Mazmur 37:14-17

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ¹  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ² 

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

and their bows will be broken.

37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men, ⁴ 

37:17 for evil men will lose their power, ⁵ 

but the Lord sustains ⁶  the godly.

[37:14]  ¹ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ² tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[37:15]  ³ tn Heb “enter into.”

[37:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.

[37:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”

[37:17]  ⁶ tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.