Psalms 37:22
in Psalms 37Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For such as are blessed of him shall inherit the land; And they that are cursed of him shall be cut off.
KJV
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
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This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 22.) Therefore, the righteous is good; and for this reason, Scripture adds: For those who bless him shall possess the land; but those who curse him shall be destroyed. How does the righteous possess the land, or what land, when Scripture says: Will you alone dwell on the earth? (Isaiah 5:8) And elsewhere: Woe to those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 8:13), which is a word of rebuke and curse. Therefore, whose blessed possession is the land?
This site's exposition
The wicked borrow
on Psalms 37:21-26
The wicked borrow and leave the debt, and the righteous are gracious and giving. The LORD orders a man's steps and delights in the way he goes, and the hand holding him keeps a fall from throwing him down. The psalmist, grown old, had never seen the righteous abandoned.
This site's exposition
those He blesses will inherit the land
Albert Barnes saw the psalm's thought advance here. The end of both lives turns on the favour of the LORD, as the blessing and the curse show. Adam Clarke added that a wicked Jew meets the same end as a wicked Babylonian.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"The sinner will borrow." Above he showed that the few goods of the just outweigh the many goods of the wicked by reason of stability; here he shows the same by reason of usefulness. And first he shows that the goods of the just are …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Such as are blessed of God, as all the righteous are, with a Father's blessing, by virtue of that shall inherit the earth, or the land (for so the same word is translated,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
For such as be blessed of him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth. God's benediction is true wealth after all. True happiness, such as the covenant secures to all the chosen of heaven, lies wrapped up in the divine favour. And they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. His frown is death; nay, more, It is hell.
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth. God's benediction is true wealth after all. True happiness, such as the covenant secures to all the chosen of heaven, lies wrapped up in the divine favour. And they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. His frown is death; nay, more, It is hell.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Shall inherit the earth - ארץ arets the land, as before. See Psa 37:11. Shall be cut off - A wicked Jew shall meet with the same fate as a wicked Babylonian; and a wicked Christian shall fare no better.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For such as be blessed of him - They who are his true friends. Shall inherit the earth - See Psa 37:9. And they that be cursed of him - His enemies. Shall be cut off - Psa 37:9. This verse suggests a thought of great importance, in advance of that which had been suggested before. It is that, after all, the difference in the ultimate condition of the two depends on the question whether they have, or have not, “the favor of the Lord.” It is not on the mere fact of their own skill, but it is on the fact that the one has secured the divine favor, and that the other has not. It is not by mere human virtue, irrespective of God, that the result is determined; but it is that one is the friend of God, and the other not. This consideration will be found in the end to enter essentially into all the distinctions in the final condition of mankind.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מְ֭בֹרָכָיו | mevorakhav | blessed [ones] his | H1288 → | 330 times |
| יִ֣ירְשׁוּ | yireshu | they will possess | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אָ֑רֶץ | ʾaretz | [the] land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּ֝מְקֻלָּלָ֗יו | umekulalav | and cursed [ones] his | H7043 → | 82 times |
| יִכָּרֵֽתוּ׃ | yikaretu | they will be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מְ֭בֹרָכָיוblessed [ones] his
mevorakhavH1288 →330 times
יִ֣ירְשׁוּthey will possess
yireshuH3423 →231 times
אָ֑רֶץ[the] land
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
וּ֝מְקֻלָּלָ֗יוand cursed [ones] his
umekulalavH7043 →82 times
יִכָּרֵֽתוּ׃they will be cut off
yikaretuH3772 →288 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
Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Deuteronomy 21:23
you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must…
- Hebrews 9:12
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Hebrews 9:15
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under…
- 1 Peter 1:18–21
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- 1 Peter 2:24
Through
Psalms 37:9For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:21
Then 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.
- Psalms 25:13
His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
- Isaiah 60:21
Through
Psalms 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Proverbs 2:22
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.