves the
righteous; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 ADONAI helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and saves them; because they take refuge in him.
