Psalm 37:2
New International Version
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

New Living Translation
For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

English Standard Version
For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

Berean Standard Bible
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

King James Bible
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

New King James Version
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

New American Standard Bible
For they will wither quickly like the grass, And decay like the green plants.

NASB 1995
For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb.

NASB 1977
For they will wither quickly like the grass, And fade like the green herb.

Legacy Standard Bible
For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb.

Amplified Bible
For they will wither quickly like the grass, And fade like the green herb.

Christian Standard Bible
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.

American Standard Version
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

Contemporary English Version
They will soon disappear like grass without rain.

English Revised Version
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They will quickly dry up like grass and wither away like green plants.

Good News Translation
They will soon disappear like grass that dries up; they will die like plants that wither.

International Standard Version
Indeed, they soon will wither like grass, and like green herbs they will fade away.

Majority Standard Bible
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

NET Bible
For they will quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants.

New Heart English Bible
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.

Webster's Bible Translation
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

World English Bible
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For they are cut off speedily as grass, "" And fade as the greenness of the tender grass.

Young's Literal Translation
For as grass speedily they are cut off, And as the greenness of the tender grass do fade.

Smith's Literal Translation
For as grass hastening they shall be cut down, and as the greenness of grass they shall fall away.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For they will quickly wither away like dry grass, and in like manner to kitchen herbs, they will soon droop.

New American Bible
Like grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away.

New Revised Standard Version
for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For they shall soon wither like grass, and fade away as the green herbs.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because they dry up quickly like straw and they wither like green grass.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For they shall soon wither like the grass, And fade as the green herb.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For they shall soon be withered as the grass, and shall soon fall away as the green herbs.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Do Not Envy Those who Do Wrong
1Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong. 2For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants. 3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.…

Cross References
James 1:10-11
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. / For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Job 14:2
Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Matthew 6:30
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Isaiah 51:12
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?

1 Corinthians 7:31
and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

1 John 2:17
The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Isaiah 40:24
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

Matthew 13:40
As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

Job 8:9
For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Isaiah 17:13
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.


Treasury of Scripture

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Psalm 37:35,36
I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree…

Psalm 73:17-20
Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end…

Psalm 90:5,6
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up…

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Psalm 37
1. David persuades to patience and confidence in God,
12. by the different estate of the godly and the wicked














For they will wither quickly like grass
The phrase "for they will wither quickly like grass" draws a vivid picture using the natural world to convey a spiritual truth. The Hebrew word for "wither" is "נָבֵל" (nabel), which means to fade or to fall away. This imagery of grass, which is often lush and green but quickly dries up and dies, is used throughout Scripture to symbolize the fleeting nature of human life and the temporary success of the wicked. In the ancient Near Eastern context, grass would have been a common sight, especially in the arid regions where it would spring up after rain but soon wither under the scorching sun. This serves as a reminder that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary and will not endure. The righteous are encouraged to trust in God's justice and timing, knowing that the apparent success of the wicked is as short-lived as grass.

and like green plants they will soon die away
The phrase "and like green plants they will soon die away" continues the metaphor of transience. The Hebrew word for "green plants" is "יֶרֶק" (yereq), which refers to vegetation that is fresh and vibrant. This imagery reinforces the idea that what appears to be thriving and full of life can quickly perish. In the biblical context, this serves as a warning against envying the wicked, as their prosperity is not only temporary but also deceptive. The phrase "die away" uses the Hebrew "מָלַל" (malal), which means to languish or to waste away. This further emphasizes the ultimate futility of a life lived apart from God. The righteous are called to focus on eternal values and trust in God's ultimate justice, rather than being swayed by the temporary success of those who do not follow His ways.

(2) For they . . .--This inevitable metaphor for the brevity of human life, made still more forcible in an Eastern clime where vegetation is so rapid both in growth and decay, and generally in the Bible applied, without distinction of good or bad, with a mournful sigh over human weakness, becomes here a source of comfort to the godly man.

Green herb.--Literally, greenness of herbage.

Verse 2. - For they shall soon be cut down like the grass. So Zophar, in the Book of Job (Job 20:5), "The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment." And, no doubt, if we compare time with eternity, the longest triumph that the wicked ever enjoy is but for a brief space, is soon gone, endures "but for a moment." It has a continuance, however, which to men in this life seems long, often intolerably long; and hence the disturbance which men's minds suffer on account of it (Job 21:7, 13; Psalm 73:3-16). And wither as the green herb (comp. Psalm 90:5, 6; Psalm 103:15; Isaiah 40:6, 7; James 1:10, 11; 1 Peter 1:24).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

they wither
יִמָּ֑לוּ (yim·mā·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5243: Branch to be cut down off, circumcise

quickly
מְהֵרָ֣ה (mə·hê·rāh)
Adverb
Strong's 4120: A hurry, promptly

like grass
כֶ֭חָצִיר (ḵe·ḥā·ṣîr)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2682: Green grass, herbage

and wilt
יִבּוֹלֽוּן׃ (yib·bō·w·lūn)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 5034: To wilt, to fall away, fail, faint, to be foolish, wicked, to despise, disgrace

like tender
וּכְיֶ֥רֶק (ū·ḵə·ye·req)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3418: Pallor, the yellowish green of young and sickly vegetation, verdure, grass, vegetation

plants.
דֶּ֝֗שֶׁא (de·še)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1877: A sprout, grass


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OT Poetry: Psalm 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 37:1
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