Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Parallel translations
- WEB Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
- KJV Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
- NKJV Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
- NASB Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it.
- NLT Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.
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
David urges waiting on the Lord and keeping His way, with the promise of exaltation and seeing the wicked cut off. Patient obedience is the path to God's reward.
Overview
The verse gathers the psalm's themes: wait on the Lord, keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land, while you witness the downfall of the wicked. Faithful patience, not anxious self-assertion, leads to blessing. This call to persevere in hope echoes throughout the New Testament's summons to endure until Christ's return brings final vindication (James 5:7-8).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 27:14Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
- Prov 20:22Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
- Ps 37:9For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
- Matt 24:13But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- Ps 37:7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- Ps 52:5–6Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- Ps 91:8You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.
- Prov 4:25–27Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
- Ps 37:3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Job 23:10–12Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
- Job 17:9Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.
- Luke 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- 1 Pet 5:6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.
- 1 Pet 1:7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Prov 16:17The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.
- Ps 112:9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Ps 92:10–11But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; with fine oil I have been anointed.
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 37:34 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.