Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
- KJV Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
- NKJV Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
- NASB When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
- NLT Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
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
Though the righteous stumble, he will not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him. God preserves His people through their failures.
Overview
David acknowledges that the godly may stumble, yet promises they will not fall headlong because 'Yahweh holds him up with his hand.' Perseverance rests not on our grip but on God's. This is a precious gospel assurance: those whom God upholds in Christ are kept, so that even their stumbles do not result in final ruin (Jude 24).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 24:16For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
- Ps 145:14The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
- Ps 94:18If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.
- Mic 7:7–8But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- John 10:27–30My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Luke 22:31–32Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
- Ps 40:2He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
- Ps 34:19–20Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
- Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
- Ps 147:6The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
- Ps 37:17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
- Ps 91:12They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
- Luke 22:60–62“Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied. While he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
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 37:24 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.