the Fourth Week after Epiphany
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King James Version
Psalms 37:1
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Of David.
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!A Psalme of Dauid. Fret not thy selfe because of the wicked men, neither be enuious for the euill doers.
Do not be agitated by evildoers;do not envy those who do wrong.
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A song of David.
Don't get upset about evil people. Don't be jealous of those who do wrong.Do not worry because of evildoers, Nor be envious toward wrongdoers;
A Psalm of David.
Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness.(By David.)
Don't be annoyed by anyone who does wrong, and don't envy them.By David: Don't be upset by evildoers or envious of those who do wrong,
[A Psalm] of David. Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness.
[A Psalme of Dauid.] Fret not thy selfe because of euill doers, neither bee thou enuious against the workers of iniquitie.
Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be envious of them that do iniquity.
A Psalm of David.
Of David. Do not fret over doers of evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
Of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers; do not be envious of doers of wickedness.A Psalm of David. Do not inflame yourself with evildoers; and do not be envious against workers of perversity;
Of David.
Don't be upset because of evil people. Don't be jealous of those who do wrong,By David.
Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed! Do not envy evildoers!Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
A psalm of David.
Don't worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.Do not trouble yourself because of sinful men. Do not want to be like those who do wrong.
(36-1) Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.
FRET not because of evildoers, neither be envious of the workers of iniquity,
Don't be worried on account of the wicked; don't be jealous of those who do wrong.
Do not get upset because of evildoers, Do not be envious of wrongdoers.
Fret not thy selfe because of the vngodly: neither be thou enuious against the euyll doers.
Of David.
Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,[A Psalm] of David.
Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of them that work unrighteousness;The title of the sixe and thrittithe salm. To Dauith. Nile thou sue wickid men; nether loue thou men doynge wickidnesse.
By David. Do not fret because of evil doers, Be not envious against doers of iniquity,
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A Psalm of David. Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers!
[A Psalm] of David. Don't fret yourself because of evil-doers, Neither be envious against those that work unrighteousness.
[A Psalm] of David. Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Frett not thy self at the vngodly, be not thou envious agaynst the euell doers.
A David Psalm Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
A Psalm of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.Do not fret because of evildoers,Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
- Title
This is the third alphabetical Psalm. It seems to have been intended as an instructive and consoling ode for the captives in Babylon, who might feel themselves severely tempted when they saw those idolaters in prosperity, and themselves in adversity.
Fret: Psalms 37:7, 1 Samuel 1:6-8, Proverbs 19:3, Proverbs 24:1, Proverbs 24:19
neither: Psalms 73:3, Proverbs 3:31, Proverbs 23:17, Galatians 5:21, James 4:5, James 4:6
Reciprocal: Genesis 26:3 - Sojourn 1 Chronicles 16:4 - to record Job 12:6 - tabernacles Psalms 49:16 - Be not Psa_73:21 - my heart Psalms 92:7 - wicked Jeremiah 12:1 - Wherefore doth 1 Peter 2:1 - envies
Cross-References
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Fret not thyself because of evildoers,.... The saints may be grieved at them and for them, because of their evil doings, and may be angry with them for them; yet are not to show any undue warmth, at least in an indecent way, by calling them opprobrious names; for the words may be rendered, "do not show thyself warm" or "angry" i: in a sinful way; or fret not at their outward prosperity, as it is explained
Psalms 37:7. The Targum adds, "to be like them", which agrees with
Psalms 37:8;
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity; that is, at their present temporal happiness; see Psalms 73:3. The Targum adds, as before, to be joined with them; which sense some parallel places seem to incline to, Proverbs 3:31.
i תתחר "ne accendaris ira", Junius Tremellius "ne exardescas", Gejerus, Michaelis.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Fret not thyself - The Hebrew word here means properly to burn, to be kindled, to be inflamed, and is often applied to anger, as if under its influence we become “heated:” Genesis 31:36; Gen 34:7; 1 Samuel 15:11; 2 Samuel 19:43. Hence, it means to fret oneself, to be angry, or indignant. Compare Proverbs 24:19. We should perhaps express the same idea by the word “worrying” or “chafing.” The state of mind is that where we are worried, or envious, because others are prosperous and successful, and we are not. The idea is, therefore, closely allied with that in the other part of the verse, “neither be thou “envious.””
Because of evil-doers - Wicked men:
(a) at the fact that there are wicked men, or that God suffers them to live;
(b) at their numbers;
(c) at their success and prosperity.
Neither be thou envious - Envy is pain, mortification, discontent, at the superior excellence or prosperity of others, accompanied often with some degree of malignant feeling, and with a disposition to detract from their merit. It is the result of a comparison of ourselves with others who are more highly gifted or favored, or who are more successful than we are ourselves. The feeling referred to here is that which springs up in the mind when we see persons of corrupt or wicked character prospered, while we, endeavoring to do right, are left to poverty, to disappointment, and to tears.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
PSALM XXXVII
Godly directions for those who are in adversity not to envy the
prosperity of the wicked, because it is superficial, and of
short duration, 1-22;
to put their confidence in God, and live to his glory, as this
is the sure way to be happy in this life, and in that which is
to come, 23-40.
NOTES ON PSALM XXXVII
In the title this Psalm is attributed to David by the Hebrew, and by most of the Versions: but it is more likely it was intended as an instructive and consoling ode for the captives in Babylon, who might feel themselves severely tempted when they saw those idolaters in prosperity; and themselves, who worshipped the true God, in affliction and slavery. They are comforted with the prospect of speedy deliverance; and their return to their own land is predicted in not less than ten different places in this Psalm.
This Psalm is one of the acrostic or alphabetical kind: but it differs from those we have already seen, in having two verses under each letter; the first only exhibiting the alphabetical letter consecutively. There are a few anomalies in the Psalm. The hemistich, which should begin with the letter ע ain, has now a ל lamed prefixed to the word with which it begins, לעולם leolam; and the hemistich which should begin with ת tau (Psalms 37:39) has now a ו vau prefixed, ותשועת utheshuath. It appears also that the letters ד daleth, כ caph, and ק koph, have each lost a hemistich; and ע ain, half a one. The manner in which this Psalm is printed in Dr. Kennicott's Hebrew Bible gives a full view of all these particulars. To the English reader some slighter differences may appear; but it should be observed, that the verses in our English Bibles are not always divided as those in the Hebrew. In all the Psalms that have a title, the title forms the first verse in the Hebrew; but our translation does not acknowledge any of those titles as a part of the Psalm, and very properly leaves them out of the enumeration of the verses.
Verse Psalms 37:1. Fret not thyself because of evil doers — It is as foolish as it is wicked to repine or be envious at the prosperity of others. Whether they are godly or ungodly, it is God who is the dispenser of the bounty they enjoy; and, most assuredly, he has a right to do what he will with his own. To be envious in such a case, is to arraign the providence of God. And it is no small condescension in the Almighty to reason with such persons as he does in this Psalm.
