Psalms 37:8 (YLT)

Passage

Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Fret not thyself only to do evil.

Nearby Context

Psalms 37:6 And hath brought out as light thy righteousness, And thy judgment as noon-day.

Psalms 37:7 Be silent for Jehovah, and stay thyself for Him, Do not fret because of him Who is making prosperous his way, Because of a man doing wicked devices.

Psalms 37:8 Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Fret not thyself only to do evil.

Psalms 37:9 For evil doers are cut off, As to those waiting on Jehovah, they possess the land.

Psalms 37:10 And yet a little, and the wicked is not, And thou hast considered his place, and it is not.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "desist", "anger", "forsake", "fury", "fret", "thyself", "only", and "evil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "desist" and "anger", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Be silent for Jehovah and stay thyself..." into verse 9's "For evil doers are cut off As...", so "desist" and "anger" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "desist" and "anger" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.