Psalms 37:25

37:25 I was once young, now I am old.

I have never seen a godly man abandoned,

or his children ¹  forced to search for food. ² 

Psalms 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes ³  justice,

and never abandons ⁴  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ⁵ 

but the children ⁶  of evil men are wiped out. ⁷ 

[37:25]  ¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:25]  ² tn Heb “or his offspring searching for food.” The expression “search for food” also appears in Lam 1:11, where Jerusalem’s refugees are forced to search for food and to trade their valuable possessions for something to eat.

[37:28]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ⁵ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ⁶ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ⁷ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.