The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Parallel translations
- WEB The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright on the path.
- BSB The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
- NKJV The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct.
- NASB The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To take down the afflicted and the needy, To kill off those who are upright in conduct.
- NLT The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right.
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
The wicked draw sword and bend bow to strike down the poor, needy, and upright. They aim their violence at the defenseless godly.
Overview
David vividly depicts the aggression of the wicked, armed to kill the vulnerable righteous. The targets, 'the poor and needy' and those 'upright on the path,' highlight the injustice. Yet the next verses show this weaponry recoiling on its wielders; God defends the lowly, a care perfected in Christ who came to rescue the helpless and oppressed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 29:27An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
- Ps 11:2For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
- 1 Jn 3:12Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
- Prov 29:10The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
- Acts 7:52Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
- 1 Sam 24:17And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
- Ps 35:10All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
- Ps 64:2–6Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
- Acts 12:11And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the LORD hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
- 1 Sam 24:11Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.
- Acts 12:23And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
- Hab 1:13Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
- Matt 23:30–34And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
- Acts 12:2–3And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
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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 37:14 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.