Psalms 37:21-22

37:21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,

but the godly show compassion and are generous. ¹ 

37:22 Surely ²  those favored by the Lord ³  will possess the land,

but those rejected ⁴  by him will be wiped out. ⁵ 

[37:21]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.

[37:22]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “cursed.”

[37:22]  ⁵ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).