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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
- Prov 20:22Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
- Ps 37:9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
- Matt 24:13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
- Ps 37:7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
- Ps 52:5–6God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
- Ps 91:8Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
- Prov 4:25–27Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
- Ps 37:3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
- Job 23:10–12But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
- Job 17:9The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
- Luke 14:11For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
- 1 Pet 5:6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
- 1 Pet 1:7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
- Prov 16:17The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
- Ps 112:9He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
- Ps 92:10–11But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
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
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