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Psalm 37

37th psalm of the Book of Psalms From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Psalm 37
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Psalm 37 is the 37th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 36. In Latin, it is known as Noli aemulari in malignantibus.[1] The psalm has the form of an acrostic Hebrew poem,[2] and is thought to have been written by David in his old age.[3]

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The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has inspired hymns based on it, and has been set to music, by Baroque composers such as Heinrich Schütz as well as romantic composers such as Anton Bruckner.

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Interpretation

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Psalm 37 is a response to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? In the New American Bible, Revised Edition, published by the Catholic Church in the USA, the psalm answers that this situation is only temporary: God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth.[2] This interpretation is shared by Protestants. Matthew Henry calls it David's call to patience and confidence in God by the state of the godly and the wicked.[4] Charles Spurgeon calls it "the great riddle of the prosperity of the wicked and the affliction of the righteous".[3]

It is written as an acrostic and divided into discrete sections. Each section ends with God's resolution of the question.[3]

The psalm has also been understood as a prayer of the persecuted who has taken refuge in the temple or figuratively of refuge in God. The psalm concludes with a plea to God for those who honor him, to bless them with his justice and to protect them from the snares of the wicked.[5]

The theme of inheriting the land reoccurs five times in this Psalm (in verses 9, 11, 22, 29 and 34). Prior to this in Psalm 25:13 the rich as also said to inherit the land as well. Albert Barnes also compares the wicked being cut off in psalm 37:2 and 10 with the wicked being cut off in Psalm 73:27.[6]

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Uses

New Testament

The Beatitudes in the New Testament are influenced by this psalm.[7] Verse 11 was cited by Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:5. The original reads,

But the meek shall inherit the earth;
and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.[8]

Judaism

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the seventh day of the month.[11]

Islam

Psalm 37:29 "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever" is referenced in the Qur'an:[12]

Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): "My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth."

Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayah 105.[13]

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Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase of Psalm 37 in German, "Erzürn dich nicht so sehre", SWV 134, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Verses 30–31 in Latin were set by Anton Bruckner as "Os Justi" in 1879. British composer Clara Ross (1858-1954) used Psalm 37 as the text for her song “Fret Not Thyself.”[14]

Illuminated manuscripts

Text

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The following table shows the Hebrew text[15][16] of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint[17] and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic text come from different textual traditions.[note 1] In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 36.

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See also

Notes

  1. A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found here or here, and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found here. Both translations are in the public domain.

References

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