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PSALM 37
STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked | The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked |
The Certainty of Retribution For the Wicked (A Wisdom Psalm) |
The Destiny of the Wicked and of the Good |
The Fate of the Upright and the Wicked
(An Acrostic) |
MT Intro A Psalm of David |
||||
37:1-6 | 37:1-2 | 37:1-2 | 3:1-2 | 37:1-2 (Aleph) |
37:3-4 | 37:3-4 | 37:3-4 | 37:3-4 (Bet) | |
37:5-6 | 37:5-6 | 37:5-6 | 37:5-6 (Gimel) | |
37:7-11 | 37:7-11 | 37:7 | 37:7 | 37:7 (Dalet) |
37:8-9 | 37:8-9 | 37:8-9 (He) | ||
37:10-11 | 37:10-11 | 37:10-11 (Waw) | ||
37:12-15 | 37:12-15 | 37:12-13 | 37:12-13 | 37:12-13 (Zain) |
37:14-15 | 37:14-15 | 37:14-15 (Het) | ||
37:16-22 | 37:16-17 | 37:16-17 | 37:16-17 | 37:16-17 (Tet) |
37:18-20 | 37:18-19 | 37:18-20 | 37:18-19 (Yod) | |
37:20 | 37:20 (Kaph) | |||
37:21-22 | 37:21-22 | 37:21-22 | 37:21-22 (Lamed) | |
37:23-26 | 37:23-24 | 37:23-24 | 37:23-24 | 37:23-24 (Mem) |
37:25-26 | 37:25-26 | 37:25-26 | 37:25-26 (Nun) | |
37:27-34 | 37:27-29 | 37:27-29 | 37:27-29 | 37:27-28b (Samek) |
37:28c-29 (Ain) | ||||
37:30-31 | 37:30-31 | 37:30-31 | 37:30-31 (Pe) | |
37:32-33 | 37:32-33 | 37:32-33 | 37:32-33 (Zade) | |
37:34-36 | 37:34 | 37:34 | 37:34 (Qoph) | |
37:35-36 | 37:35-36 | 37:35-36 (Resh) | ||
37:35-40 | ||||
37:37-38 | 37:37-38 | 37:37-38 | 37:37-38 (Shim) | |
37:39-40 | 37:39-40 | 37:39-40 | 37:39-40 (Taw) |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS
SPECIAL TOPIC: WHY ARE THE END-TIME EVENTS SO CONTROVERSIAL?
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:1-6
1Do
not fret because of evildoers,
Be
not envious toward wrongdoers.
2For
they will wither quickly like the grass
And
fade like the green herb.
3Trust
in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate
faithfulness.
4Delight
yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of
your heart.
5Commit
your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do
it.
6He will
bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
37:1-6 This strophe has seven IMPERATIVES and three JUSSIVES. These are not prayers but admonitions to the faithful (i.e., what to do and what not to do).
The lives of the wicked look successful and happy but they are short lived (cf. Psalm 73); they will not ultimately inherit the promised land.
In light of the transitoriness of the faithless ones, faithful followers should (Ps. 37:3-5 has 7 IMPERATIVES)
YHWH will
37:4b "And He will give you the desires of your heart" This line of poetry has always meant a lot to me personally, but I am not sure I have interpreted it correctly.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:7-11
7Rest
in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who
prospers in his way,
Because
of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8Cease from anger and
forsake wrath;
Do not
fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9For
evildoers will be cut off,
But
those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit
the land.
10Yet
a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his
place and he will not be there.
11But
the humble will inherit the land
And
will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
37:7-11 This is a continuation of the previous strophe.
37:7 "wait patiently" The MT has the VERB (BDB 296 I, KB 297, Hithpolel IMPERATIVE), literally "whirl," "dance," "writhe" (i.e., in pain). It is used in the sense of "waiting" in Job 35:14 (Polel). Only here in Ps. 37:7 (Hithpolel) does it mean "wait patiently." Because of this the NET Bible (cf. p. 895, #9) has suggested an emendation to a different Hebrew root (i.e., from חיל to לחי, BDB 403, Hiphil; "wait confidently for Him").
37:9 Here again is the recurrent OT emphasis of God's sovereignty and foreknowledge (cf. Ps. 37:23). All history is present before Him. Faithful followers can trust that
37:10 "Yet a little while" This is Hebrew imagery for predestined occurrences. YHWH is in control of time. There is a plan, purpose, and just outcome. Righteousness will be victorious in the end and wickedness will be exposed, judged, and eliminated (cf. Ps. 37:13)!
37:11 "the humble will inherit the land" This is quoted by Jesus in the beatitude of Matt. 5:5 (from LXX), where "land" has turned into "earth" (see Contextual Insights and SPECIAL TOPIC: LAND, COUNTRY, EARTH).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:12-15
12The
wicked plots against the righteous
And
gnashes at him with his teeth.
13The
Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
14The wicked have drawn
the sword and bent their bow
To
cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To
slay those who are upright in conduct.
15Their
sword will enter their own heart,
And
their bows will be broken.
37:12-15 The wicked's actions against the faithful and YHWH's response.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:16-22
16Better
is the little of the righteous
Than
the abundance of many wicked.
17For
the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But
the Lord sustains the righteous.
18The Lord
knows the days of the blameless,
And
their inheritance will be forever.
19They
will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And
in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20But the wicked will
perish;
And the enemies of
the Lord will be like the glory of the
pastures,
They vanish—
like smoke they vanish away.
21The
wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But
the righteous is gracious and gives.
22For
those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut
off.
37:16-22 This strophe is a series of contrasts (antithetical parallelism).
37:20 | |
NASB, NRSV | "the glory of the pastures" |
NKJV | "the splendor of the meadows" |
REB, NEB | "like fuel in a furnace" |
NJB | "the green of the pasture" |
TEV | "wild flowers" |
LXX | "they are gloried and exalted" |
The MT has "like what is precious among pastures/rams." The options are:
Notice the imagery related to sacrifice.
The UBS Text Project, p. 223, supports "the glory of the pasture" (i.e., wild flowers) with a "B" rating.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:23-26
23The
steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24When he falls, he will
not be hurled headlong,
Because
the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
25I have been young and
now I am old,
Yet I have
not seen the righteous forsaken
Or
his descendants begging bread.
26All
day long he is gracious and lends,
And
his descendants are a blessing.
37:23-26 This strophe describes the faithful follower(s).
37:25 This is an OT perspective based on the Mosaic covenant (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-30; Psalm 1). This is not meant to be interpreted today that all poor and needy people can not be believers. The covenants have changed, see Contextual Insights D. For a good brief discussion of this verse, see Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 267-268.
SPECIAL TOPIC: PAUL'S VIEWS OF THE MOSAIC LAW
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE MOSAIC LAW AND THE CHRISTIAN
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:27-34
27Depart
from evil and do good,
So
you will abide forever.
28For
the Lord loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked
will be cut off.
29The
righteous will inherit the land
And
dwell in it forever.
30The
mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And
his tongue speaks justice.
31The
law of his God is in his heart;
His
steps do not slip.
32The
wicked spies upon the righteous
And
seeks to kill him.
33The
Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is
judged.
34Wait
for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the
land;
When the wicked are
cut off, you will see it.
37:27-34 This strophe, like Ps. 37:1-6, has several IMPERATIVES (5) admonishing the faithful. This is another strophe describing the actions of the faithful followers.
Being a covenant believer changes every aspect of one's life, motives, and hopes. There is a radical difference between the faithful follower and the faithless person. The faithless person may be
In Ps. 37:32 he/she is described as one who (see strophe Ps. 37:35-40)
37:28 "They are preserved forever" The LXX changes this to "the evildoers will be chased away." This is suggested to preserve the acrostic structure (i.e., ‘ayin) and fit the parallelism. The UBS Text Project (p. 225) gives the MT a "B" rating (some doubt).
37:31 "The law of God" This term (BDB 435) is one of several terms used to describe YHWH's revelation to Israel.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam)
SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION
▣ "in his heart" This is the internalization of God's revelation (i.e., God's Law written on the heart) and is a marker of the "new covenant" of Jer. 31:31-34.
▣ "His steps do not slip" Godly living is figuratively described as a straight, level, unobstructed path, a clearly marked road (cf. Ps. 37:34a, "His way," see note at Ps. 1:1). The opposite would be
In the NT this same imagery is found (i.e., "walk," cf. Eph. 4:1,17; 5:2,15).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PATH, THE WAY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 37:35-40
35I
have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading
himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
36Then he passed away,
and lo, he was no more;
I
sought for him, but he could not be found.
37Mark the blameless man,
and behold the upright;
For
the man of peace will have a posterity.
38But
transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be
cut off.
39But
the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of
trouble.
40The
Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and
saves them,
Because they
take refuge in Him.
37:35-40 This strophe summarizes the contrast between the righteous and the wicked.
All of this occurs because they take refuge in Him.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
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