Psalms 37:34
in Psalms 37Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wait for Jehovah, and keep his way, And he will exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
KJV
Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
15 notes on this verse(Verse 34.) Therefore, wait either for a helper or for the Lord as a reward: And keep His ways; that is, to wait and to keep the commandments of the one whom you think you need to wait for. Even if you are worn out, even if you are troubled, even if you lose strength due to sickness, still wait for the Lord, and your hope will not be in vain. The Lord will come and exalt you, that you may possess the land as an inheritance.
This site's exposition
Wait for the LORD
on Psalms 37:34-40
The waiting is joined to keeping His way, and the land comes to the man who does both. The ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted tree is gone by the next verse, searched for and not found. Salvation comes from the LORD, a stronghold in time of trouble.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"Wait on the Lord" (ver. 34). And while I am waiting upon Him, what am I to do?-"and keep His ways." And if I keep them, what am I to receive? "And He shall exalt thee to inherit the land." "What land"? Once more let not any estate suggest itself to your mind:-the land of which it is said, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." What of those who have troubled us, in the midst of whom we have groaned, whose scandals we have patiently endured, for whom, while they were raging against us, we have prayed in vain? What will become of them? What follows? "When the wicked are cut off, thou shall see it."...
The law of God is in the heart [of the righteous person], and his step is not supplanted. The devil considers him and desires to humiliate him, but God does not abandon him or curse him when he is judged. Await the Lord and guard …
Since, then, God does not allow the righteous, even if vulnerable to sinners, to be subject completely to their verdict, do not be despondent if ever you fall foul of disaster; instead, expect help from God by observing his decrees and commands, being attentive to …
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Wait." The Psalmist has said much in the foregoing to commend the just and to bring down the wicked; and he has directed all of this to the end that we may follow justice and turn away from evil. Here, however, he introduces an exhortation …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Wait on the Lord,.... In the way of his appointments and ordinances; where may be learned the design of his providences, and of the prosperity of the wicked, and their end, Psa 73:16; and in a providential way, for the performance of his promises, in which he never fails; and patiently bear whatever he is pleased to lay upon them; waiting for a deliverance out of every affliction, which will be in his own time.
8 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): When the wicked are cut off (and cut off they certainly will be) thou shalt see it, with awful adorations of the divine justice. The transgressors shall be destroyed together,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
If we make conscience of keeping God's way, we may with cheerfulness wait on him and commit to him our way; and we shall find him a good Master both to his working servants and to his waiting servants. The reasons to enforce this duty are much the same too, taken from the certain destruction of the wicked and the certain salvation of the righteous.
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
Wait on the Lord. We have here the eighth precept, and it is a lofty eminence to attain to. Tarry the Lord's leisure. Wait in obedience as a servant, in hope as an heir, in expectation as a believer. This little word "wait" is easy to say, but hard to carry out, yet faith must do it. And keep his way. Continue in the narrow path; let no haste for riches or ease cause unholy action. Let your motto be, "On, on, on." Never flag, or dream of turning aside.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
On the contrary, the good are not only blessed, but made to see the ruin of their foes. 35, 36. of which a picture is given, under the figure of a flourishing tree (compare Margin), which soon withers.
Wait on the Lord. We have here the eighth precept, and it is a lofty eminence to attain to. Tarry the Lord's leisure. Wait in obedience as a servant, in hope as an heir, in expectation as a believer. This little word "wait" is easy to say, but hard to carry out, yet faith must do it. And keep his way. Continue in the narrow path; let no haste for riches or ease cause unholy action. Let your motto be, "On, on, on." Never flag, or dream of turning aside. "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. Thou shalt have all of earthly good which is really good, and of heavenly good there shall be no stint. Exaltation shall be the lot of the excellent. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. A sight how terrible and how instructive! What a rebuke for fretfulness! what an incentive to gratitude! My soul, be still, as you foresee the end, the awful end of the Lord's enemies.
Wait on the Lord. We have here the eighth precept, and it is a lofty eminence to attain to. Tarry the Lord's leisure. Wait in obedience as a servant, in hope as an heir, in expectation as a believer. This little word "wait" is easy to say, but hard to carry out, yet faith must do it. And keep his way. Continue in the narrow path; let no haste for riches or ease cause unholy action. Let your motto be, "On, on, on." Never flag, or dream of turning aside.
Wait on the Lord, and keep his way - This is the true mode of waiting on God which the Scripture recommends; keeping God’s way - using all his ordinances, and living in the spirit of obedience. He who waits thus is sure to have the farther blessings of which he is in pursuit. קוה kavah, to wait, implies the extension of a right line from one point to another. The first point is the human heart; the line is its intense desire; and the last point is God, to whom this heart extends this straight line of earnest desire to be filled with the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace. And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land - If ye keep his way, and be faithful to him in your exile, he will exalt you, lift you up from your present abject state, to inherit the land of your fathers. See before, Psa 37:9, Psa 37:11, etc. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it - They did see the destruction of the Babylonish king, Belshazzar, and his empire; and it was in consequence of that destruction that they were enlarged.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Wait on the Lord - See the notes at Psa 37:9. Let your hope be from the Lord; depend wholly upon Him; have such confidence in Him as to expect His gracious interposition in your behalf. And keep his way - Or, walk in the path which He commands. Do not turn from that at any thee. Do not allow any temptation, or any opposition, to cause you to swerve from that path. And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land - See Psa 37:3, Psa 37:9,Psa 37:18. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it - This implies that they would certainly be cut off, and that the righteous would be permitted to see the result of a course of righteousness and one of wickedness. It is not necessarily implied that they would have any satisfaction in seeing the punishment of the wicked; but the meaning is, that they would be permitted to live so as to see that one course of life tended to secure the favor of God, and another to incur His displeasure; that there was an advantage in virtue and religion in this life; and the certainty that they would see this is adverted to as a “motive” for leading a life of piety. The result is so sure that a man may, if he live long, see it himself; and the fact that this is so should be an inducement for his leading a holy life. The psalmist proceeds, in Psa 37:35-36, to illustrate this idea from his own observation.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קַוֵּ֤ה | kaveh | wait | H6960 → | 49 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֨ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּשְׁמֹ֬ר | ushemor | and keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| דַּרְכּ֗וֹ | darko | way his | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וִֽ֭ירוֹמִמְךָ | viromikha | and he will exalt you | H7311 → | 190 times |
| לָרֶ֣שֶׁת | lareshet | to possess | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אָ֑רֶץ | ʾaretz | [the] land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּהִכָּרֵ֖ת | behikaret | when are cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| תִּרְאֶֽה׃ | tireh | you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
קַוֵּ֤הwait
kavehH6960 →49 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֨ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּשְׁמֹ֬רand keep
ushemorH8104 →468 times
דַּרְכּ֗וֹway his
darkoH1870 →707 times
וִֽ֭ירוֹמִמְךָand he will exalt you
viromikhaH7311 →190 times
לָרֶ֣שֶׁתto possess
lareshetH3423 →231 times
אָ֑רֶץ[the] land
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
בְּהִכָּרֵ֖תwhen are cut off
behikaretH3772 →288 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
תִּרְאֶֽה׃you will see
tirehH7200 →1300 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 27:14Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Psalms 31:24
Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- Isaiah 40:31
Through
Proverbs 20:22Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
it leads to
- Romans 12:17–19
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- Proverbs 24:29
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
- Proverbs 17:13
If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- 1 Peter 3:9
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
- Romans 12:17–19
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms

This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alexander Maclaren, The Psalms, Expositor's Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Arnobius the Younger, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 37; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 37; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 37:34A-C and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.
