Psalms 37:9
in Psalms 37For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land.
KJV
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
3 notes on this verse(Verse 9.) Therefore, do not listen to him, so that you do not act wickedly. For those who act wickedly will be exterminated. Those who do not have roots will be exterminated, like vegetables or hay. Let the weak eat vegetables, but you must plant a vine in your field, establish a vineyard. And if Ahab comes to you and says, 'Give me your vineyard so that I can plant vegetables', do not agree with him, so that he does not sow perishable things by your consent and cut off eternal things.
This site's exposition
Be still before the LORD
on Psalms 37:7-9
The command to be still before the LORD carries the waiting with it. Anger and wrath are to be dropped, and the fretting forbidden a third time yields only harm to the man who frets. Evildoers are cut off, and those who hope inherit the land.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For evil doers shall be cut off. Their death shall be a penal judgment; not a gentle removal to a better state, but an execution in which the axe of justice will be used. But those that wait upon the Lord —those who in patient faith expect their portion in another life— they shall inherit the earth. Even in this life they have the most of real enjoyment, and in the ages to come theirs shall be the glory and the triumph.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
A short while longer When you wait a little longer, you will see that the wicked man is not here.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מְ֭רֵעִים | mereim | evil-doers | H7489 → | 107 times |
| יִכָּרֵת֑וּן | yikaretun | they will be cut off ! | H3772 → | 288 times |
| וְקֹוֵ֥י | vekovei | and [those who] wait for | H6960 → | 49 times |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה | yahweh | <of> Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הֵ֣מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| יִֽירְשׁוּ־ | yireshu- | they will possess | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] land | H776 → | 2504 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מְ֭רֵעִיםevil-doers
mereimH7489 →107 times
יִכָּרֵת֑וּןthey will be cut off !
yikaretunH3772 →288 times
וְקֹוֵ֥יand [those who] wait for
vekoveiH6960 →49 times
יְ֝הוָ֗ה<of> Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הֵ֣מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
יִֽירְשׁוּ־they will possess
yireshu-H3423 →231 times
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] land
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Psalms 25:13His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:11
But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.
- Proverbs 1:33
But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”
- Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Acts 2:39
This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
- Psalms 37:11
Through
Psalms 37:29The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:21
For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;
- Proverbs 2:21
Through
Isaiah 60:21Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
it leads to
- Matthew 15:13
But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
- Psalms 37:22
Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.
- Matthew 15:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
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 and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.