There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.
Parallel translations
- WEB There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.
- BSB There the evildoers lie fallen, thrown down and unable to rise.
- NKJV There the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise.
- NASB Those who do injustice have fallen there; They have been thrust down and cannot rise.
- NLT Look! Those who do evil have fallen! They are thrown down, never to rise again.
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
David sees by faith the workers of iniquity already fallen, thrust down and unable to rise. Evil's final defeat is certain.
Overview
The psalm ends with a confident vision of the wicked cast down for good, 'not able to rise.' Though wickedness seems strong now, David speaks of its downfall as accomplished, resting in God's sure justice. This anticipates the gospel's assurance that sin, death, and evil are decisively defeated through the cross and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 1:5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
- 2 Th 1:8–9In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Rev 19:1–6And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
- Ps 64:7–9But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
- Rev 15:4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
- Jer 51:64And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
- Ps 9:16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
- Judg 5:31So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
- Ps 18:38I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
- Ps 58:10–11The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Ps 140:10Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
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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 36:12 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.