For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
- BSB For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
- NKJV For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.
- NASB For evildoers will be eliminated, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
- NLT For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.
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
Evildoers will ultimately be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land. The patient faithful, not the wicked, possess the lasting future.
Overview
David contrasts two destinies: the wicked are removed, while those who hope in God inherit the land, a promise rooted in the covenant gift of Canaan and reaching beyond it. Inheriting the land becomes a picture of the believer's secure future with God. Jesus draws on this very promise in blessing the meek who 'shall inherit the earth' (Matthew 5:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 60:21Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
- Ps 25:13His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
- Prov 2:21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
- Ps 37:29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
- Isa 57:13When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
- Ps 37:11–12But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Isa 58:14Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
- Rev 5:10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
- Heb 11:16But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
- Job 20:23–29When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
- Job 27:13–23This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
- Ps 37:35–36I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
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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 37:9 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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