Psalms 37:27-29

37:27 Turn away from evil! Do what is right! ¹ 

Then you will enjoy lasting security. ² 

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 

37:29 The godly will possess the land

and will dwell in it permanently.

[37:27]  ¹ tn Or “Do good!” The imperatives are singular (see v. 1).

[37:27]  ² tn Heb “and dwell permanently.” The imperative with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause after the preceding imperatives.

[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.