Psalms 37:27

Depart from evil, and do good,.... Depart from evildoers, and their evil ways; join not with them, nor fret and be envious at them; but do acts of beneficence, and all good works; since righteous

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. Depart ... for evermore - i:e, and so shalt thou dwell for evermore. A promise similar to Psalms 37:3; Psalms 37:11.

Having therefore these glorious promises and privileges, let no man do any evil or unjust thing to enrich or secure himself, nor abstain from pious and charitable actions for fear of undoing himself by them; but let every man live in the conscionable discharge of all his duties to God and men, committing himself and all his affairs to God’ s fatherly care and providence, and confidently expecting his blessing thereupon. Dwell, i.e. thou shalt dwell, as before, , to wit, in the land, as is expressed, , and afterwards in heaven. For evermore; either properly; or for a long time, of which that word is oft used.

Psalms 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.Ver. 27. Depart from evil, and do good] See Psalms 34:14. And dwell for evermore] Sine indigentia, saith Kimchi, without such indigency and poverty as may drive thee abroad, and make thee beg thy bread. Universal righteousness secureth a man from such straits.

Verse 27. Depart from evil, and do good] Seeing the above is so, depart from all evil-avoid all sin; and let not this be sufficient, do good. The grace of God ever gives this two-fold power to all who receive it; strength to overcome evil, and strength to do that which is right. Dwell for evermore.] Be for ever an inhabitant of God's house. This may be also a promise of return to their own land, and of permanent residence there. See Psalms 37:9; Psalms 37:11, &c.

27. Once more the teacher addresses his disciple, as in Psalms 37:3 ff. The first line is identical with Psalms 34:14 a (see note): the second line is virtually a promise, and might be rendered so shall thou dwell &c. But as Delitzsch observes, the imperative retains its force in constructions of this type, as an exhortation to participate in the blessing by the fulfilment of the duty. Peaceable occupation of the land by successive generations is meant (cp. Psalms 37:29). The individual lives on in his descendants. 28 a. Cp. Psalms 33:5. For saints see note on Psalms 4:3. 28 c, d, 29. Stanza of Ayin. The verses are wrongly divided. It is evident from the regular structure of the Psalm that the last two lines of Psa 37:28 together with Psalms 37:29 should form a stanza commencing with the letter Ayin. If the Massoretic text is sound, the Ayin is represented by the second letter of the word l’τlβm, ‘for ever’,—the prefixed preposition l being disregarded, as is the prefixed and in Psalms 37:39. But a comparison of the LXX makes it all but certain that the first word of the verse has been lost, and a further corruption taken place in consequence[14]; and that the original reading was: [14] The LXX reads thus: εἰςτὸναἰῶναφυλαχθήσονται· ἄνομοιδὲἐκδιωχθήσονται (ΰ B ἄμωμοιἐκδικηθήσονται), καὶσπέρμαἀσεβωνἐξολοθρευθήσεται, ‘They shall be preserved for ever; but the lawless shall be driven out (ΰ B, the perfect shall be avenged), and the seed of the ungodly shall be destroyed.’ The reading of the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS. appears to be a correction or corruption, and must be abandoned in favour of that found in (apparently) all other MSS., and supported by the Vulg., iniusti punientur. We have then the words ἄνομοιδὲἐκδιωχθήσονται, but the lawless shall be driven out, in addition to a rendering of the Massoretic text. These words might represent an original ςַ ?εָּ ?μִ ?ινπִ ?ωְׁ ?ξְ ?γεּ If the original reading (written defectively) was ςεμνμςμνπωξγε the unrighteous are destroyed for ever, the process of corruption is easily intelligible. ςεμν was omitted, either accidentally, from its resemblance to μςμν, or because the transcriber did not recognise a somewhat rare word, and supposed it to be an erroneous repetition. When once it had disappeared, the change of πωξִ ?γε (destroyed) into πωξִ ?ψε (preserved) followed as a matter of course, ‘his saints’ in the preceding line being the only possible subject. The word ςַ ?εָּ ?μִ ?ιν does not occur elsewhere in the Psalter, but is found four times in the Book of Job, with which this Psalm is so closely connected. Cp. too the substantive ςַ ?εְ ?μָ ?δ in Psalms 37:1. A case like this, in which the acrostic structure of the Psalm demands a correction for which the LXX supplies clear evidence, is a convincing argument for the temperate employment of the LXX for the correction of the Massoretic Text. This or some similar correction is adopted by most editors.The unrighteous are destroyed for ever, And the seed of the wicked is cut off.

Depart from evil, and do good - This is the sum of all that is said in the psalm; the great lesson inculcated and enforced by all these references to the effects of good and evil conduct.

27, 28. Dwell for evermore—In Psalms 37:27-29 the reward of the righteous is three times set forth by two of the strongest words in the Hebrew language to express endless duration.