Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the 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.
- 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.
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 righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
- Ps 145:14Yahweh upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.
- Ps 94:18When I said, “My foot is slipping!” Your loving kindness, Yahweh, held me up.
- Mic 7:7–8But as for me, I will look to Yahweh. 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 22:31–32The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,
- Ps 40:2He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
- Ps 34:19–20Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
- Luke 2:34and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
- Ps 147:6Yahweh upholds the humble. He brings the wicked down to the ground.
- Ps 37:17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
- Ps 91:12They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.
- Luke 22:60–62But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a 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.