Psalms 37:14

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay such as are of upright deportment.

Psalms 37:14 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 37:14

The wicked have drawn out the sword
That is, out of the scabbard; they drew upon the righteous, in order to sheath it in them; or they sharpened the sword, as Aben Ezra observes some interpret the word; it may be literally rendered, "opened the sword" ^F17, which before lay hid in the scabbard:

and have bent their bow;
having put the arrow in it, in order to shoot. The former expression may design the more open, and this the more secret way of acting against the righteous; and their view in both is

to cast down the poor and needy,
who are so, both in a temporal and spiritual sense; to cause such to fall either into sin, or into some calamity or another:

[and] to slay such as be of upright conversation;
who walk according to the rule of the word of God, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ: nothing less than the blood and life of these men will satisfy the wicked; and it is an aggravation of their wickedness that they should attempt to hurt men of such character who are poor and needy, holy, harmless, inoffensive, and upright; and this points at the reason why they hate them, and seek their ruin, because of the holiness and uprightness of their lives; see ( John 15:19 John 15:20 ) ( 1 Peter 4:3 1 Peter 4:4 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (wxtp brx) "aperuerunt gladium", Gejerus.

Psalms 37:14 In-Context

12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

13 The Lord will laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay such as are of upright deportment.

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

16 A little that a righteous man hath [is] better than the riches of many wicked.