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.
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.
- 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.
- 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 for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh.
- Prov 20:22Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
- Ps 37:9For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
- Matt 24:13But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.
- Ps 37:7Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
- Ps 52:5–6God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.
- Ps 91:8You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked.
- Prov 4:25–27Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.
- Ps 37:3Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
- Job 23:10–12But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come out like gold.
- Job 17:9Yet shall the righteous hold on his way. He who has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger.
- Luke 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will 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 proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ —
- Prov 16:17The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul.
- Ps 112:9He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.
- Ps 92:10–11But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. I am 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
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.