For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
Parallel translations
- KJV For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
- BSB For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
- NKJV For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the Lord upholds the righteous.
- NASB For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the Lord sustains the righteous.
- NLT For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the godly.
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 strength ('arms') of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. God's support outlasts human power.
Overview
David contrasts the collapse of the wicked's power with God's sustaining of the righteous. Human strength arrayed against God's people will fail, while the Lord Himself holds them up. This personal upholding is the believer's confidence; the same God upholds His own to the end through Christ, who keeps His sheep so none can snatch them from His hand (John 10:28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Ps 63:8My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.
- Ps 145:14Yahweh upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.
- Isa 42:1“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights — I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
- Ps 37:24Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
- Ps 119:116–117Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be ashamed of my hope.
- Ps 51:12Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.
- Jude 1:24Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy,
- Ps 10:15Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
- Ps 41:12As for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
- Job 38:15From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
- Ezek 30:21–25Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up, to apply medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 37:17 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
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