Psalms 145:20
in Psalms 145The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy.
KJV
The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 145
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe Lord preserveth - He is the keeper of all them that love him. But all the wicked will he destroy - They call not upon him; they fight against him, and he will confound and destroy them. There is something curious in the שומר shomer, the keeper or guardian of the pious; he is שמיד shamid, the destroyer of the wicked. The first word implies he is continually keeping them; the second, that he causes the others to be destroyed.
This site's exposition
The LORD is righteous in all His ways
on Psalms 145:17-20
The LORD is called righteous and kind in everything He does. Verse 18 puts Him near everyone who calls on Him in truth, and Gill read that nearness as nearness of place and presence. Verse 20 keeps all who love Him and destroys all the wicked.
This site's exposition
The LORD preserves all who love Him
Adam Clarke set two Hebrew words: the LORD is shomer, the keeper of those who love Him, and shamid, the destroyer. The first marks a keeping that goes on continually. Matthew Henry joined the clauses, for one means of preserving His people is destroying the wicked who would harm them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The Lord guardeth all that love Him, and all sinners He will destroy" (ver. 20). Thou seest that there is severity with Him, with whom is so great sweetness. He will save all that hope in Him, all the faithful, all that fear Him, all that call upon Him in truth: "and all sinners He will destroy." What "all sinners," save those who persevere in sin; who dare to blame God, not themselves; who daily argue against God; who despair of pardon for their sins, and from this very despair heap up their sins; or who perversely promise themselves pardon, and through this very promise depart not from their sins and impiety? The time will come for all these to be separated, and for the two divisions to be made of them, one on the right hand, the other on the left; and for the righteous to receive the everlasting Kingdom, the wicked to go into everlasting fire.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This magnifies his goodness in the protection of the righteous, that with their eyes they shall see the reward of the wicked ( Ps. xci. 8 ); and God will by this means preserve his people, even by destroying the wicked that would do them a mischief.
The Lord preserveth all them that love him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The Lord preserveth - He is the keeper of all them that love him. But all the wicked will he destroy - They call not upon him; they fight against him, and he will confound and destroy them. There is something curious in the שומר shomer, the keeper or guardian of the pious; he is שמיד shamid, the destroyer of the wicked. The first word implies he is continually keeping them; the second, that he causes the others to be destroyed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord preserveth all them that love him - He keeps them; watches over them; defends them; makes them the object of his care. See Psa 31:20, note, Psa 31:23, note; Psa 97:10, note. But all the wicked will he destroy - All that are found ultimately to be wicked; all that on the final trial deserve to be classed with the wicked. See Psa 9:17, note; Psa 11:6, note; Mat 25:46, note.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שׁוֹמֵ֣ר | shomer | [is] protecting | H8104 → | 468 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֹהֲבָ֑יו | ʾohavav | [those who] love him | H157 → | 211 times |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרְשָׁעִ֣ים | hareshaim | the wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יַשְׁמִֽיד׃ | yashmid | he will destroy | H8045 → | 90 times |
שׁוֹמֵ֣ר[is] protecting
shomerH8104 →468 times
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֹהֲבָ֑יו[those who] love him
ʾohavavH157 →211 times
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרְשָׁעִ֣יםthe wicked [people]
hareshaimH7563 →263 times
יַשְׁמִֽיד׃he will destroy
yashmidH8045 →90 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
Exodus 20:6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
- 1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
- John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- Deuteronomy 7:9
Through
Psalms 97:10Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
it leads to
- Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
- Jeremiah 15:21
I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”
- Psalms 34:14
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
- Proverbs 8:13
Through
Psalms 31:23Love the LORD, all His saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but fully repays the arrogant.
it leads to
- Psalms 97:10
Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
- Psalms 97:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 145; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.