The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
- BSB The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
- NKJV The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.
- NASB The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever.
- NLT The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.
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 will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. God's people receive a permanent, secure home.
Overview
David repeats the psalm's refrain that the righteous inherit the land and live there forever, emphasizing permanence. The earthly inheritance pictures a deeper, eternal reality. The New Testament unfolds this as the believer's everlasting inheritance and ultimately the new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 2:21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
- Ps 37:9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
- 2 Pet 3:13Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
- Rev 21:7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
- Ps 37:18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
- Ps 37:11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
- Deut 30:20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
- Rev 21:3–4And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
- Ps 37:27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
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 37:29 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.