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Psalms 37:12

in Psalms 37

The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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

KJV

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

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This verse in Psalms 37

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

on Psalms 37:12-13

(Vers. 12, 13.) It follows: The sinner will observe the just and will gnash his teeth over him. But the Lord will deride him; for He sees that his day is coming. It is customary for one who is angry and seething to gnash his teeth: but the heart of the wicked also has its teeth, which are not accustomed to merely making noise, but to tearing. The sinner's traps, schemes, and wickedness are his teeth.

This site's exposition

scheme against the righteous

on Psalms 37:12-15

The scheming comes with gnashing teeth, and the drawn sword and bent bow are aimed at the poor and needy. The Lord laughs over them, the same laughter He gives the conspiring kings at Psalm 2:4, and He sees their day coming. Their own swords turn back into their hearts.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

on Psalms 37:12-13

It is true the wicked plotteth against the just; there is a rooted enmity in the seed of the wicked one against the righteous seed; their aim is, if they can, to destroy their righteousness, or, if that fail, then to destroy them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)

The wicked plotteth against the just. Why can he not let the good man alone? Because there is enmity between the serpent's seed and the seed of the woman. Why not attack him fairly? Why plot and scheme? Because it is according to the serpent's nature to be very subtle. Plain sailing does not suit those who are on board of "The Apollyon." And gnashed upon him with his teeth. The wicked show by their gestures what they would do if they could; if they cannot gnaw they will gnash; if they may not bite they will at least bark.

The words behind it

6 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • זֹמֵ֣ם[is] plotting

    zomemH2161 →13 times

  • רָ֭שָׁע[the] wicked

    rasho'H7563 →263 times

  • לַצַּדִּ֑יקto the righteous

    latzadikH6662 →206 times

  • וְחֹרֵ֖קand [is] gnashing

    vechorekH2786 →5 times

  • עָלָ֣יוtowards him

    ʾalavH5921 →5755 times

  • שִׁנָּֽיו׃teeth his

    shinavH8127 →55 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Matthew 5:10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.17 worksMicah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.8 worksPsalms 35:16Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.8 worksDaniel 8:12And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.5 worksMatthew 26:16So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.5 worksPsalms 31:13For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 37:18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.5 worksPsalms 112:10The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.5 works1 John 3:12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.5 worksNehemiah 6:2Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me.5 worksLamentations 2:16All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”5 works1 Samuel 18:21“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”4 worksMatthew 26:4and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.3 worksDaniel 8:24His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.3 worksPsalms 37:32Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,3 works2 Samuel 15:10–12Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’”3 works1 Samuel 23:7–9When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”3 worksEsther 3:6And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Micah 2:1

    Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 36:4

      Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.

    • Isaiah 32:7

      The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

    • Psalms 7:14–16

      Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

    • Hosea 7:6–7

      For they prepare their heart like an oven while they lie in wait; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

    • Proverbs 6:12–19

      A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,

  • Through

    Psalms 31:13

    For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 20:10

      For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that…

    • Matthew 27:1

      When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.

  • Through

    Psalms 35:16

    Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.

    it leads to

    • Lamentations 2:16

      All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see…

Where this verse is studied

About Psalms

Saul attempts to kill David (the harpist of Israel) — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Saul attempts to kill David (the harpist of Israel) — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Psalms: the study guide →Read Psalms 37 →

This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Psalms 37 →