Passage

Psalms 37.21

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"19. They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20. But the wicked shall perish, And the enemies of Jehovah shall be as the fat of lambs: They shall consume; in smoke shall they consume away."

"21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; But the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth."

"22. For such as are blessed of him shall inherit the land; And they that are cursed of him shall be cut off. 23. A man's goings are established of Jehovah; And he delighteth in his way." (Psalms 37:19-23, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"19. They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20. But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish, vanish like smoke."

"21. The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously."

"22. For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off. 23. A man’s goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way." (Psalms 37:19-23, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. ^{the fat: Heb. the preciousness}"

"21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth."

"22. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. ^{ordered: or, established}" (Psalms 37:19-23, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"19. They are not ashamed in a time of evil, And in days of famine they are satisfied. 20. But the wicked perish, and the enemies of Jehovah, As the preciousness of lambs, Have been consumed, In smoke they have been consumed."

"21. The wicked is borrowing and repayeth not, And the righteous is gracious and giving."

"22. For His blessed ones do possess the land, And His reviled ones are cut off. 23. From Jehovah [are] the steps of a man, They have been prepared, And his way he desireth." (Psalms 37:19-23, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
Audience: worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
Location: Israel, various periods
Time period: composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.