Psalm 37:12-17 New English Translation
12 Evil men plot against the godly[a]
and viciously attack them.[b]
13 The Lord laughs in disgust[c] at them,
for he knows that their day is coming.[d]
14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down[e] the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly.[f]
15 Their swords will pierce[g] their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than
the wealth of many evil men,[h]
17 for evil men will lose their power,[i]
but the Lord sustains[j] the godly.
Footnotes
- Psalm 37:12 tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.
- Psalm 37:12 tn 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.
- Psalm 37:13 tn 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.
- Psalm 37:13 tn 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.
- Psalm 37:14 tn Heb “to cause to fall.”
- Psalm 37:14 tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
- Psalm 37:15 tn Heb “enter into.”
- Psalm 37:16 tn 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.
- Psalm 37:17 tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”
- Psalm 37:17 tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.
New English Translation (NET)
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