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Psalm 37 Bible study: Don't fret
"Don’t fret" comes three times in Psalm 37, and the third time says where fretting leads: "it leads only to evildoing" (37:8). In Hebrew evildoing is the verb of the first warning, "Don’t fret because of evildoers" (37:1).
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“Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in him, and he will do this:”
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“In Psalm 37 the humble shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
Is that in Psalm 37, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Don't fret, three times
The psalm speaks to one person, you (in Hebrew the you is singular), and after the title, "By David" (37:1), its first words are a warning: "Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness" (37:1). It says it three times: again in "Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way" (37:7), and in "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing" (37:8). Fret is charah, a verb of burning, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives in the form used here as "heat oneself in vexation" (tap fret). Here is what almost everyone misses. Evildoers in 37:1 and evildoing in 37:8 are one Hebrew verb, ra'a. The psalm tells you not to fret over those who do evil, and then says where fretting leads: "it leads only to evildoing" (37:8). The first five Hebrew words of 37:1 after its title stand word for word at the start of a proverb: "Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked" (Proverbs 24:19).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 37
- "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread" (37:25). Doesn't Scripture tell of righteous people in need?
- "He will give you the desires of your heart" (37:4). Does God give whatever you want?
- "Don’t fret because of evildoers" (37:1). Is it wrong to be troubled when the wicked do well?
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 37 is waiting in Favor
- Inherit, and cut off
- Letters in order, most of them two verses apart
- "The humble shall inherit the land"
- Trust, commit, rest, wait
- Their latter end, in Psalm 73
- Look for him, and he isn't there
- 12 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 37 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
יָרַשׁyarashsay ya-RASH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "take possession of, inherit, dispossess". Strong's: "to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place)". The psalm has it five times, and each time with erets, land: "those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land" (37:9), "But the humble shall inherit the land" (37:11), "For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land" (37:22), "The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever" (37:29), and "he will exalt you to inherit the land" (37:34). The Psalms have the verb 11 times in Hebrew, and five of them are here. Psalm 25 has it with land too: "His offspring will inherit the land" (Psalm 25:13).
For your group
Psalm 37 Bible study questions
- 1"Don’t fret because of evildoers" (37:1). When you see wrong doing well, what do you tend to do with it, and what helps you let it go?
- 2"Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in him" (37:5). What part of your way is hardest for you to hand over right now?
- 3"Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked" (37:16). When have you found a little to be enough?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 37 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Psalm 37 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 37 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
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No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home