Psalms 37:12

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ¹ 

and viciously attack them. ² 

Psalms 37:16

37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men, ³ 

Psalms 37:32

37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly

and try to kill them. ⁴ 

Psalms 97:11

97:11 The godly bask in the light;

the morally upright experience joy. ⁵ 

[37:12]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[37:16]  ³ 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.

[37:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

[97:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.