Psalms 37:1

Psalm 37 ¹ 

By David.

37:1 Do not fret ²  when wicked men seem to succeed! ³ 

Do not envy evildoers!

Psalms 82:2

82:2 He says, ⁴  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 107:42

107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,

and every sinner ⁶  shuts his mouth.

[37:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.

[82:2]  ⁴ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).

[82:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[107:42]  ⁷ tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.