Psalms 92:7
in Psalms 92that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When the wicked spring as the grass, And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; It is that they shall be destroyed for ever.
KJV
When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
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This verse in Psalms 92
Commentary
11 notes on this verseWhen sinners spring up like grass. You have seen emperors, you have seen prefects, you have seen armies, you have seen victories and triumphs. Yesterday it was, and today it is not. And all who work iniquity have appeared, that they may perish forever and ever. Yesterday it appeared like a flower, today the flower itself does not appear. Yesterday the grass was green, today it is dried up. Where is that beauty? Nothing is good except what is eternal: nothing is good except what is everlasting. Whatever has an end is not even to be counted among good things.
This site's exposition
the wicked sprout like grass
on Psalms 92:7-9
The wicked sprout like grass and flourish, and the same verse ends with their destruction. Verse 8 stands between two verses about them with one line about the LORD, exalted forever. Verse 9 says surely Your enemies twice over.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
For this reason, after saying, "Thy thoughts are very deep," he at once subjoins: "An unwise man doth not well consider this, and a fool doth not understand it" [Psalm 92:6]. What are the things which an unwise man doth not well consider, and which a fool doth not understand? "When the ungodly are green as the grass." What is, "as the grass"? They flourish when it is winter, but they will wither in the summer. Thou observest the flower of the grass? What more quickly passeth by? What is brighter? What is greener? Let not its verdure delight thee, but fear its withering. Thou hast heard of the ungodly being green as the grass: hear also of the righteous: "For lo." In the mean while, consider the ungodly; they flourish as the grass; but who are they who understand it not? The foolish and unwise. "When the ungodly are green as the grass, and all men look upon the workers of iniquity" [Psalm 92:7]. All who in their heart think not aright of God, look upon the ungodly when they are as green as grass, that is, when they flourish for a time. Why do they look upon them? "That they may be destroyed for ever." For they regard their momentary bloom, they imitate them, and wishing to flourish with them for a time, perish for evermore: this is, "That they may be destroyed for ever."
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
, 11 ), triumphs in the foresight of their destruction, not as it would be the misery of his fellow-creatures, but as it would redound to the honour of God's justice and holiness. He is confident of the ruin of sinners, 1. Though they are flourishing (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
When the wicked spring as the grass,....
If there are so many who know not the designs of Providence, nor care to know them, those who through grace are acquainted with them, and love to be so, have the more reason to be thankful. The Triumph of the Righteous; The Happiness of the Righteous.
The products of sanctification, all the instances of a lively devotion and a useful conversation, good works, by which God is glorified and others are edified, these are the fruits of righteousness, in which it is the privilege, as well as the duty, of the righteous to abound; and their abounding in them is the matter of a promise as well as of a command.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
When the wicked spring as the grass, in abundance, and apparent strength, hastening on their progress like verdant plants, which come to perfection in a day, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; flowering in their prime and pride, their pomp and their prosperity; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. They grow to die, they blossom to be blasted. They flower for a short space to wither without end. Greatness and glory are to them but the prelude of their overthrow.
When the wicked spring as the grass, in abundance, and apparent strength, hastening on their progress like verdant plants, which come to perfection in a day, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; flowering in their prime and pride, their pomp and their prosperity; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. They grow to die, they blossom to be blasted. They flower for a short space to wither without end. Greatness and glory are to them but the prelude of their overthrow. Little does their opposition matter, the Lord reigns on as if they had never blasphemed him; as a mountain abides the same though the meadows at its feet bloom or wither, even so the Most High is unaffected by the fleeting mortals who dare oppose him; they shall soon vanish for ever from among the living. But as for the wicked—how can our minds endure the contemplation of their doom "for ever." Destruction "for ever" is a portion far too terrible for the mind to realise. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the full terror of the wrath to come!
When the wicked spring as the grass - This is a lesson which is frequently inculcated in the sacred writings. The favor of God towards man is not to be known by outward prosperity; nor is his disapprobation to be known by the adverse circumstances in which any person may be found. When, however, we see the wicked flourish, we may take for granted that their abuse of God’s mercies will cause him to cut them off as cumberers of the ground; and, dying in their sins, they are destroyed for ever.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When the wicked spring as the grass - When they grow up as plants do; when they seem to flourish and prosper. Compare Psa 90:5-6; Psa 37:2, Psa 37:35, Psa 37:38. The word “grass” here refers to the vegetable creation generally, embracing plants and flowers of all kinds. And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish - As plants and flowers do. They are like vigorous plants; not like the stunted and dry shrubs of the desert. It is that they shall be destroyed for ever - The meaning here is, not that the design of their being thus made to flourish is that they should be destroyed, or that they are made to flourish for that purpose, but that such “will be” the result. They will not be made happy in another world by their prosperous and prospered wickedness here, as if God approved of their course; but the end will be that they will be destroyed forever. The design of the psalmist seems to be to turn the mind from the idea that mere external prosperity is necessarily connected with happiness; or that one who is prospered in this life is on that account safe. There is another world, and “there” ample justice will be done to all. See Psa 73:16-20.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּפְרֹ֤חַ | bifroach | when flourish | H6524 → | 36 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֨ים׀ | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| כְּמ֥וֹ | kemo | like | H3644 → | 143 times |
| עֵ֗שֶׂב | ʾesev | vegetation | H6212 → | 33 times |
| וַ֭יָּצִיצוּ | vaiyatzitzu | and they blossomed | H6692 → | 9 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| פֹּ֣עֲלֵי | poalei | [those who] do | H6466 → | 57 times |
| אָ֑וֶן | ʾaven | <of> wickedness | H205 → | 77 times |
| לְהִשָּֽׁמְדָ֥ם | lehishamedam | to be destroyed they | H8045 → | 90 times |
| עֲדֵי־ | ʾadei- | until | H5703 → | 49 times |
| עַֽד׃ | ʾad | perpetuity | H5704 → | 1261 times |
בִּפְרֹ֤חַwhen flourish
bifroachH6524 →36 times
רְשָׁעִ֨ים׀wicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
כְּמ֥וֹlike
kemoH3644 →143 times
עֵ֗שֶׂבvegetation
ʾesevH6212 →33 times
וַ֭יָּצִיצוּand they blossomed
vaiyatzitzuH6692 →9 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
פֹּ֣עֲלֵי[those who] do
poaleiH6466 →57 times
אָ֑וֶן<of> wickedness
ʾavenH205 →77 times
לְהִשָּֽׁמְדָ֥םto be destroyed they
lehishamedamH8045 →90 times
עֲדֵי־until
ʾadei-H5703 →49 times
עַֽד׃perpetuity
ʾadH5704 →1261 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
1 Peter 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:6–8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
- Psalms 103:15
As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field;
- James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- James 1:10–11
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
- Psalms 37:2
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.
- Isaiah 40:6–8
Through
Psalms 37:38But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:32
The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- Psalms 52:5
Surely 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
- Matthew 13:49–50
So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,
- Proverbs 14:32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 92; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Jerome, Homily 21, on Psalm 91; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.