Psalms 37:38 · Bible study
Psalms 37:38 Commentary: Posterity or Eternal Destruction?
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Does 'the future of the wicked shall be cut off' mean their descendants or eternal doom? Biblical scholars offer two main readings.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The wicked face a decisive, irreversible end, either cut off from posterity or from eternal life.
- Key words: acharith (H0319), future, posterity, end; karat (H3772), to cut off.
- Main debate: Does 'future' refer to descendants (Keil & Delitzsch) or to final judgment (Barnes, Gill)?
- Theological theme: God's justice is certain even when delayed; the destiny of the wicked and righteous are finally opposite.
- Best use: A pastoral anchor for those troubled by the prosperity of the wicked, pointing to God's sovereign outcome.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
WEB World English Bible 2000
As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
KJV King James Version 1769
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together: The end of the wicked shall be cut off.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And transgressors were destroyed together, The latter end of the wicked was cut off.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
but the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Mas los transgresores fueron todos á una destruídos: la postrimería de los impíos fué talada.
Mas os transgressores serão juntamente destruídos; o fim dos perversos será eliminado.
Mais les rebelles sont tous anéantis,
Die Übertreter aber werden vertilgt miteinander, und die Gottlosen werden zuletzt ausgerottet.
Maar de overtreders worden te zamen verdelgd. het einde der goddelozen wordt uitgeroeid.
Mentre i trasgressori saranno tutti quanti distrutti; la posterità degli empi sarà sterminata.
Lecz przestępcy pospołu poginą, a niezbożnicy na ostatek wykorzenieni będą.
至於犯法的人，必一同 滅絕；惡人 終 必剪除。
But as for the sinners, they will be cut off together; the end of the wrongdoers is destruction.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 37:38
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators broadly agree that Psalm 37:38 stands as the dark counterpart to verse 37. The upright have a future of peace; the wicked face a decisive end. The key Hebrew term acharith (H0319) appears in both verses, a deliberate lexical echo. As the Cambridge Bible notes, this word carries the sense of 'what comes after,' which can refer either to a person's posterity or to their final condition. Barnes states that the wicked are 'destroyed together,' meaning no exception, all share one ruin. Calvin frames the whole psalm as God's answer to the temptation that arises when the wicked prosper. Yet the scholars diverge at the hinge: is the cutting off a temporal removal of offspring, or does it signal eternal separation from God? The consensus is limited to the certainty of judgment; the nature of that judgment is where the traditions part.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Eternal destruction view: Barnes and Gill link the cutting off to final judgment, citing Psalm 1:6 and Matthew 13:30, and the contrast with the upright's 'peace' in v.37.
- Posterity view: Keil & Delitzsch and Cambridge Bible argue that <em>acharith</em> in Proverbs 24:20 and Amos 9:1 refers to offspring; the wicked's line is cut off.
- Both temporal and eternal: Barnes also includes temporal destruction in this life; the verse may encompass both present and ultimate judgment.
What is clear: The wicked face a definitive, irreversible end that stands in stark contrast to the peace promised to the upright.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of <em>acharith</em> (<em>future</em>) | The word describes what comes after, either a person's posterity or their final condition. | Some (Keil & Delitzsch, Cambridge) stress 'posterity' based on parallels in Proverbs 23:18 and 24:20. Others (Barnes, Gill) see an eternal state of judgment, drawing on the contrast with 'peace' in v.37. |
| Scope of 'destroyed together' | All transgressors will be destroyed, no exceptions. | Is the destruction temporal (death in this life) or eschatological (final judgment)? Barnes includes both; Calvin focuses on present justice visible to the faithful. |
| Relation to Psalm 37's overall message | The psalm comforts the righteous who are tempted to envy the wicked. | Does the comfort come from seeing the wicked's downfall in this life (poetic realism) or from the promise of the age to come (resurrection hope)? |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 37 is an acrostic wisdom psalm attributed to David. Its structure, each stanza assigned to a Hebrew letter, gives it a crafted, memorisable form. The purpose, Calvin argues, is to steady the faithful when the world's moral order seems upside down. In the ancient Near East, prosperity was widely taken as a sign of divine favor. The psalm counters that assumption. The wicked may spread 'like a green tree in its native soil' (v.35), but their fate is sudden obliteration. The word yachdaw ('together') in v.38 carries weight: it stresses the corporate end of all transgressors. Meanwhile, acharith belongs to a family of wisdom terms used also in Proverbs 23:18 and 24:20, where it can mean 'posterity' or 'what remains after death.' This range creates the interpretive tension. The psalm's literary context places v.38 within the final stanza (letter Shin), summing up the entire meditation: God ultimately sets things right, even when human sight fails.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Targum) align with the Masoretic reading. The only variation is the rendering of acharith in some translations as 'end' (KJV, ASV) versus 'future' (WEB, BSB), a lexical choice, not a textual difference.
Reception History
Christian interpretation has followed two main trajectories. Early and medieval readings (including Jerome and Augustine) often understood 'the end of the wicked' as eternal punishment, consistent with New Testament warnings about hell. Reformers like Calvin read the psalm as a guide for living by faith in a world where evil seems to win; he stressed the moral and spiritual comfort of the verse. In the 19th century, the Cambridge Bible and Keil & Delitzsch re-emphasised the 'posterity' meaning, tying the verse to wisdom literature's concern for family continuity. Both streams remain active; the division reflects a deeper question about the nature of divine justice across time and eternity.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Transgressors face a common ruin. The Hebrew yachdaw stresses that all wicked are destroyed, no exceptions (Barnes).
- The wicked have no secure future. Whether acharith means posterity or eternal end, the result is the same: they are cut off (Gill).
- The righteous are called to patient trust. The immediate context (v.34, 37) urges waiting on the Lord rather than envying evil-doers (Calvin).
Five-point outline
- The contrast: The end of the upright is peace (v.37); the end of the wicked is destruction (v.38).
- The Hebrew nuance: Acharith can mean 'posterity' or 'final state', both readings carry sobering weight.
- The scope: 'Together' implies that no wicked person escapes, regardless of how powerful they seem (v.35-36).
- The timing: Some see this as fulfilled in history (cut off from the land); others point to the last judgment (cf. Matthew 13:30).
- The purpose: The psalm equips believers to live without bitterness when evil appears to succeed.
Illustration hooks
- A towering oak that looks healthy but is rotten at the core, a storm fells it while trees nearby remain standing.
- A corporate empire built on corruption; for years it thrives, then collapses in a single scandal, leaving nothing for the next generation.
- A childhood bully who seemed invincible, years later you learn his life unravelled; his own choices caught up with him.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I believe God will bring justice when evil people seem to get away with everything?
- Does 'the future of the wicked' mean their children will suffer, or does it point to hell?
- If I'm supposed to 'wait on the Lord' while evil prospers, what does that waiting look like on a practical Monday morning?
Leading a Discussion
This verse completes a contrast that runs through Psalm 37. The upright have a future; the wicked have their future cut off. The Hebrew word acharith is the same in both verses, it ties the two halves together. Your group will wrestle with what this 'cutting off' means.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 35-38 aloud. What do you notice about the language used for the wicked's end?
- The word acharith appears in v.37 (for the upright) and v.38 (for the wicked). Why do you think the psalmist uses the same word for two opposite outcomes?
- Barnes interprets 'destroyed together' to mean a common ruin, all share the same fate. How does this challenge the way we view powerful wrongdoers?
- Keil & Delitzsch argue the focus is on the wicked's posterity. Others see eternal judgment. What evidence in the text supports each side?
- Psalm 73 describes a similar struggle: the psalmist nearly slips until he enters God's sanctuary and considers their 'latter end' (Ps 73:17). How does that insight connect to this verse?
- How does the promise that transgressors 'shall be destroyed together' shape the way you pray for justice in the world today?
- In what area of your life do you most need to 'wait on the Lord' (v.34) rather than take matters into your own hands?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 1:4 | The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. |
| Psalms 1:6 | For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish. |
| Psalms 9:17 | The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God. |
| Psalms 52:5 | God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah. |
| Psalms 73:17 | until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end. |
| Proverbs 14:32 | The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge. |
| Matthew 13:30 | Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” |
| Matthew 13:49 | So it will be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that "together" does not mean the wicked all die at once, but that none of them escape their common destruction. He also draws a deliberate contrast: the righteous have an end of peace, while the wicked face a cutting off from hope, both in this life and forever.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin insists the wicked's fleeting success is actually misery, while the faithful remain truly happy even in suffering because God cares for them and will rescue them at the right time. This paradoxical truth, which defies human reason, is the Spirit's assurance against doubting
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator highlights the Hebrew word acharith, meaning an after or sequel, and argues that it points to posterity. For the Israelite, a righteous person lives on through his descendants, while the wicked are cut off without posterity, which was seen as annihilation. This contrast gains deeper significance in light of New Testament revelation.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes emphasize that transgressors face total destruction together, with no escape from God's judgment. The phrase "cut off" signals that the wicked have no future beyond this life; their end is final and complete.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill distinguishes between penitent transgressors who are pardoned and persistent, stubborn transgressors who face destruction. The "together" points to the wicked gathered at Christ's left hand at judgment, and their end is cut off—their hope and posterity removed—in contrast to the righteous who receive eternal peace.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch draws a sharp contrast: the peaceful person has a future secured through his descendants, but the ungodly are utterly blotted out—not only they themselves, but even their posterity is cut off, leaving no one to carry forward their name.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues this psalm is not a theodicy or didactic poem, but a series of exhortations in proverbial, alphabetically-arranged clauses that hang together like pearls on a string. He rejects later dating and sees in it David's mature experience, urging readers not to give in to ill humor over the wicked's success.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry frames the psalm's final verses as the preacher's conclusion: duty belongs to us, but outcomes belong to God. If we make conscience of keeping his way, we may cheerfully wait on him, trusting that he is a good Master both to those who work for him and to those who wait on him.