Psalms 26:5

26:5 I hate the mob ¹  of evil men,

and do not associate ²  with the wicked.

Psalms 37:1

Psalm 37 ³ 

By David.

37:1 Do not fret ⁴  when wicked men seem to succeed! ⁵ 

Do not envy evildoers!

Psalms 37:8-9

37:8 Do not be angry and frustrated! ⁶ 

Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!

37:9 Wicked men ⁷  will be wiped out, ⁸ 

but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. ⁹ 

Psalms 64:2

64:2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,

from the crowd of evildoers. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 74:3

74:3 Hurry and look ¹¹  at the permanent ruins,

and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ¹² 

[26:5]  ¹ tn Heb “assembly, company.”

[26:5]  ² tn Heb “sit.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[37:1]  ³ sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[37:1]  ⁴ tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.

[37:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.

[37:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “Refrain from anger! Abandon rage!”

[37:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “for evil men.” The conjunction כִּי (ki, “for”) relates to the exhortations in v. 8; there is no reason to be frustrated, for the evildoers will be punished in due time.

[37:9]  ⁸ tn Or “cut off, removed.”

[37:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and those who wait on the Lord, they will possess the land.”

[64:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”

[74:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”

[74:3]  ¹² tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”