For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on 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.
- KJV For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
- BSB For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
- 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 60:21Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
- Ps 25:13His soul shall dwell at ease. His offspring shall inherit the land.
- Prov 2:21For the upright will dwell in the land. The perfect will remain in it.
- Ps 37:29The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
- Isa 57:13When you cry, let those whom you have gathered deliver you; but the wind will take them. a breath will carry them all away: but he who takes refuge in me will possess the land, and will inherit my holy mountain.”
- Ps 37:11–12But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
- Ps 55:23But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you.
- Isa 58:14then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father:” for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.
- Rev 5:10and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on the earth.”
- Heb 11:16But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
- Job 20:23–29When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
- Job 27:13–23“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
- Ps 37:35–36I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
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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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