Mazmur 37:13

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ¹  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ² 

Mazmur 37:15

37:15 Their swords will pierce ³  their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

Mazmur 37:17

37:17 for evil men will lose their power, ⁴ 

but the Lord sustains ⁵  the godly.

Mazmur 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes ⁶  justice,

and never abandons ⁷  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ⁸ 

but the children ⁹  of evil men are wiped out. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 37:33

37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,

or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 37:39-40

37:39 But the Lord delivers the godly; ¹² 

he protects them in times of trouble. ¹³ 

37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, ¹⁴ 

for they seek his protection.

[37:13]  ¹ tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ² tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[37:15]  ³ tn Heb “enter into.”

[37:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”

[37:17]  ⁵ tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.

[37:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.

[37:28]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ⁸ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ⁹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ¹⁰ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.

[37:33]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.

[37:39]  ¹² tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the Lord.”

[37:39]  ¹³ tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”

[37:40]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.