But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish — vanish like smoke.
- KJV But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
- NKJV But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the Lord, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.
- NASB But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
- NLT But the wicked will die. The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field— they will disappear like smoke.
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 and God's enemies will perish, vanishing like smoke and the fading beauty of the fields. Their glory is fleeting.
Overview
In contrast to the satisfied righteous, the wicked 'shall perish,' disappearing like the short-lived splendor of meadow flowers and like smoke. Their seeming glory has no permanence. This sober certainty of judgment underscores why the righteous must trust God rather than envy evildoers, and magnifies the grace that rescues sinners from such an end through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 68:2As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
- Ps 102:3For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
- Luke 13:3No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
- Deut 33:14–16with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons,
- Judg 5:31So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.
- Gen 19:28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
- 2 Pet 2:12These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.
- Ps 92:9For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.
- Lev 3:3–11From the peace offering he is to bring an offering made by fire to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,
- Luke 13:5No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
- Lev 3:16Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.
- Heb 12:29“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Deut 29:20The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven
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 37:20 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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