God & Savior

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
Psalm 37:7
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Study notes

Be still before the Lord and wait for Him, without fretting over people whose evil plans seem to succeed.

Explanation

The temptation in this psalm is to be upset, even angry, when wrongdoers prosper. The answer is to be quiet before God and wait for Him to act, because their success will not last (37:9-10).

Original language
  • דּ֤וֹם׀ (Dom): stationary
    Hebrew · Verb, qal, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H1826A · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Be still, be silent.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 37:7, word 1

  • וְהִתְח֪וֹלֵ֫ל (ve.hit.Cho.Lel): wait anxiously
    Hebrew · Conjunction + Verb, hithpael, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H2342K · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Wait longingly.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 37:7, word 3

  • תִּ֭תְחַר (Tit.char): to burn
    Hebrew · Verb, hithpael, jussive, 2nd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H2734 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Fret: get heated, upset.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 37:7, word 6

Cross-references
  • Psalm 37:1 · Surrounding passage

    Do not fret because of evildoers.

  • Psalm 46:10 · Same theme

    Be still and know that I am God.

  • Lamentations 3:26 · Same theme

    It is good to wait quietly for the LORD's salvation.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

דּ֤וֹם׀ לַיהוָה֮ וְהִתְח֪וֹלֵ֫ל ל֥וֹ אַל־תִּ֭תְחַר בְּמַצְלִ֣יחַ דַּרְכּ֑וֹ בְּ֝אִ֗ישׁ עֹשֶׂ֥ה מְזִמּֽוֹת׃

  1. דּ֤וֹם׀Dom“be still”
    Verb, qal, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from דָּמַם · “stationary” · Strong's H1826A
  2. לַיהוָה֮la.Yah.weh“to Yahweh”
    Preposition + Noun, proper name, title · from יהוה · “LORD” · Strong's H3068G
  3. וְהִתְח֪וֹלֵ֫לve.hit.Cho.Lel“and wait longingly”
    Conjunction + Verb, hithpael, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from חוּל · “wait anxiously” · Strong's H2342K
  4. ל֥וֹlo“for him”
    Preposition + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from Os3m · “him” · Strong's H9033
  5. אַל־'al-“may not”
    Particle, negative · from אַל · “not” · Strong's H0408
  6. תִּ֭תְחַרTit.char“you fret yourself”
    Verb, hithpael, jussive, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from חָרָה · “to burn” · Strong's H2734
  7. בְּמַצְלִ֣יחַbe.matz.Li.ach“in [one who] makes prosperous”
    Preposition + Verb, hiphil, participle (active), masculine, singular, construct · from צָלֵחַ · “to prosper” · Strong's H6743B
  8. דַּרְכּ֑וֹdar.Ko“way his”
    Noun, both genders, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from דֶּ֫רֶךְ · “conduct” · Strong's H1870G
  9. בְּ֝אִ֗ישׁbe.'Ish“in a person”
    Preposition + Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from אִישׁ · “man” · Strong's H0376G
  10. עֹשֶׂ֥ה'o.Seh“[who] makes”
    Verb, qal, participle (active), masculine, singular, absolute · from עָשָׂה · “do” · Strong's H6213A
  11. מְזִמּֽוֹת׃me.zi.Mot“plots”
    Noun, feminine, plural, absolute · from מְזִמָּה · “plot” · Strong's H4209
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)