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Gustave Doré’s engraving of David standing crowned and bowed as he mourns Absalom

Psalm 37

What St Athanasius said to pray when wrongdoers ride high and you’re tempted to envy, in a letter from the 300s.

  • 40Verses
  • 1Situation

St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus

When to pray it

In the 300s, St Athanasius of Alexandria wrote a letter to his friend Marcellinus about praying the Psalms. In it he matched psalms to what people go through. This is what he gave this one for.

People who do wrong are riding high and pushing the little people around, and you need to tell yourself, and others, not to envy them.

When you see wicked people doing much wrong and lording it over the lowly, say Psalm 37 to yourself and to others: pay them no mind and don't envy them, for they are quickly snuffed out.

Letter to Marcellinus

Psalm 37:2

Where it turns

For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

40 verses, Berean Standard Bible

The whole psalm

Psalm 37

Its own heading Of David.

  1. 1Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
  2. 2For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.
  3. 3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
  4. 4Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
  5. 5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
  6. 6He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.
  7. 7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
  8. 8Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm.
  9. 9For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
  10. 10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
  11. 11But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.
  12. 12The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
  13. 13but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
  14. 14The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
  15. 15But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
  16. 16Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
  17. 17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
  18. 18The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.
  19. 19In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
  20. 20But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.
  21. 21The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.
  22. 22Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.
  23. 23The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
  24. 24Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
  25. 25I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
  26. 26They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.
  27. 27Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.
  28. 28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
  29. 29The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
  30. 30The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
  31. 31The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.
  32. 32Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
  33. 33the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.
  34. 34Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
  35. 35I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
  36. 36yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.
  37. 37Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
  38. 38But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
  39. 39The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
  40. 40The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.

Psalm 37 is 36 in the Greek numbering Athanasius used, which Orthodox Bibles and some older Catholic ones still follow.

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Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Athanasius’s advice is paraphrased from his Greek.