Psalms 37:24
in Psalms 37Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For Jehovah upholdeth him with his hand.
KJV
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
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This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
13 notes on this verse(Verse 23.) The steps of a man are established by the Lord. The Greek word διαβήματα means 'steps' or 'transitions'. And therefore it is said to you: If you pass through water, rivers will not stop you (Isaiah 43:2). Therefore, cross over, do not hesitate; like a good traveler, when he comes to a sign on the road, he does not stop, but passes through; and you are on a journey, as long as you are in this course. If Paul had stopped, he would not have completed his race.
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
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed
Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes read the fall as trouble and reverses, while Matthew Henry allowed it to include a fault from which grace restores. Barnes gave overwhelmed the sense of thrown down at full length. Spurgeon pictured a man brought to his knees and never flat on his face.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth his hand." See what it is "to delight in" Christ's "way." Should it happen that he suffers some tribulation; some forfeiture of honour, some affliction, some loss, some contumely, or all those other accidents incident to mankind frequently in this life, he sets the Lord before him, what kind of trials He endured! and, "though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth his hand," because He has suffered before him. For what shouldest thou fear, O man, whose steps are ordered so, that thou shouldest "delight in the way of the Lord"? What shouldest thou fear? Pain? Christ was scourged. Shouldest thou fear contumelies? He was reproached with, "Thou hast a devil," who was Himself casting out the devils. Haply thou fearest faction, and the conspiracy of the wicked. Conspiracy was made against Him. Thou canst not make clear the purity of thy conscience in some accusation, and sufferest wrong and violence, because false witnesses are listened to against thee. False witness was borne against Him first, not only before His death, but also after His resurrection...
It is impossible for anyone to travel blamelessly the way of virtue without God's grace. He works in association with those who have this intent: for the acquisition of virtue there is need of human zeal and divine assistance at one and the same time. …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says, "Before," he shows the fruitfulness of the good with regard to works. In works, two things are shown. First, their prosperity. Second, their recovery, at "When he falls." But because prosperity comes from God's election, first it is shown that it …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down. (1.) A good man may be overtaken in a fault, but the grace of God shall recover him to repentance, so that he shall not be utterly cast down. Though he may, for a time, lose the joys of God's salvation, yet they shall be restored to him; for God shall uphold him with his hand, uphold him with his free Spirit.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Though he fall,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
Though he fall. Disasters and reverses may lay him low; he may, like Job, be stripped of everything; like Joseph, be put in prison; like Jonah, be cast into the deep. He shall not be utterly cast down. He shall not be altogether prostrate. He shall be brought on his knees, but not on his face; or, if laid prone for a moment, he shall be up again ere long. No saint shall fall finally or fatally.
Though he fall. Disasters and reverses may lay him low; he may, like Job, be stripped of everything; like Joseph, be put in prison; like Jonah, be cast into the deep. He shall not be utterly cast down. He shall not be altogether prostrate. He shall be brought on his knees, but not on his face; or, if laid prone for a moment, he shall be up again ere long. No saint shall fall finally or fatally. Sorrow may bring us to the earth, and death may bring us to the grave, but lower we cannot sink, and out of the lowest of all we shall arise to the highest of all. For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Condescendingly, with his own hand, God upholds his saints; he does not leave them to mere delegated agency, he affords personal assistance. Even in our falls the Lord gives a measure of sustaining. Where grace does not keep from going down, it shall save from keeping down. Job had double wealth at last, Joseph reigned over Egypt, Jonah was safely landed. It is not that the saints are strong, or wise, or meritorious, that therefore they rise after every fall, but because God is their helper, and therefore none can prevail against them.
Though he fall. Disasters and reverses may lay him low; he may, like Job, be stripped of everything; like Joseph, be put in prison; like Jonah, be cast into the deep. He shall not be utterly cast down. He shall not be altogether prostrate. He shall be brought on his knees, but not on his face; or, if laid prone for a moment, he shall be up again ere long. No saint shall fall finally or fatally.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down - The original is short and emphatic כי יפל לא יוטל ki yippol, lo yutal, which the Chaldee translates, “Though he should fall into sickness, he shall not die;” for which the reason is given, because the Lord sustains by his hand. Though he may for a time fall under the power of his adversaries, as the Jews have done under the Babylonish captivity, he shall not be forsaken. The right hand of God shall sustain him in his afflictions and distresses; and at last God will give him a happy issue out of them all. Neither the tent nor any of the Versions intimate that a falling into sin is meant; but a falling into trouble, difficulty, etc.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Though he fall - That is, though he is sometimes disappointed; though he is not always successful; though he may be unfortunate - yet this will not be final ruin. The word here does not refer to his falling into “sin,” but into misfortune, disappointment, reverses, calamities. The image is that of a man who is walking along on a journey, but who stumbles, or fails to the earth - a representation of one who is not always successful, but who finds disappointment spring up in his path. He shall not be utterly cast down - The word used here - טול ṭûl - means to “throw down at full length, to prostrate;” then, “to cast out, to throw away.” Compare Isa 22:17; Jer 16:13; Jer 22:26; Jon 1:5, Jon 1:15. Here it means that he would not be “utterly” and “finally” prostrated; he would not fall so that he could not rise again. The calamity would be temporary, and there would be ultimate prosperity. For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand - It is by no power of his own that he is recovered, but it is because, even when he falls, he is held up by an invisible hand. God will not suffer him to sink to utter ruin.
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 |
| יִפֹּ֥ל | yipol | he will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּטָ֑ל | yutal | he will be thrown down | H2904 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| סוֹמֵ֥ךְ | somekh | [is] supporting | H5564 → | 48 times |
| יָדֽוֹ׃ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִפֹּ֥לhe will fall
yipolH5307 →435 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוּטָ֑לhe will be thrown down
yutalH2904 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְ֝הוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
סוֹמֵ֥ךְ[is] supporting
somekhH5564 →48 times
יָדֽוֹ׃hand his
yadoH3027 →1618 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
Proverbs 24:16For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
- Micah 7:8–10
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
- Job 5:19
He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8–12
We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
- Psalms 34:19
Through
Psalms 145:14The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
it leads to
- Psalms 146:8
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
- Psalms 94:18
If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.
- Psalms 146:8
Through
Psalms 94:18If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.
it leads to
- Psalms 121:3
He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Psalms 121:3
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 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; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE PSALMS - Psalm 37; 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; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 37:8 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.