Psalm 37 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Don’t get upset at evil people.\par Don’t be jealous of people\par who do bad things.\par

² Evil people are like grass and green plants\par that quickly turn brown and die.\par

³ If you trust the Lord and do good things,\par you will live and enjoy the many things\par that the land gives.\par

⁴ Enjoy serving the Lord,\par and he will give you what you want.\par

⁵ Depend on the Lord.\par Trust him, and he will do\par what must be done.\par

⁶ Let your goodness and fairness\par shine like the sun at noon.\par

⁷ Trust the Lord and wait for his help.\par Don’t be upset\par when bad people succeed.\par Don’t be upset\par when bad people make evil plans\par and their plans succeed.\par

⁸ Don’t be angry! Don’t get mad!\par Don’t become so upset\par that you also want to do bad things.\par

⁹ Why? Because evil people will be destroyed.\par But people that call to the Lord for help\par will get the land \{God promised\}.\par

¹⁰ In a short time there will be no more\par evil people.\par You might look for those people,\par but they will all be gone!\par

¹¹ Humble people\par will get the land \{God promised\}.\par And they will enjoy peace.\par

¹² Evil people plan bad things\par against good people.\par Those evil people show they are angry\par by grinding their teeth at good people.\par

¹³ But our Master laughs\par at those evil people.\par He sees what will happen to them.\par

¹⁴ Bad people get their swords\par and aim their bows.\par They want to kill poor, helpless people.\par They want to kill good, honest people.\par

¹⁵ But their bows will break.\par Their swords will go into their own hearts.\par

¹⁶ A few good people are better\par than a large crowd of evil people.\par

¹⁷ Why? Because evil people will be destroyed.\par But the Lord cares for good people.\par

¹⁸ The Lord protects pure people\par all their life.\par Their reward will continue forever.\par

¹⁹ When trouble comes,\par good people will not be destroyed.\par When times of hunger come,\par good people will have plenty to eat.\par

²⁰ But evil people are the Lord’s enemies,\par and those evil people will be destroyed.\par Their valleys will become dry and burn.\par They will be completely destroyed.\par

²¹ An evil man quickly borrows money\par and never pays it back.\par But a good man gives freely to other people.\par

²² If a good person blesses people,\par then they will get the land \{God promised\}.\par But if he asks for bad things to happen,\par then those people will be destroyed.\par

²³ The Lord helps a soldier walk carefully.\par The Lord keeps the soldier from falling.\par

²⁴ If the soldier runs and attacks his enemy,\par then the Lord holds the soldier’s hand,\par and keeps him from falling.\par

²⁵ I was young, and now I am old.\par And I have never seen God abandon good people.\par I have never seen good people’s children begging for food.\par

²⁶ A good man gives freely to other people.\par And a good man’s children are a blessing.\par

²⁷ If you refuse to do bad things,\par and if you do good things,\par then you will live forever.\par

²⁸ The Lord loves fairness.\par He will not leave his followers\par without help.\par The Lord will always protect his followers,\par but he will destroy wicked people.\par

²⁹ Good people will get the land \{God promised\}.\par They will live on it forever.\par

³⁰ A good person gives good advice.\par His decisions are fair to every person.\par

³¹ He has learned the Lord’s teachings.\par And he will never stop living right. {\cf2\super [226]} \par

³² But bad people are always looking\par for ways to kill good people.\par

³³ The Lord will not abandon good people\par when they are trapped by bad people.\par God will not let good people\par be judged guilty.\par

³⁴ Do what the Lord says\par and wait for his help.\par The Lord will make you the winner,\par and you will get the land \{God promised\},\par when he forces the bad people to leave.\par

³⁵ I saw a wicked person that was powerful.\par He was like a strong, healthy tree.\par

³⁶ But then he was gone.\par I looked for him,\par but I couldn’t find him.\par

³⁷ Be pure and honest.\par Peace loving people\par will have many descendants.\par

³⁸ But people who break the law\par will be completely destroyed.\par And their descendants\par will be forced to leave the land. {\cf2\super [227]} \par

³⁹ The Lord saves good people.\par When good people have troubles,\par the Lord is their strength.\par

⁴⁰ The Lord helps good people\par and saves them.\par Good people depend on the Lord,\par and he saves them from bad people.\par