I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
- KJV I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
- NKJV I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
- NASB I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging for bread.
- NLT Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.
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
From long experience David testifies he has never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. God faithfully provides for His own across a lifetime.
Overview
David offers the witness of age: across his life he has seen God's care for the righteous, not abandonment. This is a general testimony to God's faithfulness, not a denial that the godly ever suffer want, for Scripture and experience show believers may face hardship. Still it assures that God never truly forsakes His people, a promise sealed in Christ, who said He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Heb 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- Ps 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Ps 25:13His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
- 1 Sam 12:22Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
- Ps 112:2His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
- 2 Cor 4:9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
- Ps 94:14For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
- Ps 71:18Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
- Josh 1:5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Gen 17:7I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Luke 1:53–55He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
- Heb 12:5–6And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- Ps 71:9Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.
- Job 32:6–7So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.
- Job 15:23He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
- Acts 21:16Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to stay at the home of Mnason the Cypriot, an early disciple.
- Phlm 1:8–9So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,
- Ps 59:15They scavenge for food, and growl if they are not satisfied.
- Isa 13:16Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
- Ps 109:10May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
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 37:25 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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