Psalms 37:38
in Psalms 37But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together: The end of the wicked shall be cut off.
KJV
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
13 notes on this verseBut the unjust will perish together; the remnants of the wicked will be destroyed. The remnants of the righteous are virtues; the remnants of the wicked are wickedness and the sin of treachery. They will be wiped away, so that they will not exist.
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.
This site's exposition
the future of the wicked will be cut off
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read this verse as the direct contrast to the end promised in verse 37. Matthew Henry observed that in this life God makes an example of one sinner here and another there. At the judgment all are destroyed together.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"But the transgressors shall be destroyed in the self-same thing" (ver. 38). What is meant by, "in the self-same thing"? It means for ever: or all together in one and the same destruction. "The remainder of the wicked shall be cut off." Now there is "(a remainder) for the man that maketh peace:" they therefore who are not peace-makers, are ungodly. For, "Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God."
The wicked will perish when salvation comes to the just from God, their protector in time of tribulation. The Lord helps and frees them and snatches them from sinners and saves them since they hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Next he sets forth the condemnation of the wicked. The wicked have two things. First, they themselves perish; second, they leave nothing behind them. Therefore he says, "But the unjust will perish." Job 4: "Because no one understands, they will perish forever." "And together the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In this world God singles out here one sinner and there another, out of many, to be made an example in terrorem--as a warning; but in the day of judgment there will be a general destruction of all the transgressors, and not one shall escape. Those that have sinned together shall be damned together.
(1.) Some instances of the remarkable ruin of wicked people David had himself observed in this world--that the pomp and prosperity of sinners would not secure them from the judgments of God when their day should come to fall (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together. A common ruin awaits those who are joined in common rebellion. The end of the wicked shall be cut off. Their time shall be shortened, their happiness shall be ended, their hopes for ever blasted, their execution hastened on. Their present is shortened by their sins; they shall not live out half their days. They have no future worth having, while the righteous count their future as their true heritage.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
39, 40. strength-- (Ps 27:1; 28:8). trouble--straits (Ps 9:9; In trust and quietness is the salvation of the pious from all foes and all their devices.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together. A common ruin awaits those who are joined in common rebellion. The end of the wicked shall be cut off. Their time shall be shortened, their happiness shall be ended, their hopes for ever blasted, their execution hastened on. Their present is shortened by their sins; they shall not live out half their days. They have no future worth having, while the righteous count their future as their true heritage.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But the transgressors - Sinners; violators of the law of God. Shall be destroyed together - The word “together” here - יחדּו yachedâh - means properly “a union of them;” then, together - either: (a) in one place, Gen 13:6 - or (b) at one time, Psa 4:8; or (c) all as one, Psa 14:3 - or (d) mutually with one another, as when men strive together, Deu 25:11. The idea here is, that one would be destroyed as well as another; that there would be no exception; that they would go to the same ruin. They might be destroyed at different times, or in different modes, but it would be the same destruction in the end. The end of the wicked - The future of the wicked. The same word is used here which occurs in Psa 37:37, as applied to the righteous. The meaning is, that while the “future” of the one would be peace, the future of the other would be a “cutting off,” or destruction. Shall be cut off - That is, they shall be cut off; or, there will be a cutting off. This means here, evidently: (a) that as an ordinary fact they would be cut down before they had reached the full limit of their course, Psa 37:35-36; (b) in the future world they would be cut off from hope and happiness forever.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽ֭פֹשְׁעִים | ufosheim | and transgressors | H6586 → | |
| נִשְׁמְד֣וּ | nishmedu | they will be destroyed | H8045 → | 90 times |
| יַחְדָּ֑ו | yachdav | altogether | H3162 → | 141 times |
| אַחֲרִ֖ית | ʾacharit | [the] future of | H319 → | 61 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| נִכְרָֽתָה׃ | nikhratah | it will be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
וּֽ֭פֹשְׁעִיםand transgressors
ufosheimH6586 →
נִשְׁמְד֣וּthey will be destroyed
nishmeduH8045 →90 times
יַחְדָּ֑וaltogether
yachdavH3162 →141 times
אַחֲרִ֖ית[the] future of
ʾacharitH319 →61 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
נִכְרָֽתָה׃it will be cut off
nikhratahH3772 →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
Psalms 9:17The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 50:22
Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
- Job 8:13
Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9
and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Romans 2:8–9
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- Revelation 21:8
Through
Psalms 52:5Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
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
Through
Proverbs 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on 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, ON THE PSALMS - 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.