The Meaning of Psalms 145:20 Explained

Psalms 145:20

KJV: The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

YLT: Jehovah preserveth all those loving Him, And all the wicked He destroyeth.

Darby: Jehovah keepeth all that love him, and all the wicked will he destroy.

ASV: Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The LORD  preserveth  all them that love  him: but all the wicked  will he destroy. 

What does Psalms 145:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 145:10-21 - God's Bountiful Provision
There is more happiness in the world than we are disposed to think. God's works give praise to Him. Take, for instance, the gladness of one summer day, when from the little green lizards upward there is a perfect murmur of enjoyment in the stilly heat. Shall we not trust God, to whom the care of all things is as easy as the opening of the hand is to us? Psalms 104:28.
Psalms 145:13 is graven in the keystone of a very old building in Damascus, once a Christian church but for many centuries a mosque. The words are still true and are nearer historical fulfillment today than ever, Psalms 145:18. The Lord is always nigh, though we do not perceive or realize His presence, and it is good to affirm it as we pray. To utter these words often during one's daily life is to practice the presence of God, after the manner of the Christian mystics. But some cannot do as much; they can only desire, Psalms 145:19. But He whose love notices the faintest yearning after Himself will fulfill it. See Psalms 145:19. We shall praise God worthily when we see Him as He is! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 145

1  David praises God for his fame
8  For his goodness
11  For his kingdom
14  For his providence
17  For his justice, holiness, and savings mercy

What do the individual words in Psalms 145:20 mean?

Preserves Yahweh - all who ove Him but the wicked He will destroy
שׁוֹמֵ֣ר יְ֭הוָה אֶת־ כָּל־ אֹהֲבָ֑יו וְאֵ֖ת הָרְשָׁעִ֣ים יַשְׁמִֽיד

שׁוֹמֵ֣ר  Preserves 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
יְ֭הוָה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֹהֲבָ֑יו  who  ove  Him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָהַב  
Sense: to love.
הָרְשָׁעִ֣ים  the  wicked 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
יַשְׁמִֽיד  He  will  destroy 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.