The Meaning of Psalms 92:7 Explained

Psalms 92:7

KJV: When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

YLT: When the wicked flourish as a herb, And blossom do all workers of iniquity -- For their being destroyed for ever and ever!

Darby: When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is that they may be destroyed for ever.

ASV: When the wicked spring as the grass, And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; It is that they shall be destroyed for ever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When the wicked  spring  as the grass,  and when all the workers  of iniquity  do flourish;  [it is] that they shall be destroyed  for ever: 

What does Psalms 92:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 92:1-15 - Gladness And Growth
The inscription alludes to the suitability of this psalm for the Sabbath day. Psalms 92:1-3 contain the general statement of the desirability of praise and thanksgiving. Psalms 92:4-5 suggest that God's work in creation, providence, and grace should elicit perpetual thanksgiving; but that the thoughts and purposes which underlie them are too deep for our fathoming.
Two classes of men are here mentioned: the brutish and wicked, Psalms 92:6-9; the servants of God, Psalms 92:10-15. The former are like grass, which soon grows to maturity and is then cut down; the latter are as the palm and cedar. There is no part of the palm which is not utilized in some way. The cedar is one of the largest of living trees. A thousand years is no uncommon duration, and its fiber is practically incorruptible.
The witness of an aged saint to the faithfulness of God is very delightful. When Charles H. Spurgeon was a young man, he was preaching upon this subject in his grandfather's pulpit. Halfway through the sermon, the veteran man of God advanced to the front and said, "My grandson is preaching what he has read and heard about; but I have proved for eighty-four years that God is faithful to His servants and true to His Word. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 92

1  The prophet exhorts to praise God
4  For his great works
6  For his judgments on the wicked
10  And for his goodness to the godly

What do the individual words in Psalms 92:7 mean?

When spring up the wicked like grass and when flourish all the workers of iniquity [it is] that they may be destroyed forever forever
בִּפְרֹ֤חַ רְשָׁעִ֨ים ׀ כְּמ֥וֹ עֵ֗שֶׂב וַ֭יָּצִיצוּ כָּל־ פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן לְהִשָּֽׁמְדָ֥ם עֲדֵי־ עַֽד

בִּפְרֹ֤חַ  When  spring  up 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: פָּרַח 
Sense: to bud, sprout, shoot, bloom.
רְשָׁעִ֨ים ׀  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
כְּמ֥וֹ  like 
Parse: Preposition
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
עֵ֗שֶׂב  grass 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵשֶׂב  
Sense: herb, herbage, grass, green plants.
וַ֭יָּצִיצוּ  and  when  flourish 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: צוּץ 
Sense: to blossom, shine, sparkle.
פֹּ֣עֲלֵי  the  workers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: פָּעַל  
Sense: to do, make.
אָ֑וֶן  of  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָוֶן 
Sense: trouble, wickedness, sorrow.
לְהִשָּֽׁמְדָ֥ם  [it  is]  that  they  may  be  destroyed 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
עֲדֵי־  forever 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: perpetuity, for ever, continuing future.
עַֽד  forever 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.