Psalms 37:20

20 God-despisers have had it; God's enemies are finished - Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time, vanished like smoke in thin air.

Psalms 37:20 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 37:20

But the wicked shall perish
In a time of famine, in an evil day, and particularly at the day of judgment: for this is to be understood, not merely of being in bodily distress and want; nor of perishing by death, common to the righteous and the wicked; nor of being in a lost perishing condition, as all men by nature are, but of eternal perdition in hell;

and the enemies of the Lord [shall be] as the fat of lambs, they shall
consume;
that is, either they shall consume away as the fat of lambs burnt upon the altar, which evaporates, or as lambs fattened on purpose to be killed, and so prepared for the day of slaughter; in like manner the wicked, who have waxed fat and kicked, will be destroyed; they being the enemies of God, yea, enmity to him, to Father, Son, and Spirit, to the Gospel and ordinances of Christ, and to his people, and will be treated as such. Some render the word, "like the excellency of pastures" ^F19; the grass of the field, which is cut down and withers presently; see ( Psalms 37:2 ) ;

into smoke shall they consume away,
or "with" ^F20 it; that is, as it; see ( Psalms 68:1 Psalms 68:2 ) ; or "in smoke" ^F21; in the smoke of eternal torments, or hell, as the Targum.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (Myrk rqyk) "sicut pretiosum pratorum", Muis; so some in Piscator; "vel gloria", Michaelis.
F20 (Nveb) "cum fumo", Gejerus, Tigurine version; so Ainsworth.
F21 "In fumo", Montanus, Musculus, Michaelis.

Psalms 37:20 In-Context

18 God keeps track of the decent folk; what they do won't soon be forgotten.

19 In hard times, they'll hold their heads high; when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.

20 God-despisers have had it; God's enemies are finished - Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time, vanished like smoke in thin air.

21 Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives.

22 Generous gets it all in the end; Stingy is cut off at the pass.