Psalms 37-41

Psalm 37

¹A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of them that work unrighteousness;

²for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and fade as the green herb.

³Confide in Jehovah, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on faithfulness;

⁴and delight thyself in Jehovah, and he will give thee the desires of thy heart.

⁵Commit thy way unto Jehovah, and rely upon him: he will bring it to pass;

⁶and he will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

⁷Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him that prospereth in his way, because of the man that bringeth mischievous devices to pass.

⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself: it would be only to do evil.

⁹For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait on Jehovah, they shall possess the land.

¹⁰For yet a little while, and the wicked is not; and thou considerest his place, but he is not.

¹¹But the meek shall possess the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of prosperity.

¹²The wicked plotteth against the righteous, and gnasheth his teeth against him.

¹³The Lord laugheth at him; for he seeth that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the afflicted and needy, to slay those that are upright in the way:

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

¹⁶The little that the righteous hath is better than the abundance of many wicked;

¹⁷for the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Jehovah upholdeth the righteous.

¹⁸Jehovah knoweth the days of the perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever:

¹⁹they shall not be ashamed in the time of evil, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of Jehovah shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume, like smoke shall they consume away.

²¹The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; but the righteous is gracious and giveth:

²²for those blessed of him shall possess the land, and they that are cursed of him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are established by Jehovah, and he delighteth in his way:

²⁴though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for Jehovah upholdeth his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread:

²⁶all the day he is gracious and lendeth, and his seed shall be a blessing.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore;

²⁸for Jehovah loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: They are preserved for ever; but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell therein for ever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous proffereth wisdom, and his tongue speaketh judgment;

³¹the law of his God is in his heart; his goings shall not slide.

³²The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him:

³³Jehovah will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴Wait for Jehovah, and keep his way, and he will exalt thee to possess the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading like a green tree in its native soil:

³⁶but he passed away, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, but he was not found.

³⁷Mark the perfect, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace;

³⁸but the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is of Jehovah: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰And Jehovah will help them and deliver them: he will deliver them from the wicked, and save them; for they trust in him.

Psalm 38

¹A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

²For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand cometh down upon me.

³There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation; no peace in my bones, because of my sin.

⁴For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds stink, they are corrupt, because of my foolishness.

⁶I am depressed; I am bowed down beyond measure; I go mourning all the day.

⁷For my loins are full of burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am faint and broken beyond measure; I roar by reason of the agitation of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee.

¹⁰My heart throbbeth, my strength hath left me; and the light of mine eyes, it also is no more with me.

¹¹My lovers and mine associates stand aloof from my stroke; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

¹²And they that seek after my life lay snares for me; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all the day long.

¹³But I, as a deaf man, hear not; and am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

¹⁴Yea, I am as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.

¹⁵For in thee, Jehovah, do I hope: *thou* wilt answer, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, Let them not rejoice over me! When my foot slipped, they magnified themselves against me.

¹⁷For I am ready to halt, and my pain is continually before me.

¹⁸For I will declare mine iniquity, I am grieved for my sin.

¹⁹But mine enemies are lively, they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied:

²⁰And they that render evil for good are adversaries unto me; because I pursue what is good.

²¹Forsake me not, Jehovah; O my God, be not far from me.

²²Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

Psalm 39

¹To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked is before me.

²I was dumb with silence, I held my peace from good; and my sorrow was stirred.

³My heart burned within me; the fire was kindled in my musing: I spoke with my tongue,

⁴Make me to know, Jehovah, mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: I shall know how frail I am.

⁵Behold, thou hast made my days as hand-breadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before thee; verily, every man, even the high placed, is altogether vanity. Selah.

⁶Verily, man walketh in a vain show; verily they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

⁷And now, what wait I for, Lord? my hope is in thee.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish.

⁹I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; for *thou* hast done it.

¹⁰Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thy hand.

¹¹When thou with rebukes dost correct a man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely, every man is vanity. Selah.

¹²Hear my prayer, Jehovah, and give ear unto my cry; be not silent at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, a sojourner, like all my fathers.

¹³Look away from me, and let me recover strength, before I go hence and be no more.

Psalm 40

¹To the chief Musician. Of David. A Psalm. I waited patiently for Jehovah; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

²And he brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock; he hath established my goings:

³And he hath put a new song in my mouth, praise unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall confide in Jehovah.

⁴Blessed is the man that hath made Jehovah his confidence, and turneth not to the proud, and to such as turn aside to lies.

⁵Thou, O Jehovah my God, hast multiplied thy marvellous works, and thy thoughts toward us: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee; would I declare and speak them, they are more than can be numbered.

⁶Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire: ears hast thou prepared me. Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not demanded;

⁷Then said I, Behold, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me --

⁸To do thy good pleasure, my God, is my delight, and thy law is within my heart.

⁹I have published righteousness in the great congregation: behold, I have not withheld my lips, Jehovah, *thou* knowest.

¹⁰I have not hidden thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

¹¹Withhold not thou, Jehovah, thy tender mercies from me; let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

¹²For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head: and my heart hath failed me.

¹³Be pleased, O Jehovah, to deliver me; Jehovah, make haste to my help.

¹⁴Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be turned backward and confounded that take pleasure in mine adversity;

¹⁵Let them be desolate, because of their shame, that say unto me, Aha! Aha!

¹⁶Let all those that seek thee be glad and rejoice in thee; let such as love thy salvation say continually, Jehovah be magnified!

¹⁷But I am afflicted and needy: the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer: my God, make no delay.

Psalm 41

¹To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that understandeth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil.

²Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive; he shall be made happy in the land; and thou wilt not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

³Jehovah will sustain him upon the bed of languishing: thou turnest all his bed in his sickness.

⁴As for me, I said, Jehovah, be gracious unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

⁵Mine enemies wish me evil: When will he die, and his name perish?

⁶And if one come to see me, he speaketh falsehood; his heart gathereth wickedness to itself: he goeth abroad, he telleth it.

⁷All that hate me whisper together against me; against me do they devise my hurt.

⁸A thing of Belial cleaveth fast unto him; and now that he is laid down, he will rise up no more.

⁹Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I confided, who did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But thou, Jehovah, be gracious unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.

¹¹By this I know that thou delightest in me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.

¹²But as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

¹³Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity! Amen, and Amen.