Psalms 37:20 Meaning: The Wicked Vanish Like Smoke and Flowers

The verb for “perish” is avad. It means to be lost, to vanish, to be destroyed utterly. Not a quiet passing, but a complete end. David uses it in verse 20 to show that the wicked are not simply defeated. They cease to be a threat.

The phrase kikar karim has caused debate for centuries. Kikar means something splendid or costly. Karim means pastures or meadows. The King James Version read it as “fat of lambs,” the part of the sacrifice that went up in smoke on the altar (Leviticus 3:16). Modern translations prefer “beauty of the fields.” In spring, the hills of Palestine are carpeted with wildflowers. By early summer they are brown and dead. Both readings point to the same truth. What seems valuable and lasting is here one day and gone the next.

The final word, “smoke,” seals the metaphor. Smoke rises thick, then thins, then disappears. You cannot hold it. The enemies of the Lord will be just as substantial.

Christians have understood the imagery of this verse in two main ways. The older reading, found in the King James Version and the Geneva Bible, sees the “fat of lambs” as the sacrificial fat burned on the altar. That fat was entirely consumed by fire, rising as smoke to God. In this view, the wicked are like a sacrifice of judgment. They are wholly consumed in God's wrath. Commentators from the Reformed and Baptist traditions often favored this reading. The other reading, adopted in the WEB and other modern translations, sees the “splendor of the meadows” or “beauty of the fields.” The grass and flowers of Palestine bloom brilliantly in the rainy season and are gone by summer. This fits with verse 2, which compares the wicked to grass that withers. Both readings agree on the point: the wicked seem glorious for a moment, then they are nothing. The disagreement is about which picture David chose, not what the picture means.

A common misreading is that Psalm 37:20 promises the wicked will be punished immediately in this life, so if someone prospers and remains healthy, the verse cannot be true. In fact, the psalm itself acknowledges that the wicked often thrive for a long time. Verse 35 says David saw a wicked man spreading like a green tree. But then that man passed away and was gone. The perishing David speaks of is not always a sudden death. It is an ultimate end. The wicked are like smoke. They have no lasting substance, even if they seem solid for now.

This week you will probably see someone get away with something. Maybe a dishonest deal, a cruel remark, or a broken promise that goes unpunished. Your heart may burn with the unfairness of it. Psalm 37:20 is not asking you to deny the injustice. It is asking you to look at the whole picture through God's eyes. The glory of the wicked is fragile. It has no roots. It will not last. Your job is not to speed up their fall. Your job is to trust the God who sees the end. Let the comparison stick with you when the anger rises: they are like a field of flowers, like smoke. You are building something eternal.