Psalms 37:12

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
wicked	רָ֭שָׁע Ra.sho'	H7563	morally wrong · noun, common masculine singular absolute
plotteth	זֹמֵ֣ם zo.Mem	H2161	to plan · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
just	לַצַּדִּ֑יק la.tza.Dik	H6662	just · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine singular absolute
gnasheth	וְחֹרֵ֖ק ve.cho.Rek	H2786	to grate the teeth · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
teeth	שִׁנָּֽיו shi.Nav	H8127	a tooth (as sharp) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 35:16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
Micah 2:1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of…
Psalms 31:13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life…
Daniel 8:12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised…
Matthew 26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
1 Samuel 18:21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul…
1 Samuel 23:7-9 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering int…
2 Samuel 15:10-12 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 37:7-20

In these verses we have, I. The foregoing precepts inculcated; for we are so apt to disquiet ourselves with needless fruitless discontents and distrusts that it is necessary there should be precept upon precept, and line upon line, to suppress them and arm us against them. 1. Let us compose ourselves by believing in God: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him (Psa 37:7), that is, be well reconciled to all he does and acquiesce in it, for that is best that is, because it is what God has appointed; and be well satisfied that he will still make all to work for good to us, though we know not how or which way." Be silent to the Lord (so the word is), not with a sullen, but a submissive sil…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 37:12

gnasheth . . . teeth--in beastly rage.

John Gill on Psalms 37:12

The wicked plotteth against the just,.... Forms schemes to make him uneasy, uncomfortable, and unhappy: and gnasheth upon him with his teeth: which expresses his malice and hatred, as David's enemies did upon him, Psalm 35:16; and Stephen's, Acts 7:54.

John Calvin on Psalms 37:12-15

Psalm 37:12-15 12. The wicked plotteth against the righteous, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13. But the Lord [27] shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming. 14. The wicked draw their sword, and bend their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay those that are of upright ways. 15. But their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bow shall be broken. 12. The wicked plotteth against the righteous. David here anticipates an objection which might have been taken to the preceding verse. Where, it might be said, can tranquillity and joy be found when the wicked are mad with rage, and plot every kind of mischief against the children of God? And how shall…

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The Church Fathers

Be careful, for daily the devil considers you and gnashes his teeth over you; but [as it says in the next verse] the Lord mocks him because he knows his day will come.
— Arnobius the Younger, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 37

When the wicked person sees someone working on developing good character, he feels convinced that he is being indicted personally. He gnashes his teeth and becomes outraged. If he cannot corrupt someone's character, then he immediately attempts to do away with his life.
— Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 37:12

The way in which consolation is offered to us is amazing, for who should delight himself in the pompous display of one whose audacity he knows will soon perish? If we would rather not be disturbed by jealousy, then let us follow what the Lord does. Let us laugh at him whose downfall we foresee; let us regard the unhappy things which we possess as things that will perish in time. Let us believe these things with all tenacity, since they have been promised to us in truth. It will happen in the way described, that the sinner will depart under derision, although he once boasted in a happiness that was not to last.
— Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 37:13

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Psalms, Book Of — The present Hebrew name of the book is Tehill’im, “Praises;” but in the actual superscriptions of the psalms the word Tehillah is applied only to one, (Psalms 145:1) ... which is indeed emphatically…
Gnashing Of Teeth · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Teeth · Gnashing (grinding) of, usually signifying anger or extreme pain — Gnashing (grinding) of, usually signifying anger or extreme pain

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 37:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 37:7-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 37:12

John Gill on Psalms 37:12

John Calvin on Psalms 37:12-15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 37:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 37:7-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 37:12

John Gill on Psalms 37:12

John Calvin on Psalms 37:12-15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 37:12-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 37:12-17

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 37:12-15