Psalms 37:21

THE MESSAGE

Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives. Generous gets it all in the end; Stingy is cut off at the pass.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The wicked person borrows and does not repay,but the righteous one is gracious and giving.

Hebrew Names Version
The wicked borrow, and don't pay back, But the righteous give generously.

King James Version
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

English Standard Version
The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

New Century Version
The wicked borrow and don't pay back, but those who do right give freely to others.

New English Translation
Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt, but the godly show compassion and are generous.

Amplified Bible
The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and kind and gives.

New American Standard Bible
The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives.

World English Bible
The wicked borrow, and don't pay back, But the righteous give generously.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The wicked boroweth and payeth not againe. but the righteous is mercifull, and giueth.

Legacy Standard Bible
The wicked borrows and does not pay back,But the righteous is gracious and gives.

Berean Standard Bible
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.

Contemporary English Version
An evil person borrows and never pays back; a good person is generous and never stops giving.

Complete Jewish Bible
The wicked borrows and doesn't repay, but the righteous is generous and gives.

Darby Translation
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; but the righteous is gracious and giveth:

Easy-to-Read Version
The wicked borrow money and never pay it back. But good people are kind and generous.

George Lamsa Translation
The wicked borrows, and pays not again; but the righteous shows mercy, and gives.

Good News Translation
The wicked borrow and never pay back, but good people are generous with their gifts.

Lexham English Bible
The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous is gracious and gives.

Literal Translation
The wicked borrows and never repays, but the righteous is gracious and giving.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The vngodly boroweth and paieth not agayne, but the rightuous is mercifull & liberall.

American Standard Version
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; But the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth.

Bible in Basic English
The sinner takes money and does not give it back; but the upright man has mercy, and gives to others.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not; but the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth.

King James Version (1611)
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not againe: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giueth.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The vngodly boroweth and payeth not agayne: but the righteous geueth mercifully and liberally.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The sinner borrows, and will not pay again: but the righteous has compassion, and gives.

English Revised Version
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A synnere schal borewe, and schal not paie; but a iust man hath merci, and schal yyue.

Update Bible Version
The wicked borrows, and does not pay again; But the righteous deals graciously, and gives.

Webster's Bible Translation
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.

New King James Version
The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

New Living Translation
The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.

New Life Bible
The sinful ask for something, but do not return it. But those who are right with God are kind and give.

New Revised Standard
The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A lawless man borroweth, and will not repay, But, a righteous man, showeth favour and giveth;

Douay-Rheims Bible
(36-21) The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth mercy and shall give.

Revised Standard Version
The wicked borrows, and cannot pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

Young's Literal Translation
The wicked is borrowing and repayeth not, And the righteous is gracious and giving.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives.

Contextual Overview

²¹Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives. Generous gets it all in the end; Stingy is cut off at the pass. ²³Stalwart walks in step with God ; his path blazed by God , he's happy. If he stumbles, he's not down for long; God has a grip on his hand. ²⁵I once was young, now I'm a graybeard— not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets. Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud. ²⁷Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit. God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends. Live this way and you've got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out. The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots. Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat's. Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he's out for the kill. God , alert, is also on watch— Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head. Wait passionately for God , don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it. I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense. The next time I looked there was nothing— a punctured bladder, vapid and limp. Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; There's a future in strenuous wholeness. But the willful will soon be discarded; insolent souls are on a dead-end street. The spacious, free life is from God , it's also protected and safe. God -strengthened, we're delivered from evil— when we run to him, he saves us. ²⁹class="psalm-title"> A David Psalm Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun. Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God , get in on the best. Open up before God , keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon. Quiet down before God , be prayerful before him. Don't bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top. Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes—it only makes things worse. Before long the crooks will be bankrupt; God -investors will soon own the store. Before you know it, the wicked will have had it; you'll stare at his once famous place and—nothing! Down-to-earth people will move in and take over, relishing a huge bonanza. Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in. But God isn't losing any sleep; to him they're a joke with no punch line. Bullies brandish their swords, pull back on their bows with a flourish. They're out to beat up on the harmless, or mug that nice man out walking his dog. A banana peel lands them flat on their faces— slapstick figures in a moral circus. Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked, For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God -strong. God keeps track of the decent folk; what they do won't soon be forgotten. In hard times, they'll hold their heads high; when the shelves are bare, they'll be full. God-despisers have had it; God 's enemies are finished— Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time, vanished like smoke in thin air. Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives. Generous gets it all in the end; Stingy is cut off at the pass. Stalwart walks in step with God ; his path blazed by God , he's happy. If he stumbles, he's not down for long; God has a grip on his hand. I once was young, now I'm a graybeard— not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets. Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud. Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit. God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends. Live this way and you've got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out. The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots. ³⁰Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat's. ³²Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he's out for the kill. God , alert, is also on watch— Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

borroweth: Deuteronomy 28:12, Deuteronomy 28:43, Deuteronomy 28:44, 2 Kings 4:1-5, Nehemiah 5:1-5, Proverbs 22:7

righteous: Psalms 112:5, Psalms 112:9, Deuteronomy 15:9-11, Job 31:16-20, Isaiah 32:8, Isaiah 58:7-10, Luke 6:30, Acts 11:29, Acts 20:35, 2 Corinthians 8:9, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Hebrews 6:10, Hebrews 13:16

Reciprocal: Exodus 22:14 - borrow Deuteronomy 15:6 - thou shalt lend 2 Kings 4:7 - pay 2 Kings 6:5 - for it was borrowed Nehemiah 5:18 - because the bondage Psalms 37:26 - merciful Micah 7:8 - when I fall Matthew 5:42 - General Matthew 6:2 - when Romans 12:8 - with diligence

Cross-References

Genesis 9:5
"But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

Genesis 42:22
Reuben broke in. "Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't hurt the boy'? But no, you wouldn't listen. And now we're paying for his murder."

Joshua 10:28
That same day Joshua captured Makkedah, a massacre that included the king. He carried out the holy curse. No survivors. Makkedah's king got the same treatment as Jericho's king.

Matthew 10:28
"Don't be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again,.... While the wicked live, they are scandalous; they live by borrowing, which was always reckoned mean; see Deuteronomy 28:12; and what is worse, as they borrow, they do not design to repay; they take no care nor thought about that, but live upon what they borrow: for this either expresses their incapacity that they cannot pay; or the evil disposition of their mind, which rather seems to be the sense, that they will not pay;

but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth; which not only argues capacity and ability, but a kind, merciful, and tender spirit to persons in distress, and is expressive of a generous action.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again - This is probably intended here, not so much to describe the “character” as the “condition” of the wicked. The idea is, that he will be in such a condition of want that he will be under a necessity of borrowing, but will not have the means of repaying what he has borrowed, while the righteous will not only have enough for himself, but will have the means of showing mercy to others, and of “giving” to them what they need. The ability to lend to others is referred to as a part of the promise of God to his people, and as marking their condition as a prosperous one, in Deuteronomy 15:6 : “And thou shalt lend unto many nations, and shalt not borrow.” Compare Deuteronomy 28:12, Deuteronomy 28:44. It is true, however, as a characteristic of a wicked man, that he will often be “disposed” to borrow and not pay again; that he will be “reckless” about borrowing and careless about paying; and that it is a characteristic of a good or upright man that he will not borrow when he can avoid it, and that he will be punctual and conscientious in paying what he has borrowed.

But the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth - That is, in this connection, he is not under the necessity of borrowing of others for the supply of his wants. He has not only enough for himself, but he has the means of aiding others, and has the disposition to do it. It is his “character” to show favors, and he has the means of gratifying this desire.

And giveth - Imparts to others. He has enough for himself, and has also that which he can give to others. Of course all this is designed to be general. It does not mean that this will universaly be the case, but that the tendency of a life of piety is to make a man prosperous in his worldly affairs; to give him what he needs for himself, and to furnish him with the means, as he has the disposition, to do good to others. Other things being equal, the honest, temperate, pure, pious man will be the most prosperous in the world: for honesty, temperance, purity, and piety produce the industry, economy, and prudence on which prosperity depends.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 37:21. The wicked borroweth — Is often reduced to penury, and is obliged to become debtor to those whom he before despised.

And payeth not again — May refuse to do it, because he is a wicked man; or be unable to do it, because he is reduced to beggary.

But the righteous showeth mercy — Because he has received mercy from God, therefore he shows mercy to men. And even to his enemies he showeth mercy, and giveth; his heart being disposed to it by the influence of Divine grace, and his hand being enabled to do it by the blessing of God's providence.