The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.
- BSB Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- NKJV The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him.
- NASB The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to kill him.
- NLT The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them.
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 wicked watches the righteous and seeks to kill him. The godly are often the targets of deadly hostility.
Overview
David again voices the danger faced by the just: the wicked spies on him with murderous intent. This realism balances the psalm's promises, acknowledging that faithfulness invites opposition. The pattern reaches its climax in Christ, watched and plotted against by His enemies, yet not abandoned by the Father, assuring His followers that God sees and defends them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 20:10For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
- Luke 14:1And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
- Luke 20:20And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
- Luke 19:47–48And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
- Ps 10:8–10He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
- Luke 6:7And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
- Acts 9:24But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
- Luke 11:54Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
- Ps 37:12The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
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 37:32 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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