Psalm 37:36

36 But he passed away, ^[a] and behold, ¹he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

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 Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.

36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

Cross References

• 1. 37:36 ver. 10; Job 20:5

Footnotes

• [a] 37:36 Or 'But one passed by'