37:1 By David.

Do not fret ²  when wicked men seem to succeed! ³ 

Do not envy evildoers!

37:2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,

and wither away like plants. ⁴ 

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! ⁵ 

37:4 Then you will take delight in the Lord, ⁶ 

and he will answer your prayers. ⁷ 

37:5 Commit your future to the Lord! ⁸ 

Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf. ⁹ 

37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,

and publicly defend your just cause. ¹⁰ 

37:7 Wait patiently for the Lord! ¹¹ 

Wait confidently ¹²  for him!

Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, ¹³ 

a man who carries out wicked schemes!

37:8 Do not be angry and frustrated! ¹⁴ 

Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!

37:9 Wicked men ¹⁵  will be wiped out, ¹⁶ 

but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. ¹⁷ 

37:10 Evil men will soon disappear; ¹⁸ 

you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone. ¹⁹ 

37:11 But the oppressed will possess the land

and enjoy great prosperity. ²⁰ 

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ²¹ 

and viciously attack them. ²² 

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ²³  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ²⁴ 

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ²⁵  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ²⁶ 

37:15 Their swords will pierce ²⁷  their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men, ²⁸ 

37:17 for evil men will lose their power, ²⁹ 

but the Lord sustains ³⁰  the godly.

37:18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day ³¹ 

and they possess a permanent inheritance. ³² 

37:19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come; ³³ 

when famine comes they will have enough to eat. ³⁴ 

37:20 But ³⁵  evil men will die;

the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated ³⁶  –

they will go up in smoke. ³⁷ 

37:21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,

but the godly show compassion and are generous. ³⁸ 

37:22 Surely ³⁹  those favored by the Lord ⁴⁰  will possess the land,

but those rejected ⁴¹  by him will be wiped out. ⁴² 

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ⁴³ 

37:24 Even if ⁴⁴  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ⁴⁵ 

for the Lord holds ⁴⁶  his hand.

37:25 I was once young, now I am old.

I have never seen a godly man abandoned,

or his children ⁴⁷  forced to search for food. ⁴⁸ 

37:26 All day long he shows compassion and lends to others, ⁴⁹ 

and his children ⁵⁰  are blessed.

37:27 Turn away from evil! Do what is right! ⁵¹ 

Then you will enjoy lasting security. ⁵² 

37:28 For the Lord promotes ⁵³  justice,

and never abandons ⁵⁴  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ⁵⁵ 

but the children ⁵⁶  of evil men are wiped out. ⁵⁷ 

37:29 The godly will possess the land

and will dwell in it permanently.

37:30 The godly speak wise words

and promote justice. ⁵⁸ 

37:31 The law of their God controls their thinking; ⁵⁹ 

their ⁶⁰  feet do not slip.

37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly

and try to kill them. ⁶¹ 

37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,

or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. ⁶² 

37:34 Rely ⁶³  on the Lord! Obey his commands! ⁶⁴ 

Then he will permit you ⁶⁵  to possess the land;

you will see the demise of evil men. ⁶⁶ 

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men ⁶⁷ 

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil. ⁶⁸ 

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! ⁶⁹ 

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

37:37 Take note of the one who has integrity! Observe the godly! ⁷⁰ 

For the one who promotes peace has a future. ⁷¹ 

37:38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed; ⁷² 

evil men have no future. ⁷³ 

37:39 But the Lord delivers the godly; ⁷⁴ 

he protects them in times of trouble. ⁷⁵ 

37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, ⁷⁶ 

for they seek his protection.

1:1 In the beginning ¹  God ²  created ³  the heavens and the earth. ⁴ 

1:2 Now ⁵  the earth ⁶  was without shape and empty, ⁷  and darkness ⁸  was over the surface of the watery deep, ⁹  but the Spirit of God ¹⁰  was moving ¹¹  over the surface ¹²  of the water. ¹³  1:3 God said, ¹⁴  “Let there be ¹⁵  light.” ¹⁶  And there was light! 1:4 God saw ¹⁷  that the light was good, ¹⁸  so God separated ¹⁹  the light from the darkness. 1:5 God called ²⁰  the light “day” and the darkness ²¹  “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. ²² 

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ²³  in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ²⁴  from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ²⁵  It was so. ²⁶  1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” ²⁷  There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place ²⁸  and let dry ground appear.” ²⁹  It was so. 1:10 God called the dry ground “land” ³⁰  and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ³¹  plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, ³²  and ³³  trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so. 1:12 The land produced vegetation – plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 1:13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

1:14 God said, “Let there be lights ³⁴  in the expanse ³⁵  of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs ³⁶  to indicate seasons and days and years, 1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 1:16 God made two great lights ³⁷  – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. ³⁸  1:17 God placed the lights ³⁹  in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 1:18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. ⁴⁰  God saw that it was good. 1:19 There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms ⁴¹  of living creatures and let birds fly ⁴²  above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 1:21 God created the great sea creatures ⁴³  and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 1:22 God blessed them ⁴⁴  and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ⁴⁵  1:23 There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

1:24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” ⁴⁶  It was so. 1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

1:26 Then God said, “Let us make ⁴⁷ 

humankind ⁴⁸  in our image, after our likeness, ⁴⁹  so they may rule ⁵⁰  over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, ⁵¹  and over all the creatures that move ⁵²  on the earth.”

1:27 God created humankind ⁵³  in his own image,

in the image of God he created them, ⁵⁴ 

male and female he created them. ⁵⁵ 

1:28 God blessed ⁵⁶  them and said ⁵⁷  to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! ⁵⁸  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” ⁵⁹  1:29 Then God said, “I now ⁶⁰  give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ⁶¹  1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give ⁶²  every green plant for food.” It was so.

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ⁶³  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.