Discovery BoxPsalms 37:1-22
ContextBy David.
37:1 Do not fret 2 when wicked men seem to succeed! 3
Do not envy evildoers!
37:2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,
and wither away like plants. 4
37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! 5
37:4 Then you will take delight in the Lord, 6
and he will answer your prayers. 7
37:5 Commit your future to the Lord! 8
Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf. 9
37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,
and publicly defend your just cause. 10
37:7 Wait patiently for the Lord! 11
Wait confidently 12 for him!
Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, 13
a man who carries out wicked schemes!
37:8 Do not be angry and frustrated! 14
Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!
37:9 Wicked men 15 will be wiped out, 16
but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. 17
37:10 Evil men will soon disappear; 18
you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone. 19
37:11 But the oppressed will possess the land
and enjoy great prosperity. 20
37:12 Evil men plot against the godly 21
and viciously attack them. 22
37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust 23 at them,
for he knows that their day is coming. 24
37:14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down 25 the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly. 26
37:15 Their swords will pierce 27 their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than
the wealth of many evil men, 28
37:17 for evil men will lose their power, 29
but the Lord sustains 30 the godly.
37:18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day 31
and they possess a permanent inheritance. 32
37:19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come; 33
when famine comes they will have enough to eat. 34
37:20 But 35 evil men will die;
the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated 36 –
they will go up in smoke. 37
37:21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,
but the godly show compassion and are generous. 38
37:22 Surely 39 those favored by the Lord 40 will possess the land,
[37:1] 1 sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
[37:1] 2 tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.
[37:1] 3 tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.
[37:2] 4 tn Heb “like green vegetation.”
[37:3] 5 tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.
[37:4] 6 tn Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).
[37:4] 7 tn Or “and he will give you what you desire most.” Heb “and he will grant to you the requests of your heart.”
[37:5] 8 tn Heb “roll your way upon the
[37:5] 9 tn Heb “he will act.” Verse 6 explains what is meant; the
[37:6] 10 tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”
[37:7] 11 tn Heb “Be quiet before the
[37:7] 12 tc The Hebrew text has וְהִתְחוֹלֵל (vÿhitkholel, Hitpolel of חִיל, khil, “writhe with fear, suffer”) but this idea fits awkwardly here. The text should be changed to וְתוֹחֵל (vÿtokhel; Hiphil of יָחַל, yakhal, “wait”). It appears that the Hebrew text is the product of dittography: (1) the initial וה (vav-he) is accidentally repeated from the preceding word (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) and (2) the final lamed (ל) is accidentally repeated (note the preceding lamed and the initial lamed on the following form, לו).
[37:7] 13 tn Heb “over one who causes his way to be successful.”
[37:8] 14 tn Heb “Refrain from anger! Abandon rage!”
[37:9] 15 tn Heb “for evil men.” The conjunction כִּי (ki, “for”) relates to the exhortations in v. 8; there is no reason to be frustrated, for the evildoers will be punished in due time.
[37:9] 16 tn Or “cut off, removed.”
[37:9] 17 tn Heb “and those who wait on the
[37:10] 18 tn Heb “and yet, a little, there will be no wicked [one].”
[37:10] 19 tn Heb “and you will carefully look upon his place, but he will not be [there].” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer is in view.
[37:11] 20 tn Heb “and they will take delight in (see v. 4) abundance of peace.”
[37:12] 21 tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.
[37:12] 22 tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.
[37:13] 23 tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
[37:13] 24 tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.
[37:14] 25 tn Heb “to cause to fall.”
[37:14] 26 tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
[37:15] 27 tn Heb “enter into.”
[37:16] 28 tn Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.
[37:17] 29 tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”
[37:17] 30 tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.
[37:18] 31 tn Heb “the
[37:18] 32 tn Heb “and their inheritance is forever.”
[37:19] 33 tn Heb “in a time of trouble.”
[37:19] 34 tn Heb “in days of famine they will be satisfied.”
[37:20] 35 tn Or “for,” but Hebrew כי in this case would have to extend all the way back to v. 17a. Another option is to understand the particle as asseverative, “surely” (see v. 22).
[37:20] 36 tc The meaning of the MT (כִּיקַר כָּרִים [kiqar karim], “like what is precious among the pastures/rams”) is uncertain. One possibility is to take the noun כָּרִים as “pastures” and interpret “what is precious” as referring to flowers that blossom but then quickly disappear (see v. 2 and BDB 430 s.v. יָקָר 3). If כָּרִים is taken as “rams,” then “what is precious” might refer to the choicest portions of rams. The present translation follows a reading in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpPs37), כיקוד כורם (“like the burning of an oven”). The next line, which pictures the
[37:20] 37 tn Heb “they perish in smoke, they perish.” In addition to repeating the verb for emphasis, the psalmist uses the perfect form of the verb to picture the enemies’ demise as if it had already taken place. In this way he draws attention to the certitude of their judgment.
[37:21] 38 tn Heb “an evil [man] borrows and does not repay; but a godly [man] is gracious and gives.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The three active participles and one imperfect (“repay”) draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the two types.
[37:22] 39 tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.
[37:22] 40 tn Heb “those blessed by him.” The pronoun “him” must refer to the Lord (see vv. 20, 23), so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
