Psalms 37:13-23

13 but the Lord ¹laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his ²day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword and ³bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ⁴way is upright;

15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their ⁵bows shall be broken.

16 ⁶Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

17 For ⁷the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD ⁸upholds the righteous.

18 The LORD ⁹ knows the days of the blameless, and their ¹⁰heritage will remain forever;

19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in ¹¹the days of famine they have abundance.

20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like ¹²the glory of the pastures; they vanish--like ¹³smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous ¹⁴is generous and gives;

22 for those blessed by the LORD ^[a] shall ¹⁵inherit the land, but those cursed by him ¹⁶shall be cut off.

23 The ¹⁷steps of a man are ¹⁸established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

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Psalms 37:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 37

\\<<[A Psalm] of David>>\\. This psalm, it is very probable, was written at the same time, and upon the same occasion, with the former; and describes the different states of good and bad men; and is full of exhortations, instructions, and advice to the people of God; intermixed with various encouraging promises. A late learned writer {h} thinks it was written for Mephibosheth's consolation under Ziba's calumny. {h} Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 219.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 18

1. See Psalms 2:4
2. See Job 18:20
3. Psalms 7:12
4. See Psalms 7:10
5. See 1 Samuel 2:4
6. Proverbs 15:16; Proverbs 16:8; [1 Timothy 6:6]
7. Psalms 10:15; Job 38:15; Ezekiel 30:21, 22
8. ver. 24
9. See Psalms 1:6
10. ver. 9
11. Psalms 33:19; Job 5:20
12. [Matthew 6:30; James 1:11]
13. Psalms 68:2; Psalms 102:3; Hosea 13:3
14. ver. 26
15. See ver. 9
16. ver. 2
17. Psalms 25:12; 1 Samuel 2:9
18. Psalms 40:2; Psalms 119:5

Footnotes 1

[a]. Hebrew by him

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.