Psalm 37 - I Have Never Seen a Righteous Man Abandoned

TEXT (Hebrew text appears at end)

1. Of David.

Do not be vexed by evil men; do not be envious of wrongdoers1.

2. For they soon wither like grass, like green plants they fade away.

3. Trust in the LORD and do1 good; abide in the land and keep faith.

4. Delight in the LORD and He will grant you your heart’s desires.

5. Commit your way to the LORD; place your trust in Him; He will act1.

6. He will bring out your righteousness like the sun, the justice of your case, like the midday.

7. Be still before the LORD and wait for Him; do not be vexed by the man whose way prospers, who carries out1 his schemes.

8. Desist from anger, abandon fury, do not be vexed; it can only bring evil.

9. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD―they shall inherit the land.

10. In just a little while, there will be no wicked man; you will look for his place―he is not there.
11. But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight in abundant peace.

12. The wicked man schemes against the righteous, and gnashes his teeth at him.

13. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his time is coming.

14. The wicked unsheathe their swords and bend their bows, to bring down the lowly and needy, to slaughter men of upright ways.

15. Their sword shall come into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

16. Better the little that the righteous man has than the wealth of many wicked.

17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, while the LORD sustains the support of the righteous.

18. The LORD knows the time of the blameless; their portion lasts forever.

19. They shall not be put to shame in evil years; in time of famine, they shall eat their fill.

20. For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD, like meadow vegetation—vanished in smoke, vanished.

21. The wicked man is a borrower who will not repay; the righteous is a constantly generous giver.

22. Indeed, those blessed by Him shall inherit the land, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

23. A man’s steps are made firm by the LORD, and He delights in his way.

24. Though he trips, he does not fall down, for the LORD holds him by the hand.

25. A lad was I, and now I am old, but I have never seen a righteous man abandoned, or his children seeking bread.

26. At all times he is generous and lends, and his children are a blessing.

27. Shun evil and do good, that you may abide forever.

28. For the LORD loves what is just, He does not abandon His faithful; they are maintained forever, while the children of the wicked will be cut off.

29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and abide eternally in it.

30. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

31. The teaching of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

32. The wicked looks for the righteous, and seeks to slay him.

33. The LORD will not abandon him to his hand; He will not let him be condemned2 in judgment.3

34. Look to the LORD and maintain His way, and He will exalt you that you may inherit the land; you shall see the wicked cut off.

35. I saw a ruthless wicked man thriving4 like a luxuriant native tree.

36. He passes on and behold―he is not there; I seek him, but he is not to be found
37. See and maintain innocence and uprightness, for there is a future for the man of peace.

38. But transgressors all shall be utterly destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

39. The deliverance of the righteous is from the LORD, their stronghold in periods of distress.

40. The LORD will help them and rescue them, shall rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, for they take refuge in Him.

Notes

1. All four terms (verses 1, 3, 5, 7) include the same root, "to do, to act" ('-s-h)

2..Literally, found to be “wicked.”

3. From root “justice,” i.e., tried in the court of justice.

4. Translation uncertain.

　

COMMENTARY

Psalm 37 differs from most other psalms. Its style and phrases place it squarely within the tradition of didactic wisdom literature (more like Proverbs than Psalms), and it has no hint of prayer or address to God. It lacks certain tensions, such as development or voices set against one another, and its principal contentions remain uniform throughout. There is, nevertheless, abundant food for thought and insight into behavior and attitude.

I first review the approach to the psalm that dominates modern commentary. Thereafter I highlight the structure and then move on to questions that linger after reading, questions concerning faith as a fortifying agent, the role of community in supporting belief, the influence of age on preaching, anger and jealousy as human conditions, and the conflict between didactics and dialectics.

The Overview of the Psalm as Read

Encouraging his community to be neither jealous of, nor angry about, the success of evildoers, an elder speaker counsels patience. In the end, all will be well, he says, for there is moral cohesion to the universe. The good will be rewarded (they will “inherit the earth”); the evil will be cut off and disappear. The poem is an acrostic, perhaps a hint that the world is in order.

Some commentators feel that the commitment to the acrostic has forced a certain lack of order in the poem. Further, critics decry the naiveté of the poet’s worldview and the simplicity of the speaker’s arguments, some of which closely resemble the very contentions that are rejected when offered to Job in the book bearing his name.

However, Psalm 37, which is dominated (as are many psalms) by the bifurcation of society into good and evil, really does not deal with theodicy (vindicating God in a world that includes evil―see “Additional Notes” below). Its concern is to reinforce and to hold on to the members of the righteous community, and its contentions should be seen as part of that effort. Patience is the key, the audience is told; the brighter future is coming.

The message is repeated often, through direct address. The subdivision is not terribly clear, but one might demarcate three sections: exhortations of what to do (verses 1–8); an assurance of ultimate reward and punishment (verses 9–22), and a somewhat staccato section moving back and forth between exhortation and a reiteration of the moral order of the world (verses 23–40).

Structure

The structure of the poem is more complex than one might think at first.

The acrostic does not proceed smoothly, but the exceptions to pattern create a second structure. One letter, ayin, is missing, creating a list of only twenty-one verses, allowing for a “middle” letter. Further, although each letter of the alphabet begins two consecutive verses, there are three exceptions―daled (fourth letter from the beginning), koph (fourth letter from the end), and kaph (eleventh letter, exactly in the middle of the twenty-one). Each of these letters begins only a single verse (7, 20, 34). In addition, there are exactly the same number of words before verse 7 and after verse 34. All this creates a “frame” pointing toward the middle of the psalm, verse 20 (the kaph verse), which is one articulation of the basic claim. In fact, all three one-verse units read like a summary of the psalm.

The main message is also reinforced by repetitions: the frequent “they will inherit the earth” for the righteous, and “dry up” and “cut off” for the evildoers. (The phrase “they will inherit the earth” is taken from the Pentateuch, where it implies a promise of ruling over Canaan. The poet may have reinvigorated this early phrase, investing it with new life by applying it to the land-holdings of wealthy evildoers.) This structure (and there are other detailed elements of structure―see the fourth additional note) does not alter the primary contention of the poem, but rather supports it.

These elements show how carefully the poet worked, encouraging one to look for other challenging elements in the text. I proceed to several such examples.

The Primary Contention

The repeated contentions of the psalm, that is, that in the end the righteous will be rewarded, the evil punished, and one should patiently await that day, are not to be dismissed idly. This is a classic appeal to faith, a stance that has influenced many across the generations. Here one finds “the calm serenity and assuredness of a firm faith…, the strength of which resides in its simplicity and transparency.” (Weiser) If it is naïve, it is nonetheless powerful. For Job, this answer was insufficient. For many seeking to continue their life commitments, however, it is vital. The reader is encouraged to understand where he or she stands on such matters.

The Community

There is a great deal of communal concern throughout the poem. The speaker’s effort is clearly to hold the righteous within their community and to reinforce them in their way of life (verses 3, 27, 28, 34, 37). Included are indications that the internal strength of community is what helps it to survive through difficult times (verses 21–26). In fact, verse 26 clarifies that the community prevents total devastation from befalling its poor. Doing good is the guarantor not only of a positive future in the long run, but also of survival in the shorter run (verses 27–28). Here the strength is gained not by faith but by the acts of the righteous community, more food for thought for the reader.

The Speaker’s Age

Twice the speaker cites his life experience, verses 25–26 and 35–36, the first time acknowledging his advanced age. This is certainly an astonishing twist, given that the message is so future-oriented and based on assured change “at the end.” The reader has a sense of the speaker’s legacy here, almost an ethical will, charging the next generation. This understanding adds great weight to the communal element as vital, for the old man will not personally experience this future. His testimony grants the waiting community a life of its own, in which he finds comfort. Perhaps we see here a certain serenity of old age, even as he addresses the inherent impatience of youth.

Anger and Jealousy

ere is an attraction to this wealth of others. The very terms “anger” and “jealousy” imply the appeal of that prosperity, and thus the psalm seems to say much about an inevitable inner struggle. Is this a message easily heard or accepted? Here the reader is best served by putting him or herself in the role of addressee, to test his or her own reaction to the speaker’s exhortations.

From the beginning the psalm calls for patience and equanimity (“Do not be vexed… incensed”―and RSV translates “envy” for “be incensed”), with a not-so-subtle implication that th

Didactics and Dialectics

A significant challenge of Psalm 37 is in its chosen format—didactics. It suggests that there is a simple truth to the world and that keeping that in mind will grant the equanimity that allows one to stay on the right track. The speaker thus tells the audience what to think. This is problematic, as all audiences tend to reject being preached at. Two considerations are in order.

First, there are questions of age and circumstance. Concerning age, most educators will agree that there is an early stage in which dialectical education is inappropriate. The young are to be taught right and wrong, as well as basic norms of the society, on a more absolute basis. Here the teacher is old and the age of the audience is unknown. Do the stages of appropriate education help us appreciate the message? There is also the question of circumstance. In this poem, the “community of the righteous” sees itself in relative poverty and poor conditions, and perhaps that is a time for preached certainties rather than complex considerations.

Second, I note once again that we are well served to distinguish the author from the speaker. Psalm 37 is interwoven with phrases and paraphrases of sentiments and quotes used elsewhere in the Bible, further testimaony to a poet's carefully structured work. The speaker, like the text, is a creation of the poet, who has presented us with a fascinating picture of an old man preaching didactically to a certain audience. The reader is encouraged to react to the speaker, leading to the very kind of complex considerations that the speaker does not suggest to his own audience.

* * * * * * * *

Additional Considerations and Notes

1. Most recognize that theodicy is not the concern of this psalm. The speaker addresses a sociological, not a theological, problem. His response rests on a certainty of the ultimate triumph of good, but that stance is not argued. Its repetition reads more as reinforcement than protestation. One cannot, therefore, easily set this psalm against literature that does deal with theodicy (Job, other psalms) as a comparison.

2. Verse 25 states, “I have been young and am now old, but I have never seen a righteous man abandoned, or his children seeking bread.” This verse appears in Jewish liturgy in an appendix to the grace after meals, and has caused continuing controversy, in that objective reality seems otherwise. It should be noted, however, that since the time of rabbinic literature, cited sources often imply their original biblical context. In Psalm 37, the thrust of verse 25, as implied by verses 21, 26, and 27, is not that God never abandons the righteous, but that the righteous community never does so. That might be challenge and/or truth. Certainly such a thought is a valid liturgical inclusion after eating.

3. Psalm 37 is addressed to the underprivileged community, which sees itself as both righteous and suffering. The poem’s popularity is therefore well understood. It appears in the corpus of the Talmudic-period Dead Sea community with an extended commentary (called “Pesher”), and that community saw itself as oppressed by an unrighteous establishment. Note also the New Testament (reflecting a young Christian community that also saw itself as an oppressed minority) which adopted and adapted the theme of this psalm in the well-known “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)

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4. The missing verse for the letter ayin draws some attention. The following considerations tend to show that the omission was purposeful, rather than simply having been “lost:”(a) Two scholars who concentrate on structure (Benun and Bazak) both note that where one would expect the ayin to be, there is an “extra” verse (verse 29 is a third verse following one of the letters of the alphabet), which again is a one-sentence statement reflecting the main theme. (b) Benun points out the inclusion of seventy (a significant biblical number) uses of this letter (ayin) in the psalm (more than average for either Psalms or the Bible). (c) Both authors suggest that by taking verse 29 out of certain structural or numerical counts, there is an achieved balance and/or order, possibly indicating that it is a later addition, but also that there was not another text there previously). (d) One author even relates to the missing letter as a play on verse 10, “…you will look at where he was―he will be gone.” (e). I also note that many acrostic pieces in the Bible have at least one variation in the alphabetic pattern, for varying reasons. [A caution: Some readers will want to connect point (b), the seventy appearances of the letter ayin, to the fact that seventy is the letter’s numerical value when letters are used to represent numbers. However, that use of letters is a later development in Hebrew and is not reflected in the Bible.]

　

　

The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem　and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.com/.

HEBREW TEXT

　

א  לְדָוִד  אַל-תִּתְחַר בַּמְּרֵעִים אַל-תְּקַנֵּא בְּעֹשֵׂי עַוְלָה
ב  כִּי כֶחָצִיר מְהֵרָה יִמָּלוּ וּכְיֶרֶק דֶּשֶׁא יִבּוֹלוּן
ג  בְּטַח בַּיהוָה וַעֲשֵׂה-טוֹב שְׁכָן-אֶרֶץ וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה
ד  וְהִתְעַנַּג עַל-יְהוָה וְיִתֶּן-לְךָ מִשְׁאֲלֹת לִבֶּךָ
ה  גּוֹל עַל-יְהוָה דַּרְכֶּךָ וּבְטַח עָלָיו וְהוּא יַעֲשֶׂה
ו  וְהוֹצִיא כָאוֹר צִדְקֶךָ וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ כַּצָּהֳרָיִם
ז  דּוֹם לַיהוָה וְהִתְחוֹלֵל-לוֹ אַל-תִּתְחַר בְּמַצְלִיחַ דַּרְכּוֹ בְּאִישׁ עֹשֶׂה מְזִמּוֹת
ח  הֶרֶף מֵאַף וַעֲזֹב חֵמָה אַל-תִּתְחַר אַךְ-לְהָרֵעַ
ט  כִּי-מְרֵעִים יִכָּרֵתוּן וְקֹוֵי יְהוָה הֵמָּה יִירְשׁוּ-אָרֶץ
י  וְעוֹד מְעַט וְאֵין רָשָׁע וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל-מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ
יא  וַעֲנָוִים יִירְשׁוּ-אָרֶץ וְהִתְעַנְּגוּ עַל-רֹב שָׁלוֹם
יב  זֹמֵם רָשָׁע לַצַּדִּיק וְחֹרֵק עָלָיו שִׁנָּיו
יג  אֲדֹנָי יִשְׂחַק-לוֹ כִּי-רָאָה כִּי-יָבֹא יוֹמוֹ
יד  חֶרֶב פָּתְחוּ רְשָׁעִים וְדָרְכוּ קַשְׁתָּם לְהַפִּיל עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן לִטְבוֹחַ יִשְׁרֵי-דָרֶךְ
טו  חַרְבָּם תָּבוֹא בְלִבָּם וְקַשְּׁתוֹתָם תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה
טז  טוֹב-מְעַט לַצַּדִּיק מֵהֲמוֹן רְשָׁעִים רַבִּים
יז  כִּי זְרוֹעוֹת רְשָׁעִים תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה וְסוֹמֵךְ צַדִּיקִים יְהוָה
יח  יוֹדֵעַ יְהוָה יְמֵי תְמִימִם וְנַחֲלָתָם לְעוֹלָם תִּהְיֶה
יט  לֹא-יֵבֹשׁוּ בְּעֵת רָעָה וּבִימֵי רְעָבוֹן יִשְׂבָּעוּ
כ  כִּי רְשָׁעִים יֹאבֵדוּ וְאֹיְבֵי יְהוָה כִּיקַר כָּרִים כָּלוּ בֶעָשָׁן כָּלוּ
כא  לֹוֶה רָשָׁע וְלֹא יְשַׁלֵּם וְצַדִּיק חוֹנֵן וְנוֹתֵן
כב  כִּי מְבֹרָכָיו יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ וּמְקֻלָּלָיו יִכָּרֵתוּ
כג  מֵיְהוָה מִצְעֲדֵי-גֶבֶר כּוֹנָנוּ וְדַרְכּוֹ יֶחְפָּץ
כד  כִּי-יִפֹּל לֹא-יוּטָל כִּי-יְהוָה סוֹמֵךְ יָדוֹ
כה  נַעַר, הָיִיתִי  גַּם-זָקַנְתִּי וְלֹא-רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק נֶעֱזָב וְזַרְעוֹ מְבַקֶּשׁ-לָחֶם
כו  כָּל-הַיּוֹם חוֹנֵן וּמַלְוֶה וְזַרְעוֹ לִבְרָכָה
כז  סוּר מֵרָע וַעֲשֵׂה-טוֹב וּשְׁכֹן לְעוֹלָם
כח  כִּי יְהוָה אֹהֵב מִשְׁפָּט  וְלֹא-יַעֲזֹב אֶת-חֲסִידָיו לְעוֹלָם נִשְׁמָרוּ וְזֶרַע רְשָׁעִים נִכְרָת
כט  צַדִּיקִים יִירְשׁוּ-אָרֶץ וְיִשְׁכְּנוּ לָעַד עָלֶיהָ
ל  פִּי-צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה חָכְמָה וּלְשׁוֹנוֹ תְּדַבֵּר מִשְׁפָּט
לא  תּוֹרַת אֱלֹהָיו בְּלִבּוֹ לֹא תִמְעַד אֲשֻׁרָיו
לב  צוֹפֶה רָשָׁע לַצַּדִּיק וּמְבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲמִיתוֹ
לג  יְהוָה לֹא-יַעַזְבֶנּוּ בְיָדוֹ וְלֹא יַרְשִׁיעֶנּוּ בְּהִשָּׁפְטוֹ
לד  קַוֵּה אֶל-יְהוָה וּשְׁמֹר דַּרְכּוֹ וִירוֹמִמְךָ, לָרֶשֶׁת אָרֶץ בְּהִכָּרֵת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה
לה  רָאִיתִי רָשָׁע עָרִיץ וּמִתְעָרֶה כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן
לו  וַיַּעֲבֹר וְהִנֵּה אֵינֶנּוּ וָאֲבַקְשֵׁהוּ וְלֹא נִמְצָא
לז  שְׁמָר-תָּם וּרְאֵה יָשָׁר כִּי-אַחֲרִית לְאִישׁ שָׁלוֹם
לח  וּפֹשְׁעִים נִשְׁמְדוּ יַחְדָּו אַחֲרִית רְשָׁעִים נִכְרָתָה
לט  וּתְשׁוּעַת צַדִּיקִים מֵיְהוָה מָעוּזָּם בְּעֵת צָרָה
מ  וַיַּעְזְרֵם יְהוָה וַיְפַלְּטֵם יְפַלְּטֵם מֵרְשָׁעִים וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם כִּי-חָסוּ בוֹ