Psalms 37:23

THE MESSAGE

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.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A person’s steps are established by the Lord,and he takes pleasure in his way.

Hebrew Names Version
A man's goings are established by the LORD. He delights in his way.

King James Version
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord : and he delighteth in his way.

English Standard Version
The steps of a man are established by the Lord , when he delights in his way;

New Century Version
When people's steps follow the Lord , God is pleased with their ways.

New English Translation
The Lord grants success to the one whose behavior he finds commendable.

Amplified Bible
The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the LORD, And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].

New American Standard Bible
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way.

World English Bible
A man's goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The pathes of man are directed by the Lord: for he loueth his way.

Legacy Standard Bible
The footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh,And He delights in his way.

Berean Standard Bible
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way.

Contemporary English Version
If you do what the Lord wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure.

Complete Jewish Bible
Adonai directs a person's steps, and he delights in his way.

Darby Translation
The steps of a man are established by Jehovah, and he delighteth in his way:

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord shows us how we should live, and he is pleased when he sees people living that way.

George Lamsa Translation
The steps of a good man are established by the LORD; he sets his course.

Good News Translation
The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him.

Lexham English Bible
The steps of a man are established by Yahweh, and he takes pleasure in his way.

Literal Translation
The steps of a good man are established from Jehovah; and He will delight in his way.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The LORDE ordreth a good mans goinge, & hath pleasure in his waye.

American Standard Version
A man's goings are established of Jehovah; And he delighteth in his way.

Bible in Basic English
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he takes delight in his way.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
It is of the LORD that a man's goings are established; and He delighted in his way.

King James Version (1611)
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The pathes of man is directed by God: and his way pleaseth.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord: and he will take pleasure in his way.

English Revised Version
A man's goings are established of the LORD; and he delighteth in his way.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The goyng of a man schal be dressid anentis the Lord; and he schal wilne his weie.

Update Bible Version
A [noble] man's goings are established of Yahweh; And he delights in his way.

Webster's Bible Translation
The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

New King James Version
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.

New Living Translation
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

New Life Bible
The steps of a good man are led by the Lord. And He is happy in his way.

New Revised Standard
Our steps are made firm by the Lord , when he delights in our way;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
From Yahweh, are the steps of a man made firm, When, with his way, he is well pleased:

Douay-Rheims Bible
(36-23) With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way.

Revised Standard Version
The steps of a man are from the LORD, and he establishes him in whose way he delights;

Young's Literal Translation
From Jehovah [are] the steps of a man, They have been prepared, And his way he desireth.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The steps of a man are established by the Lord , And He delights in his way.

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

steps: Psalms 17:5, Psalms 85:13, Psalms 119:133, Psalms 121:3, Psalms 121:8, 1 Samuel 2:9, Job 23:11, Job 23:12, Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 10:23

ordered: or, established, Psalms 40:2, Proverbs 4:26

delighteth: Psalms 147:10, Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 11:20, Jeremiah 9:24, Hebrews 13:16

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 29:10 - General 2 Chronicles 19:11 - the good Psalms 7:9 - but Psalms 18:19 - because Psalms 25:10 - the paths Psalms 25:12 - him Psalms 37:31 - none Psalms 66:9 - suffereth Psalms 94:18 - My foot Proverbs 2:8 - and Proverbs 3:23 - General Proverbs 20:24 - Man's Acts 11:24 - he was 2 Corinthians 1:21 - stablisheth 1 Peter 1:5 - kept

Cross-References

Genesis 37:3
Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him—they wouldn't even speak to him.

Genesis 37:31
They took Joseph's coat, butchered a goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. They took the fancy coat back to their father and said, "We found this. Look it over—do you think this is your son's coat?"

Genesis 37:33
He recognized it at once. "My son's coat—a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph torn limb from limb!"

Genesis 42:21
Then they started talking among themselves. "Now we're paying for what we did to our brother—we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for mercy. We wouldn't listen to him and now we're the ones in trouble."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the Lord,.... Or "of a man" w; such a man as is blessed of the Lord; the steps which he takes in life are ordered by the Lord, both with respect to things temporal and spiritual: his good conduct is not of himself, it is a blessing of the Lord, who directs and keeps the feet of his saints, and inclines them to take such steps, and pursue such methods, which he succeeds and prospers;

and he delighteth in his way; which he knows and approves of, guides and directs him in; see Psalms 1:6.

w גבר "hominis", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord - Margin, “established.” The word rendered “ordered” means to stand erect; to set up; to found; to adjust, fit, direct. The idea here is, that all which pertains to the journey of a good man through life is directed, ordered, fitted, or arranged by the Lord. That is, his course of life is under the divine guidance and control. The word “good” has been supplied here by our translators, and there is nothing corresponding to it in the original. It is simply there, “the steps of man are ordered,” etc. Yet there can be no doubt that a good or pious man is particularly referred to, for the connection demands this interpretation. The word “steps” here means his course of life; the way in which he goes.

And he delighteth in his way - In his course of life; and, therefore, he blesses him. The general idea is that he is the object of the divine favor, and is under the care of God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 37:23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord — There is nothing for good in the text. גבר geber is the original word, and it properly signifies a strong man, a conqueror or hero; and it appears to be used here to show, that even the most powerful must be supported by the Lord, otherwise their strength and courage will be of little avail.

And he delighteth in his way. — When his steps are ordered by the Lord, he delighteth in his way, because it is that into which his own good Spirit has directed him. Or, the man delights in God's way-in the law and testimonies of his Maker.