He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
Parallel translations
- WEB All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed.
- BSB They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.
- NKJV He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.
- NASB All day long he is gracious and lends, And his descendants are a blessing.
- NLT The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.
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 righteous person is generous all day long, lending freely, and his offspring are blessed. Godliness and generosity bring blessing across generations.
Overview
David continues his portrait of the righteous as gracious and open-handed, even in lending, with blessing extending to his children. Generosity is a mark of those who trust God's provision. Such grace reflects the heart of God and the gospel pattern of freely giving because we have freely received (Acts 20:35).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 112:5A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
- Ps 37:21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
- Matt 5:7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
- Luke 6:35–38But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
- Prov 20:7The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
- Jer 32:39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
- Ps 112:9He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
- Deut 15:8–10But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
- Ps 147:13For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 37:26 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.