Psalms 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes 1  justice,

and never abandons 2  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, 3 

but the children 4  of evil men are wiped out. 5 

Psalms 37:39-40

37:39 But the Lord delivers the godly; 6 

he protects them in times of trouble. 7 

37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, 8 

for they seek his protection.

1 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.

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

3 tn Or “protected forever.”

4 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

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

6 tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the Lord.”

7 tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”

8 tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.