Psalm 37:36

36 But he came to an end, and there was no sign of him; I made a search for him and he was not there.

Psalm 37:36 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 37:36

Yet he passed away
At once, on a sudden; either his riches and honour, which, in one hour, came to nought, by one providence or another; or he himself by death; in the midst of all his prosperity, and while blessing himself in it, his soul was required of him; and so the Targum is, "he ceased from the world"; he went out of it unawares: the laurel, or bay tree, very quickly grows old ^F4;

and, lo, he [was] not;
he was not reduced to nothing; he did not become a nonentity, though he might wish himself to be so; it being better for him if he had never been born; but he was not in the land of the living, in hell he lifted up his eyes;

yea, I sought him, but he could not be found;
in the place where he formerly was, that knowing him no more; he could not be found on earth, from whence he was gone; nor in heaven, where no place is found for such wicked men; he was gone to his own place, as is said of Judas, and of whom Jerom interprets the whole of this passage.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 "Senescit velociter", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 44.

Psalm 37:36 In-Context

34 Be waiting for the Lord, and keep his way; and you will be lifted up, and have the land for your heritage: when the evil-doers are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen the evil-doer in great power, covering the earth like a great tree.

36 But he came to an end, and there was no sign of him; I made a search for him and he was not there.

37 Give attention to the good man, and take note of the upright; because the end of that man is peace.

38 But as for the sinners, they will be cut off together; the end of the wrongdoers is destruction.