Psalms 37:17

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

⁷Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. ⁸Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret-it can only bring harm. ⁹For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. ¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. ¹¹But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity. ¹²The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, ¹³but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming. ¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. ¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. ¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

arms: Psalms 10:15, Job 38:15, Ezekiel 30:21-25

Lord: Psalms 37:24, Psalms 41:12, Psalms 51:12, Psalms 63:8, Psalms 119:116, Psalms 119:117, Psalms 145:14, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 42:1, Jude 1:24

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 2:4 - The bows 1 Samuel 2:31 - I will cut Job 5:12 - disappointeth Job 22:9 - arms Psalms 73:23 - thou hast Jeremiah 48:25 - and his Ezekiel 30:22 - will break Romans 14:4 - he shall 1 Corinthians 1:8 - confirm

Cross-References

2 Kings 6:13
So the king said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him." On receiving the report, "Elisha is in Dothan,"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,.... That is, their sword arm, with which they have drawn it; and so shall not be able to strike with it; and with which they have bent their bows, but shall not be able to shoot: and this proves, what is before suggested, that their efforts shall be fruitless; or their substance shall be taken away from them, in which they trusted, and wherein their strength lay; and this confirms what had been just spoken, that the righteous man's little is better than the wicked man's much; and which is further confirmed by what follows;

but the Lord upholdeth the righteous; both in a providential way, by supporting them in their being, supplying their need, preserving them from dangers, and bearing them up under all their afflictions; and in a spiritual way, by maintaining the principle of grace and life in them, by furnishing them with all spiritual blessings, by sustaining them in times of temptation, and by securing them safe from their enemies; upholding them so as that they stand in the grace of God now, and shall stand before Christ with confidence hereafter; and shall not fall here finally and totally, nor in the day of judgment. The Targum is, "the Word of the Lord upholdeth the righteous".

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken - See the notes at Psalms 10:15. The “arm” is the instrument by which we accomplish a purpose; and the meaning here is, that that will be broken on which the wicked rely, or, in other words, that their plans will fail, and that they will be disappointed - as a man is rendered helpless whose arms are broken. Compare the notes at Job 38:15.

But the Lord upholdeth the righteous - The Lord will sustain and strengthen him. While the plans of the wicked will be defeated, while they themselves will be overthrown, and fail to accomplish their purposes of wickedness, the Lord will uphold the righteous, and enable them fully to carry out their plans. Their great scheme or purpose of life, the promotion of the glory of God, and the salvation of their own souls, will be fully accomplished - for in that purpose God will be their helper and friend.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 37:17. The arms of the wicked — Their power to do evil. Of this they are often deprived. Talents lent and abused shall be resumed, and the misuser called to a severe account by the Lord of the talents.