Commentaire sur Les Psaumes 37:44

Do not compete with the evildoers 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.

do not envy those who commit injustice to commit injustice like them.

they will be...cut off Heb. ימלו, seront tronke in Old French, they will be cut off, an expression of cutting off.

Trust in the Lord 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?”

and do good Then you will dwell in the land for a long time.

and be nourished by faith 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.

So shall you delight in the Lord Enjoy delights by being supported by the Holy One, blessed be He.

Commit your way to the Lord Commit all your needs to Him.

Wait for the Lord 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.

and hope Heb. והתחולל, an expression of hope (תוחלת).

do not compete saying, “I will be as wicked as he, and I will prosper as he does.”

Desist from anger Desist from being wicked so that anger does not come upon you.

and forsake a matter that will bring upon you the wrath of the Holy One, blessed be He.

For evildoers whom you now see prospering they will be cut off.

A short while longer When you wait a little longer, you will see that the wicked man is not here.

and you shall look at his place and you shall look at the place where he was, and he is not there, because he has died and has perished.

and gnashes Heb. וחרק, as (in Lam. 2:16): “and gnashed (ויחרקו) their teeth”; e rechineynt in Old French.

initiated war the wicked initiated quarrel and strife without previous provocation.

The few of the righteous are better The few men who go to the aid of the righteous are better.

than the multitude of many wicked men 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.

The Lord knows the days of the innocent He recognizes the deeds of their days,

and their inheritance and the reception of their reward from Him shall be forever.

like disappearing light on the plains 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).”

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.

A wicked man borrows and does not pay, but the Righteous is gracious and gives 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.

For those blessed by Him By the Righteous One of the world, shall inherit the land.

a mighty man’s steps 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.

are established Fureut afettetes in French, are prepared for reality.

If he falls Heb. יפל, aluverjera in Old French, falters, an expression of (Gen. 24:64): “and she fell off the camel.”

If Heb. כי, like אם.

he will not be cast down He will not be cast away to be forsaken.

I was young This verse was recited by the Prince of the World (the chief angel), for if it was David, he was not so old.

All day long the righteous man is gracious to the poor and lends to them.

and his seed This seed that he sows with his charity will ultimately be blessed.

The righteous man’s mouth utters 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.

his feet do not falter His steps do not slip.

well-rooted 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.”

as a native who is fresh 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.

Observe the innocent Scrutinize the ways of the innocent to learn from their deeds.

for there is a future for the man of peace 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.