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For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there.
Psalms 37:10 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
  • BSB Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
  • NKJV For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.
  • NASB Yet a little while and the wicked person will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
  • NLT Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.

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

In a little while the wicked will be gone, their place empty when you look for them. Evil's apparent permanence is an illusion.

Overview

David assures that the wicked, however imposing now, will soon vanish so completely that their place cannot be found. The phrase 'yet a little while' counsels patience grounded in certainty. This temporary nature of evil and its perpetrators is finally guaranteed by God's judgment, secured in the triumph of Christ over all that opposes His kingdom.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Job 24:24They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone. Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
  • Ps 107:42–43The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
  • Ps 103:16For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.
  • Ps 37:35–36I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
  • 1 Pet 4:7But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
  • Ps 52:5God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.
  • Ps 58:10–11The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
  • Heb 10:36–37For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
  • Job 7:10He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
  • Job 20:8–9He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found. Yes, he shall be chased away like a vision of the night.
  • Luke 16:27–28“He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house;
  • Luke 12:20–21“But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared — whose will they be?’
  • Rev 6:10–11They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
  • Esth 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
  • Job 14:10But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
  • Isa 14:16–19Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms;
  • Ps 49:10For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.
  • 2 Kgs 9:25Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, Yahweh laid this burden on him:
  • 2 Kgs 9:34–37When he had come in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter.”
  • Ps 73:18–20Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.
  • Job 7:21Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I shall not be.”
  • 1 Sam 25:38–39About ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 37:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 37:10 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.