Psalms 37:17

37:17 for evil men will lose their power, ¹ 

but the Lord sustains ²  the godly.

Psalms 37:24

37:24 Even if ³  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ⁴ 

for the Lord holds ⁵  his hand.

Psalms 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 

---

¹ tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”

² tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.

³ tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “be hurled down.”

⁵ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

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.

⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

⁸ tn Or “protected forever.”

⁹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

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