For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds 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 41:10Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Ps 63:8My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
- Ps 145:14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
- Isa 42:1Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
- Ps 37:24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
- Ps 119:116–117Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
- Ps 51:12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
- Jude 1:24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
- Ps 10:15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
- Ps 41:12And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
- Job 38:15And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
- Ezek 30:21–25Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it 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
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.