Psalms 37:32-40

32 The wicked lies in wait for the righteous and seeks to kill him;

33 the Lord will not leave him in his hand^[a] or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.

34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.

35 I have seen a wicked, violent man well-rooted^[b] like a flourishing native tree. ^[c]

36 Then I passed by and^[d] noticed he was gone; I searched for him, but he could not be found.

37 Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the man of peace will have a future.^[e]

38 But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future^[f] of the wicked will be destroyed.

39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, their refuge in a time of distress.

40 The Lord helps and delivers them; He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in Him.

Psalms 37:32-40 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or power
• [b]. Hb obscure
• [c]. LXX reads man, lifting himself up like the cedars of Lebanon
• [d]. DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg, Jer; MT reads Then he passed away, and I
• [e]. Or posterity
• [f]. Or posterity