The Meaning of Psalms 37:38 Explained

Psalms 37:38

KJV: But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

YLT: And transgressors were destroyed together, The latter end of the wicked was cut off.

Darby: but the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

ASV: As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; The end of the wicked shall be cut off.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But the transgressors  shall be destroyed  together:  the end  of the wicked  shall be cut off. 

What does Psalms 37:38 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 37:30-40 - Steps That Shall Not Slide
How dear this psalm has been to God's saints! It has been peculiarly prized by them in all ages. Gerhardt has paraphrased it in his noble hymn:
Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope, and be undismayed.
When banished from Berlin by the Elector, he turned into a small wayside hostelry, not knowing where to go. Seeing his wife greatly depressed, he turned to find comfort for them both in these verses, and the conception of his hymn broke upon him. That evening messengers arrived from the Duke of Mecklenburg, offering Gerhardt an honorable position in his kingdom. Among many others, Psalms 37:5 was frequently quoted by David Livingstone.
Bishop Coverdale's translation of Psalms 37:37 is noteworthy: "Keep innocency and take heed unto the thing that is right, for that shall bring a man peace at the last." But the psalmist repeatedly insists that the fulfillment of God's promises is conditioned by our faith, Psalms 37:40. The day may break stormily, but the storms expend themselves before nightfall and the sunset is golden. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 37

1  David persuades to patience and confidence in God,
12  by the different estate of the godly and the wicked

What do the individual words in Psalms 37:38 mean?

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together the future of the wicked shall be cut off
וּֽ֭פֹשְׁעִים נִשְׁמְד֣וּ יַחְדָּ֑ו אַחֲרִ֖ית רְשָׁעִ֣ים נִכְרָֽתָה

וּֽ֭פֹשְׁעִים  But  the  transgressors 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: פָּשַׁע  
Sense: to rebel, transgress, revolt.
נִשְׁמְד֣וּ  shall  be  destroyed 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
יַחְדָּ֑ו  together 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יַחַד 
Sense: union, unitedness adv.
אַחֲרִ֖ית  the  future 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אַחֲרִית  
Sense: after part, end.
רְשָׁעִ֣ים  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
נִכְרָֽתָה  shall  be  cut  off 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.