The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh preserves all those who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
- BSB The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
- NKJV The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
- NASB The Lord watches over all who love Him, But He will destroy all the wicked.
- NLT The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God preserves all who love Him but will destroy the wicked. He keeps His people safe while justice falls on the persistently rebellious.
Overview
The psalm holds together God's protective love for His own and His righteous judgment on the wicked. Both flow from His holy and faithful character. The final separation of the righteous and the wicked is affirmed throughout Scripture and accomplished through Christ the Judge (Matthew 25:31-46).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Exod 20:6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
- John 10:27–29My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- Rom 8:28–30And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
- Ps 97:10Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
- Ps 31:23O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
- Ps 9:17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
- Ps 9:5Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
- Ps 1:6For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- Jas 2:5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
- Matt 25:41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
- 1 Pet 1:5–8Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Ps 37:28For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 145:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.