Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
- BSB Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding 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 a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
- Ps 145:14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
- Ps 94:18When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
- Mic 7:7–8Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
- John 10:27–30My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- Luke 22:31–32And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
- Ps 40:2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
- Ps 34:19–20Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
- Luke 2:34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
- Ps 147:6The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
- Ps 37:17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
- Ps 91:12They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
- Luke 22:60–62And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
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
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