1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
<html><b>Do not compete with the evildoers</b> He reproves Israel that they should not compete with the success of the evildoers to do as their deeds, as (in Jer. 12:5): “how will you compete (תתחרה) with horses,” to run as they run, a atir in Old French, to compete. <b>do not envy those who commit injustice</b> to commit injustice like them.</html>
<html><b>they will be…cut off</b> Heb. ימלו, seront tronke in Old French, they will be cut off, an expression of cutting off.</html>
<html><b>Trust in the Lord</b> and do not say, “If I do not rob and steal,” or “If I give charity to a poor man, how will I sustain myself?” <b>and do good</b> Then you will dwell in the land for a long time. <b>and be nourished by faith</b> You will eat and be sustained from the reward of [your] faith, that you believed in the Holy One, blessed be He, to rely on Him and do good.</html>
<html><b>So shall you delight in the Lord</b> Enjoy delights by being supported by the Holy One, blessed be He.</html>
<html><b>Commit your way to the Lord</b> Commit all your needs to Him.</html>
<html><b>Wait for the Lord</b> Heb. דום. Wait for His salvation, as (in I Sam. 14:9): “If they say thus to us, ‘Wait (דמו)!’” mentioned regarding Jonathan. Menachem (p. 64), however, associates it as an expression of silence, as (in Lev. 10:3): “and Aaron was silent (וידם).” He likewise interpreted (Lam. 3: 26): “It is good that one should wait quietly (ודומם) in this manner, and Dunash (p. 27) concurs with him. <b>and hope</b> Heb. והתחולל, an expression of hope (תוחלת). <b>do not compete</b> saying, “I will be as wicked as he, and I will prosper as he does.”</html>
<html><b>Desist from anger</b> Desist from being wicked so that anger does not come upon you. <b>and forsake</b> a matter that will bring upon you the wrath of the Holy One, blessed be He.</html>
<html><b>For evildoers</b> whom you now see prosperingthey will be cut off.</html>
<html><b>A short while longer</b> When you wait a little longer, you will see that the wicked man is not here. <b>and you shall look at his place</b> and you shall look at the place where he was, and he is not there, because he has died and has perished.</html>
<html><b>and gnashes</b> Heb. וחרק, as (in Lam. 2:16): “and gnashed (ויחרקו) their teeth”; e rechineynt in Old French.</html>
<html><b>initiated war</b> the wicked initiated quarrel and strife without previous provocation.</html>
<html><b>The few of the righteous are better</b> The few men who go to the aid of the righteous are better. <b>than the multitude of many wicked men</b> Amraphel and his allies initiated a war in the world for the purpose of capturing Lot and provoking Abraham, but the few who were with Abraham succeeded and wiped out all those armies.</html>
<html><b>The Lord knows the days of the innocent</b> He recognizes the deeds of their days, <b>and their inheritance</b> and the reception of their reward from Him shall be forever.</html>
<html><b>like disappearing light on the plains</b> Heb. כיקר כרים, like the light of the morning cloud, which appears at dawn and glistens on the broad plains, which does not last. כרים means a plain, as (in Isa. 30:23): “a wide plain (כר נרחב).”
h.כיקר is an expression of “disappearing light (אור יקרות)” (as in Zech. 14:6). Others interpret כיקר כרים: like the glory of lambs that are fattened for the slaughter.</html>
<html><b>A wicked man borrows and does not pay, but the Righteous is gracious and gives</b> The Holy One, blessed be He, Who is the Righteous One of the world, is gracious with His own and gives it to the one who lent what he [the borrower] stole from him.</html>
<html><b>For those blessed by Him</b> By the Righteous One of the world, shall inherit the land.</html>
<html><b>a mighty man’s steps</b> He who is mighty in the fear of the Holy One, blessed be He; les pas du fort in French, the steps of the strong one. <b>are established</b> Fureut afettetes in French, are prepared for reality.</html>
<html><b>If he falls</b> Heb. יפל, aluverjera in Old French, falters, an expression of (Gen. 24:64): “and she fell off the camel.” <b>If</b> Heb. כי, like אם. <b>he will not be cast down</b> He will not be cast away to be forsaken.</html>
<html><b>I was young</b> This verse was recited by the Prince of the World (the chief angel), for if it was David, he was not so old.</html>
<html><b>All day long</b> the righteous man is gracious to the poor and lends to them. <b>and his seed</b> This seed that he sows with his charity will ultimately be blessed.</html>
<html><b>The righteous man’s mouth utters</b> at first words of wisdom in his heart to see the law that the Torah decided for each thing, and afterwards his tongue speaks judgment.</html>
<html><b>his feet do not falter</b> His steps do not slip.</html>
<html><b>well-rooted</b> Heb. ומתערה, rooted, as (in Isa. 19:7): “the well-rooted plants (ערות) by the stream.” In the language of the Mishnah there are many [examples]: e.g. (Oktzin 3:8): “A tree that was cut off but is yet rooted by its bark.” <b>as a native who is fresh</b> As one of the natives of the land who are well- rooted and abounding with property. And so did Menachem (p. 20) explain it: כאזרח רענן moist and growing like a well-rooted tree, and the native (אזרח) of the natives (מאזרחי) of humans are men of roots.</html>
<html><b>Observe the innocent</b> Scrutinize the ways of the innocent to learn from their deeds. <b>for there is a future for the man of peace</b> If he has no beginning, he has a future, but the transgressors, the sinners and the wicked their future has been cut off and they have been destroyed together.</html>