Why read Psalm 36?
Psalm 36 encourages patience when the success of dishonest people provokes envy. It calls you to continue doing good, remain gentle and wait with trust for God's justice.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
“Do not envy those who act wickedly…” — thus begins Psalm 36, a text of 40 verses from the Fifth Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its place in the order of prayer.
The text of Psalm 36
1. Do not envy those who act wickedly, nor follow those who commit lawlessness.
2. For they will soon wither like grass and quickly pass away like the green of the grass.
3. Hope in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its abundance.
4. Delight in the Lord, and He will grant you the desires of your heart.
5. Reveal your way to the Lord and hope in Him, and He will accomplish it.
6. He will bring forth your righteousness like light and your judgment like the light of noon.
7. Submit to the Lord and pray to Him; do not envy the one who prospers in his way, the man who commits iniquity.
8. Leave anger behind and forsake wrath; do not seek to act wickedly.
9. For those who act wickedly will perish utterly, but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the earth.
10. Yet a little while, and the sinner will be no more; you will seek his place and not find it.
11. But the meek will inherit the earth and delight in an abundance of peace.
12. The sinner will lie in wait for the righteous and gnash his teeth against him.
13. But the Lord will laugh at him, for He foresees that his day will come.
14. The sinners have drawn the sword and bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy, to slay the upright in heart.
15. May their sword enter their own heart, and may their bows be broken.
16. Better is the little of the righteous than the great wealth of sinners.
17. For the arms of sinners will be broken, but the Lord strengthens the righteous.
18. The Lord knows the ways of the blameless, and their inheritance will endure for ever.
19. They will not be put to shame in an evil time, and in days of famine they will be satisfied.
20. For sinners will perish; the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they grew great and rose high, faded away and vanished like smoke.
21. The sinner borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows compassion and gives.
22. For those who bless Him will inherit the earth, but those who curse Him will perish utterly.
23. By the Lord are a man's steps directed, and he will earnestly desire His way.
24. When he falls, he will not be shaken, for the Lord strengthens his hand.
25. I was young and have grown old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging for bread;
26. All day the righteous shows mercy and lends, and his descendants will be blessed.
27. Turn away from evil and do good, and you will live for ever and ever.
28. For the Lord loves judgment and will not forsake His holy ones; they will be guarded for ever. But the lawless will be driven out, and the descendants of unbelievers will be cut off.
29. The righteous will inherit the earth and dwell upon it for ever and ever.
30. The mouth of the righteous will learn wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment.
31. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps will not stumble.
32. The sinner lies in wait for the righteous and seeks to kill him;
33. But the Lord will not leave him in his hands, nor condemn him when he is judged with him.
34. Wait for the Lord and keep His way! He will teach you to inherit the earth; when sinners perish, you will see it.
35. I have seen the unbeliever boasting and rising high like the cedars of Lebanon.
36. I passed by, and behold, he was no more; I sought him, and his place was not found.
37. Preserve innocence and seek righteousness, for the peacemaker has descendants.
38. But the lawless will perish together, and the descendants of unbelievers will be cut off.
39. The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, for He is their defender in time of trouble.
40. The Lord will help them and deliver them; He will bring them out of the hand of sinners and save them, because they hoped in Him.
When Psalm 36 is read
- When the success of the wicked makes you angry.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
