Psalms 37:18

37:18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day 1 

and they possess a permanent inheritance. 2 

Psalms 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes 3  justice,

and never abandons 4  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, 5 

but the children 6  of evil men are wiped out. 7 

1 tn Heb “the Lord knows the days of the innocent ones.” He “knows” their days in the sense that he is intimately aware of and involved in their daily struggles. He meets their needs and sustains them.

2 tn Heb “and their inheritance is forever.”

3 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.

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

5 tn Or “protected forever.”

6 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

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