Psalms 37:22

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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וּ֝מְקֻלָּלָ֗יו

qâlal

H7043

“and · light · him”

Conjunction + Verb, Pual, Participle Passive, Masculine, Plural, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 82× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 8:8

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 2028

to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light - (Qal) - to be slight, be abated (of water) - to be swift - to be trifling, be of little account - (Niphal) - to be swift, show oneself swift - to appear trifling, be too trifling, be insignificant - to be lightly esteemed - (Piel) - to make despicable - to curse - (Pual) to be cursed - (Hiphil) - to make light, lighten - to treat with contempt, bring contempt or dishonour - (Pilpel) - to shake - to whet - (Hithpalpel) to shake oneself, be moved to and fro

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

6: words
6: distinct lemmas
Wisdom: section

Grammatical profile

4 verbs
1 noun
1 conjunction

Verb forms

מְ֭בֹרָכָיו Pual · Participle Passive
יִ֣ירְשׁוּ Qal · Imperfect
וּ֝מְקֻלָּלָ֗יו Pual · Participle Passive
יִכָּרֵֽתוּ Niphal · Imperfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 21 words from the Hebrew and 18 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 6 Hebrew tokens and 11 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Psalms 37:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Proverbs 3:33 Yahweh's curse is in the house of the wicked, But he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
1 Corinthians 16:22 If any man doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come, Lord!
Psalms 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off, But those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,"
Job 5:3 I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Psalms 32:1 Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.
Psalms 37:11 But the humble shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalms 37:18 Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.

Psalms 37:28 For Yahweh loves justice, And doesn't forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, But the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psalms 115:15 Blessed are you by Yahweh, Who made heaven and earth.
Psalms 119:21 You have rebuked the proud who are cursed, Who wander from your commandments.
Psalms 128:1 Blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh, Who walks in his ways.
Zechariah 5:3–4 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
Matthew 25:41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, "Cursed is everyone who doesn't continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them."

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

You’re reading Greek Psalm 36 (Hebrew Psalm 37). The Septuagint counts the superscription, so verse numbers can differ from the Hebrew — chapter-level alignment, not verse-by-verse. Numbering follows Rahlfs.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Psalms 37:22 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

כִּ֣י מְ֭בֹרָכָיו יִ֣ירְשׁוּ אָ֑רֶץ וּ֝מְקֻלָּלָ֗יו יִכָּרֵֽתוּ

For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Greek Psalm 36:22 Septuagint · lemma form

ὅτι ὁ εὐλογέω αὐτός κληρονομέω γῆ ὁ δέ καταἀράομαι αὐτός ἐκὀλεθρεύω

For they that bless him shall inherit the earth; and they that curse him shall be utterly destroyed.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on Psalms 37:22 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Psa 37:22 For [such as be] blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and [they that be] cursed of him shall be cut off.

Ver. 22. For such as be blessed of him, &c.] See Psa 37:9; Psa 37:11.

Shall be cut off] In hoc saeculo et future, saith Kimchi. Or this verse may be taken as a reason of the former, viz. why are wicked rich men so necessitated and righteous men so enabled, enlarged? God curseth the one, but blesseth the other, and that is it which maketh the odds between them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. A. Alexander on Psalms

Joseph Addison Alexander

22. (Psa 37:22) For his blessed ones, those blessed by him, i. e. by God, shall inherit the land, in the same sense as before, and so be able not only to lend but to give away, and, on the other hand, or but, his cursed ones, those cursed by him, shall not only be unable to do either and dependent on the charity of others, but shall be cut off, destroyed, exterminated, with allusion no doubt to the use of the same Hebrew verb in reference to excision from the communion and the privileges of the chosen people. See Gen 17:14, Exo 12:15, Lev 7:20-21; Num 15:30, etc., but especially Lev 17:14; Lev 11:17, where the verb is absolutely used in this sense as in the case before us. Thus understood, the verse assigns the blessing and the curse of God as a reason for the difference of condition mentioned in the verse preceding, whereas no such reason could be given for the difference of moral character, and the for in that case would be either out of place or unmeaning.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

cut off--opposed to "inherit the earth" (compare Lev 7:20-21).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 22. Shall inherit the earth] ארץ arets the land, as before. See Ps 37:11.

Shall be cut off.] A wicked Jew shall meet with the same fate as a wicked Babylonian; and a wicked Christian shall fare no better.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

22. For &c.] The wicked man’s ruin and the righteous man’s ability to do good proceed respectively from the curse and the blessing of God.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,.... Or "of a man" (w); such a man as is blessed of the Lord; the steps which he takes in life are ordered by the Lord, both with respect to things temporal and spiritual: his good conduct is not of himself, it is a blessing of the Lord, who directs and keeps the feet of his saints, and inclines them to take such steps, and pursue such methods, which he succeeds and prospers;

and he delighteth in his way; which he knows and approves of, guides and directs him in; see Psa 1:6.

(w) "hominis", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For such as be blessed of him - They who are his true friends.

Shall inherit the earth - See Psa 37:9.

And they that be cursed of him - His enemies.

Shall be cut off - Psa 37:9. This verse suggests a thought of great importance, in advance of that which had been suggested before. It is that, after all, the difference in the ultimate condition of the two depends on the question whether they have, or have not, “the favor of the Lord.” It is not on the mere fact of their own skill, but it is on the fact that the one has secured the divine favor, and that the other has not. It is not by mere human virtue, irrespective of God, that the result is determined; but it is that one is the friend of God, and the other not. This consideration will be found in the end to enter essentially into all the distinctions in the final condition of mankind.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Of him, i.e. of the Lord, as appears both from Psa 37:20, where he is named, and from the nature of the thing, this being God’s prerogative to bless or to curse men. And this he mentions, both as the foundation, and as the proof of the certainty of their future happiness.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Treasury of David

Charles H. Spurgeon

Ver. 22. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth. God's benediction is true wealth after all. True happiness, such as the covenant secures to all the chosen of heaven, lies wrapped up in the divine favour. And they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. His frown is death; nay, more, It is hell.

Ver. 22. God promises that the seed of his people shall inherit the earth. The child of such a tenant as paid his rent well, shall not be put out of his farm. John Glascock.

Ver. 22. The divine blessing the secret of happiness. The divine displeasure the essence of misery.

Psalms 37:23*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

For such as be blessed of him (i.e. God) shall inherit the earth (see above, ver. 11). And they that be cursed of him shall be out off (see above, ver. 9).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

Those who are blessed by God will inherit the land; those who are cursed by him will be cut off

This is a contrastive form of Parallelism. Those who are blessed by God in contrast to those who are cursed by God. (See: Parallelism)

Those who are blessed by God

This can be stated as active. AT: "Those whom God blesses" (See: Active or Passive)

will inherit the land

The possession of the land is spoken of as if it had been received as an inheritance. See how you translated this in Psalms 37:9. AT: "will receive the land as their own possession" or "will be allowed to live safely in the land" (See: Metaphor)

those who are cursed by him

This can be stated in active form. AT: "those whom Yahweh curses" (See: Active or Passive)

will be cut off

The destruction of the wicked is spoken of as if they were a branch of plant that was cut off and thrown away. See how you translated this in Psalms 37:9. (See: Metaphor)

It is by Yahweh that a man's steps are established ... commendable in God's sight

These can be stated to show the logical connection and clarify the passive clause. AT: "If a man lives in a commendable way in Yahweh's sight, Yahweh will establish his steps" (See: Active or Passive)

It is by Yahweh that a man's steps are established

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh is the one who enables a man to be successful" (See: Active or Passive)

a man ... the man

This does not refer to a specific man, but to people in general. (See: Generic Noun Phrases)

a man's steps

Steps represent the way a person lives. AT: "the way a man lives" (See: Metonymy)

Though he stumbles, he will not fall down

Here "stumble" and "fall" refer to the man's reaction to difficult times. AT: "Though he has difficult times, he will not utterly fail" (See: Metaphor)

holding him with his hand

Here "his hand" refers to Yahweh's power, and "holding him" refers to protecting him. AT: "protecting him with his power" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

bless

God

inherit

curse

cut off

stumble

hand

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

For those blessed by Him By the Righteous One of the world, shall inherit the land.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Psalms, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 6 words (6 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is qâlal (“to be light”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word qâlal carries the sense “to be light.” How does it shape the verse?
Proverbs 3:33 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
The verb «מְ֭בֹרָכָיו» is Pual Participle Passive. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and J. A. Alexander on Psalms read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 6 Hebrew ↔ 11 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 6 words in this verse.
6 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 6 words in this verse.