Logos Bible Study

Psalm 37:12–17

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37:12Evil men plot against the godly20

and viciously attack them.21

37:13The Lord laughs in disgust22 at them,

for he knows that their day is coming.23

37:14Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down24 the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly.25

37:15Their swords will pierce26 their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

37:16The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men,27

37:17for evil men will lose their power,28

but the Lord sustains29 the godly.

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Footnotes

  1. 20 Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.
  2. 21 Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.
  3. 22 Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
  4. 23 Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19–20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.
  5. 24 Heb “to cause to fall.”
  6. 25 Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
  7. 26 Heb “enter into.”
  8. 27 Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.
  9. 28 Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”
  10. 29 The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him,

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose way is upright;

their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

Better is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The wicked person schemes against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him.

The Lord laughs at him

because he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the bow

to bring down the poor and needy

and to slaughter those whose way is upright.

Their swords will enter their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

The little that the righteous person has is better

than the abundance of many wicked people.

For the arms of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord supports the righteous.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

The wicked plot against the godly;

they snarl at them in defiance.

But the Lord just laughs,

for he sees their day of judgment coming.

The wicked draw their swords

and string their bows

to kill the poor and the oppressed,

to slaughter those who do right.

But their swords will stab their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

It is better to be godly and have little

than to be evil and rich.

For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,

but the Lord takes care of the godly.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

The wicked plans evil against the righteous,

and gnashes at him with his teeth.

The Lord laughs at him,

for he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow

to throw down the poor and the needy,

to kill those upright in their way.

Their sword will enter into their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

The little belonging to the righteous is better

than the wealth of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but Yahweh supports the righteous.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

The wicked plotteth against the just,

And gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The Lord shall laugh at him:

For he seeth that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow,

To cast down the poor and needy,

And to slay such as be of upright conversation.

Their sword shall enter into their own heart,

And their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man hath

Is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:

But the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

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