Psalms 37:20

37:20 But ¹  evil men will die;

the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated ²  –

they will go up in smoke. ³ 

Psalms 37:22

37:22 Surely ⁴  those favored by the Lord ⁵  will possess the land,

but those rejected ⁶  by him will be wiped out. ⁷ 

Psalms 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes ⁸  justice,

and never abandons ⁹  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ¹⁰ 

but the children ¹¹  of evil men are wiped out. ¹² 

Psalms 37:37-38

37:37 Take note of the one who has integrity! Observe the godly! ¹³ 

For the one who promotes peace has a future. ¹⁴ 

37:38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed; ¹⁵ 

evil men have no future. ¹⁶ 

[37:20]  ¹ 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]  ² 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 Lord’s enemies being consumed in smoke, supports this reading, which assumes confusion of the Hebrew letters resh (ר) and dalet (ד) at the end of the first word in the sequence.

[37:20]  ³ 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.

[37:22]  ⁴ tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.

[37:22]  ⁵ 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.

[37:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “cursed.”

[37:22]  ⁷ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).

[37:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.

[37:28]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ¹⁰ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ¹¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ¹² tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.

[37:37]  ¹³ tn Or “upright.”

[37:37]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for [there is] an end for a man of peace.” Some interpret אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see the next verse and Ps 109:13; cf. NEB, NRSV).

[37:38]  ¹⁵ tn Or “destroyed together.” In this case the psalmist pictures judgment sweeping them away as a group.

[37:38]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the end of evil men is cut off.” As in v. 37, some interpret אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see Ps 109:13). The perfect verbal forms in v. 38 probably express general truths. Another option is that they are used emphatically to state with certitude that the demise of the wicked is as good as done.