The Book of Psalms

⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑

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- Chapter 37 -

Rejoice in the Lord

(1 Kings 2:1-9)

A Psalm of David himself. Do not choose to imitate the malicious; neither should you envy those who work iniquity.

For they will quickly wither away like dry grass, and in like manner to kitchen herbs, they will soon droop.(a)

Hope in the Lord and do good, and dwell in the land, and so you shall be pastured with its riches.

Delight in the Lord, and he will grant to you the petitions of your heart.

Reveal your way to the Lord, and hope in him, and he will accomplish it.

And he will bring forth your justice like the light, and your judgment like the midday.

Be subject to the Lord and pray to him. Do not choose to compete with him who prospers in his way, with the man who does injustice.

Cease from wrath and leave behind rage. Do not choose to imitate the malicious.

For those who are malicious will be exterminated. But those who remain with the Lord, these will inherit the land.

Yet still a little while, and the sinner will not be. And you will search his place and find nothing.

But the meek shall inherit the earth, and they will delight in the multitude of peace.

The sinner will observe the just, and he will gnash his teeth over him.

But the Lord will laugh at him: for he knows in advance that his day will come.

The sinners have drawn the sword, they have bent their bow, so as to cast down the poor and the needy, so as to massacre the upright of heart.

Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken.

A little is better to the just than the many riches of sinners.

For the arms of sinners will be crushed, but the Lord confirms the just.

The Lord knows the days of the immaculate, and their inheritance will be in eternity.

They will not be confounded in an evil time; and in days of famine, they will be satisfied:

for sinners will perish. Truly, the adversaries of the Lord, soon after they have been honored and exalted, will fade away, in the same way that smoke fades away.

The sinner will lend and not release, but the just one shows compassion and donates.(b)

For those who bless him will inherit the earth, but those who curse him will perish.

The steps of a man will be directed by the Lord, and he will choose his way.

When he falls, he will not be harmed, because the Lord places his hand under him.

I have been young, and now I am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his offspring seeking bread.

He shows compassion and lends, all day long,(c) and his offspring will be in blessing.

Turn away from evil and do good, and dwell forever and ever.

For the Lord loves judgment, and he will not abandon his saints. They will be kept safe in eternity. The unjust will be punished, and the offspring of the impious will perish.(d)

But the just will inherit the earth, and they will dwell upon it forever and ever.

The mouth of the just one will express wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment.

The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted.

The sinner considers the just one and seeks to put him to death.

But the Lord will not abandon him into his hands, nor condemn him, when he will be judged.

Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way. And he will exalt you, so as to inherit the land that you may seize. When the sinners will have passed away, then you shall see.(e)

I have seen the impious over-exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon.

And I passed by, and behold, he was not. And I sought him, and his place was not found.

Keep to innocence, and gaze upon fairness: because there are allotments for the peaceful man.(f)

But the unjust will be destroyed together: the allotments of the impious will pass away.(g)

But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in time of tribulation.

And the Lord will help them and free them. And he will rescue them from sinners and save them, because they have hoped in him.

Footnotes

(a)36:2 The word ‘foenum’ is usually translated as ‘hay,’ but it can refer to any type of crop or grass that is cut and dried, or to dry grass in the field. The word ‘olera’ refers to vegetables or herbs for use in a kitchen; so, as a phrase, ‘olera herbarum’ refers to herb that are for use in cooking: ‘kitchen herbs.’ These last dry out and droop easily, because they are delicate plants (often grown indoors).(Conte)

(b)36:21 Or, ‘The sinner borrows and does not repay.’ The words ‘Mutuabitur’ and ‘solvet’ seem to indicate lending and releasing from debit. But based on the meaning of the remainder of the sentence, other translators have translated the text as ‘borrow’ and ‘repay.’(Conte)

(d)36:28 The phrase ‘offspring of,’ or ‘sons of,’ is a figure of speech often used in the Old Testament. It does not literally mean that a child will perish if his parents sin. It means that if you sin continually, you are acting as if you were the offspring of sin. Thus, ‘semen impiorum peribit’ could be translated as ‘the offspring of impiety will perish.’ In another example, the ‘sons of adultery’ are not the biological sons of adulterers, but they are those who act as if they had adultery itself as a parent. This figure of speech is predicated on the idea that children learn most from their parents. If you commit adultery, it is as if your parents were adulterers, or as if your parent was adultery itself.(Conte)

(e)36:34 The word ‘capias’ is in the Clementine Vulgate, but it’s translation is not found in the Wycliffe, Douay, or Challoner versions. The word ‘capias’ refers to the land that the just ‘seize’ when the sinners pass away.(Conte)

(f)36:37 In this context, the word ‘reliquiae’ could be accurately translated as ‘bequests,’ or ‘bestowals,’ or ‘bequeathments,’ or ‘endowments,’ or ‘allotments.’(Conte)

(g)36:38 The word ‘interibunt’ literally means ‘they will go between.’ This was an expression used to refer to going between this life and the next, i.e. passing away or crossing over. People still sometimes say that someone has ‘passed between the veil of this life and the next.’(Conte)