The Text, Grammar, and Meaning of Ps 37:20

Psalm Overview

Exegetical issues for Psalm 37:

The Text, Grammar, and Meaning of Ps 37:20

The Text of Ps 37:28

The Text and Meaning of Ps 37:35b

Introduction

The Hebrew text of Ps 37:20 reads as follows:

כִּ֤י רְשָׁעִ֨ים ׀ יֹאבֵ֗דוּ

וְאֹיְבֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה כִּיקַ֣ר כָּרִ֑ים

כָּל֖וּ בֶעָשָׁ֣ן כָּֽלוּ׃

The text is difficult to interpret, and this difficulty has resulted in a number of different translations.

• But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. (KJV)
• But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. (ESV)
• But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord, like fuel in a furnace, will go up in smoke. (REB)

As these translations illustrate, the main point of disagreement in the verse is the phrase כִּיקַר כָּרִים. The phrase could mean either "like the fat of lambs" (KJV) or "like the glory of the pastures" (ESV). The phrase could also represent a textual error, and the correct reading could be כִּיקֹד כֻּרִים ("like the burning of ovens", cf. REB).

This exegetical issue is, therefore, both a textual issue and a lexical issue. We must determine the actual Hebrew text to read, either following the MT (represented by the KJV and ESV) or an emendation (represented by the REB). If we follow the MT, then we must also determine the meaning of the word כָּרִים, whether “lambs” (KJV) or “pastures” (ESV).

Argument Maps

The following argument maps will explore the three main positions on this issue.

1. Glory >> flowers of pastures (כִּיקַר כָּרִים)
2. Glory >> fat of lambs (כִּיקַר כָּרִים)
3. Burning of ovens (כִּיקֹד כֻּרִים)

Because the first and second of these positions agree on the same Hebrew text (כִּיקַר כָּרִים) in contrast to the third position, an additional argument map has been added below exploring the arguments for this Hebrew text. This text-focused argument map will be presented first, followed by one argument map for each of the three positions.

Hebrew text: כִּיקַר כָּרִים

The vast majority of modern translations, although they disagree on the interpretation of the phrase, agree to adopt the reading of the Masoretic text כִּיקַר כָּרִים. The arguments for adopting this reading are as follows.

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[כִּיקַר כָּרִים]: The reading כִּיקַר כָּרִים is the earliest recoverable form of the text (Barthélemey 2005, 216 \[B rating\]).
 + <Supporting textual witnesses>: Several witnesses attest to the reading כִּיקַר כָּרִים.
  + [MT]: כִּיקַ֣ר כָּרִ֑ים 
  + [Aquila]: ὡς τιμὴ ἀμνῶν ("like the honor of lambs")
  + [Targum]: "For the wicked shall perish; and (as for) the enemies of the Lord, as the glory of sheep (היך יקר פלגיסין) that in the beginning are fattened, and (at) their end they are slaughtered, even so shall the wicked come to an end, and they shall be destroyed in the smoke of Gehenna" (Stec 2004, 80).
  + <4Q171 commentary>
 - <Other textual witnesses>: Some early witnesses to the text read something other than כִּיקַר כָּרִים. #dispreferred
  + <LXX>: The Septuagint, the earliest witness to the text, probably read כִּיקֹר כְּרוּם (Barthélemy 2005, 216-22). #dispreferred
   + [LXX]: ἅμα τῷ δοξασθῆναι αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑψωθῆναι (Ps 36:20). #dispreferred
  + <Symmachus and Jerome>: Symmachus, followed by Jerome, probably read כְּרֵים (or perhaps כְּרֵימִים) (Barthélemy 2005, 216-22). #dispreferred
   + [Symmachus]: ὡς μονοκέρωτες #dispreferred
   + [Jerome]: ut monocerotes #dispreferred
    <_ <Error of vocalization>: These early witnesses read essentially the same consonantal text as the MT (כיקר כרים), but they have not vocalized it correctly (Barthélemy 2005, 216).
     _> [LXX]
     _> [Symmachus]
  + <4Q171 lemma>: The lemma in the Qumran commentary 4Q171 reads כיקר כורים. #dispreferred
    <_ <Orthographic variant>: כורים is probably an orthographic variant (i.e., a full spelling) of כָּרִים (Allegro 1954 :A:).
     + <4Q171 commentary>: The commentary on this verse in 4Q171 assumes the reading כִּיקַר כָּרִים.
      + [4Q171 commentary]: "\[Its\] interpretation \[concerns...\]/ who will be chiefs and princes over \[the whole congregation, like shepherds\] of ewes (צון) in among their flocks (בתוך עדריהם)" (García Martínez and Tigchelaar 1997, 345).

Glory >> flowers of pastures (כִּיקַר כָּרִים) (preferred)

Most modern translations interpret the phrase כִּיקַר כָּרִים to mean "the glory of the pastures." The ESV, for example, says, "But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures." If כָּרִים refers to pastures, then the word "glory" (יְקַר) (lit.: "precious/glorious one") probably refers to some glorious feature of the pastures, e.g., flowers. The NIV, for example, says, "Though the LORD's enemies are like the flowers of the field..."

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[Glory of pastures]: Verse 20 compares YHWH's enemies to the glory of pastures (Gesenius 2013, 569 :L:; SDBH :L:).
 - <Smoke (v. 20c)>: The image of a glorious pasture does not fit well with the image of smoke in the next line (Baethgen 1904, 106 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [Ps 37:20c]: "they will go up in smoke" (Ps 37:20c, NET). #dispreferred
  - <Transitoriness>: Both smoke and flowers in a field are images of transitoriness.
   + [Smoke as transitory]: "Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke (וּכְעָשָׁן) from a window" (Hos 13:3, ESV; cf. Isa 51:6; Pss 68:3; 102:4).
   + [Flowers as transitory]: "Man, his days are like those of grass (כֶּחָצִיר); he blooms like a flower of the field (כְּצִיץ הַשָּׂדֶה); a wind passes by and it is no more, its own place no longer knows it" (Ps 103:15-16 NJPS, cf. Isa 40:7-8).
  - <Grass fire>: "The figure drawn by the psalmist is that of a grass fire whose smoke quickly vanishes" (Dahood 2008, 230 :C:).
 + <Context>: The interpretation "glory of pastures" "best fits the agricultural metaphors in the near context (Ps 37:19) and in other portions of the psalm (37:2)" (cf. also 37:35) (Jones 2019, 180 :A:; cf. Bratcher and Reyburn 1991, 356; Goldingay 2006, 526 :C:).
  + <Agricultural similes>: Every other simile for the wicked in Ps 37 involves an agricultural comparison.
   + [Ps 37:2]
   + [Ps 37:35]: "I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree (כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן)" (Ps 37:37, NIV).
  + [Ps 37:2]: "For they will soon fade like the grass (כֶחָצִיר) and wither like the green herb (כְיֶרֶק דֶּשֶׁא)" (Ps 37:2, ESV). 
  + [Ps 37:19b]: "in the days of famine they have abundance" (Ps 37:19b, ESV).
 + <כַּר as "pasture">: The word כַּר can refer to a pasture (HALOT :L:), i.e., "open land with enough grass and plants to graze cattle or flocks of sheep and goats" (SDBH :L:).
  + [כַּר as "pasture"]: "the meadows (כָרִים) clothe themselves with flocks" (Ps 65:14, ESV; cf. Isa 30:23 \[כַּר נִרְחָב\]).
 + <Poetic structure>: Verses 1-2 (the alef strophe) and v. 20 (the kaf strophe) form the boundaries around the first half of the psalm (cf. van der Lugt 2006, 367 :C:), and both strophes compare the wicked to something (v. 2: "like the grass; v. 20: "like the glory of כָּרִים"), thus creating an inclusio around the first section (vv. 1-20). In light of this structural correspondence between כֶחָצִיר/כְיֶרֶק דֶּשֶׁא and כִיקַר כָּרִים, a semantic correspondence is also likely.

Glory >> fat of lambs (כִּיקַר כָּרִים)

A few translations understand the phrase כִּיקַר כָּרִים to refer to the "fat of lambs" (lit.: "the glorious/precious part of lambs"). The KJV, for example, says, "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." Most interpreters who interpret כָּרִים as "lambs" understand the word יְקַר to refer to the lamb's fat.

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[Fat of lambs]: Verse 20 compares YHWH's enemies to "the fat of lambs" (כִּיקַר כָּרִים) (Ibn Ezra :C:; Radak :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Ancient interpretation>: All of the ancient witnesses which read כִּיקַר כָּרִים interpreted this phrase to refer to the fat of lambs. #dispreferred
  + [Aquila]: ὡς τιμὴ ἀμνῶν ("like the honor of lambs") #dispreferred
  + [Targum]: "For the wicked shall perish; and (as for) the enemies of the Lord, as the glory of sheep (היך יקר פלגיסין) that in the beginning are fattened, and (at) their end they are slaughtered, even so shall the wicked come to an end, and they shall be destroyed in the smoke of Gehenna" (Stec 2004, 80). #dispreferred
  + [4Q171 commentary]: "\[Its\] interpretation \[concerns...\]/ who will be chiefs and princes over \[the whole congregation, like shepherds\] of ewes (צון) in among their flocks (בתוך עדריהם)" (García Martínez and Tigchelaar 1997, 345). #dispreferred
 + <Common biblical image>: Elsewhere in the Bible, the destruction of YHWH's enemies is compared to the sacrifice of animals (cf. Calvin :C:; Barthélemy 2005, 222). #dispreferred
  <_ <Image not in Ps 37>: The image of YHWH's enemies as sacrificial animals is not found (either explicitly or implicitly) anywhere else in this psalm.
  + [Enemies as animal sacrifices]: "The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs (כָּרִים) and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom" (Isa 34:6, ESV, cf. Jer 12:3; 46:10; Ezek 39:17; Dan 7:11). #dispreferred
 + <כַּר as "lamb">: In the Hebrew Bible, the word כַּר usually refers to "a (young) ram (for slaughter)" (HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
  + [כַּר as "lamb"]: "with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs (כָּרִים) and goats, with choice rams of Bashan" (Deut 32:14, ESV; cf. 1 Sam 15:9; 2 Kgs 3:4; Isa 16:1; 34:6; Jer 51:40; Ezek 27:21; 39:18; Am 6:4). #dispreferred
 - <Not an image of transience>: The verse appears to be about the transience of the wicked, and the fat of lambs is not an appropriate image of transience (cf. Hupfeld 1868, 310 :C:). 
 + <"In smoke" (v. 20c)>: Sacrificial language in v. 20b ("fat of lambs") would fit well with the image of smoke in the next line, since sacrificial animals were consumed by fire and went up "in smoke." #dispreferred
  + [Ps 37:20c]: "they will go up in smoke" (Ps 37:20c, NET). #dispreferred

Burning of ovens (כִּיקֹד כֻּרִים)

Some translations emend the text to read כִּיקֹד כֻּרִים ("burning of ovens") instead of כִּיקַר כָּרִים. The REB, for example, says, "But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord, like fuel in a furnace, will go up in smoke."

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[Burning of ovens]: Verse 20 compares the destruction of YHWH's enemies to the burning of ovens (כִּיקֹד כֻּרִים) (Wellhausen 1895, 82 :C:; Baethgen 1904, 106 :C:; HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
 + <"Smoke" (v. 20c)>: The image of a burning oven (v. 20b) would fit well with the image of smoke in the following line (v. 20c). #dispreferred
  + [Ps 37:20c]: "they will go up in smoke" (Ps 37:20c, NET). #dispreferred
  + <"Smoke"//"burning">: Elsewhere, the word for "smoke" (עָשָׁן) is parallel with the word for "burning" (יקד). #dispreferred
   + [Isa 65:5]: "Such people are smoke (עָשָׁן) in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning (יֹקֶדֶת) all day" (Isa 65:5, NIV). #dispreferred
 + <4Q171 lemma>: The Qumran manuscript 4Q171 reads כיקד כורים in its lemma (cf. NET, HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
   - <כיקר>: The manuscript actually reads כיקר כורים (with a resh) and not כיקד כורים (with a dalet) (Stegemann 1963, 250 :A:; Allegro 1968, 48; García Martínez and Tigchelaar 1997, 344).
   - <כורים = כָּרִים>: The word כורים is an orthographic variant (i.e., a full spelling) of the word כָּרִים (Allegro 1954 :A:).
    + <4Q171 commentary>: The commentary following the lemma in 4Q171 assumes the reading כִּיקַר כָּרִים.
     + [4Q171 commentary]: "\[Its\] interpretation \[concerns...\]/ who will be chiefs and princes over \[the whole congregation, like shepherds\] of ewes (צון) in among their flocks (בתוך עדריהם)" (García Martínez and Tigchelaar 1997, 345).
 + <כּוּר>: The word כּוּר can refer to a "little smelting furnace" (HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
  + [כּוּר]: "The crucible is for refining silver and the furnace (כּוּר) is for gold..." (Prov 17:3, NET; cf. Deut 4:20; 1 Kgs 8:51; Isa 48:10; Jer 11:4; Ezek 22:18, 20, 22; Prov 27:21). #dispreferred

Conclusion (B)

The earliest recoverable form of the text is probably כִּיקַר כָּרִים. This reading is attested by the MT and several early witnesses, including the ancient Hebrew psalms commentary from Qumran 4Q171.

The word כָּרִים probably refers to "pastures" (cf. Ps 65:14), and the word יְקַר (literally: "precious" or "glorious" or "glory") probably refers to flowers in the pastures (i.e., that which makes a pasture glorious). The whole phrase, therefore, refers to "the flowers of the field" (NIV) which, despite their beauty, quickly "come to an end" (אבד, v. 20a). The determining factor for this decision is the surrounding context of agricultural images for the wicked. The agricultural image for the wicked here at the end of the first half of the psalm (vv. 1-20) corresponds to the agricultural image for the wicked at the beginning of the psalm ("like grass," v. 2). Indeed, all of the similes for the wicked in Ps 37 are taken from the agricultural domain (cf. vv. 2, 20, 35). Furthermore, the image of fading flowers fits well with the image of vanishing smoke in the next line (v. 20c). Both flowers and smoke are images of transitoriness (cf. Hos 13:3; Ps 103:15-16). The point of these images is that the end of the wicked will be soon and sudden. Although they appear to flourish for the moment, their demise is imminent. And when they are destroyed, there will be no trace of their existence.

Research

Dead Sea Scrolls

• 4Q171: ואוהבי יהוה כיקר כורים פשר[ו על... ]אשר יהיו רשים ושרים ע[ל כול העדה כרועי] צון בתוך עדריהם כלו כעשן כולו פשר(ו) על שרי הר[ש]עה אשר הונו את עם קודשו אשר יובדו כעשן האוב[ד ברו]ח
  • /Whoever loves YHWH will be like precious lambs. [Its] interpretation [concerns...]/ who will be chiefs and princes over [the whole congregation, like shepherds] of ewes in among their flocks. Blank [...] Like smoke they all vanish. <Its> interpretation concerns the wi[ck]ed princes who oppress his holy people, who will perish like smoke which disapp[ears in the win]d."
  • See the manuscript here.

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ὅτι οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπολοῦνται, | οἱ δὲ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἅμα τῷ δοξασθῆναι αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑψωθῆναι | ἐκλιπόντες ὡσεὶ καπνὸς ἐξέλιπον.
  • "because the sinners will perish, and the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they are gloried and exalted, vanishing like smoke they vanished."
• Symmachus: ὡς μονοκέρωτες
  • "like unicorns"
• Aquila: ὡς τιμὴ ἀμνῶν (s. ἀρνῶν)
• Peshitta:ܡܛܠ ܕܪ̈ܫܝܥܐ ܐܒܕܝܢ܂ ܘܒ̈ܥܠܕܒܒܘܗܝ ܕܡܪܝܐ ܡ̈ܦܛܡܐ ܓܡܪܝܢ܂ ܘܐܝܟ ܬܢܢܐ ܣܝܦܝܢ܂
  • "For the wicked will perish; the proud enemies of the Lord will be done away with. Like smoke they will come to an end."
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): quia impii peribunt et inimici Domini gloriantes ut monocerotes consumentur sicut fumus consumitur.
  • "because the wicked will perish and the enemies of the Lord boasting like unicorns will come to an end just as smoke comes to an end."
• Targum: ארום רשיעיא ייבדון ובעלי דבביא דייי היך יקר פלגיסין דמן אולא מתפטמין וסופיהון מתנכסין היכנא רשיעי יסופון ובתנן גהנם יגמרון׃
  • "For the wicked shall perish; and (as for) the enemies of the Lord, as the glory of sheep that in the beginning are fattened, and (at) their end they are slaughtered, even so shall the wicked come to an end, and they shall be destroyed in the smoke of Gehenna.

Modern

Glory of fields (כִּיקַר כָּרִים)

• But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. (ESV)
• But the wicked will perish: Though the LORD's enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke. (NIV)
• But the wicked will die; the enemies of the Lord will vanish like wild flowers; they will disappear like smoke. (GNT)
• But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. (NRSV)
• But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be consumed, like meadow grass consumed in smoke. (NJPS)
• The wicked, enemies of YHWH, will be destroyed, they will vanish like the green of the pasture, they will vanish in smoke" (NJB)
• Wicked people are enemies of the Lord and will vanish like smoke from a field on fire. (CEV)
• Denn die Frevler werden umkommen; und die Feinde des HERRN, wenn sie auch sind wie prächtige Auen, werden sie doch vergehen, wie der Rauch vergeht. (LUT)
• Die Gottlosen jedoch gehen zugrunde, ja, die Feinde des HERRN verschwinden so schnell, wie Wiesenblumen verblühen; wie Rauch werden sie vergehen. (HFA)
• Doch die Gott verachten, werden umkommen, und die Feinde des HERRN sind so vergänglich wie die Pracht der Wiesen. Ja, sie schwinden dahin, sie vergehen wie Rauch (NGÜ)
• Denn die Gottlosen werden umkommen, und die Feinde des HERRN – wie die Pracht der Auen schwinden sie, sie schwinden dahin als Rauch. (ELB)
•  Doch die Frevler werden zugrunde gehn, mit den Feinden des HERRN, wie die Pracht der Wiesen schwinden sie dahin, im Rauch schwinden sie dahin. (EÜ)
•  Doch seine Feinde kommen um, die Bösen verschwinden wie die Pracht der Wiesen, sie gehen in Rauch auf und verwehen. (GNB)
• Doch die Frevler kommen um, die Feinde des HERRN; wie die Pracht der Auen schwinden sie dahin, im Rauch schwinden sie dahin. (ZÜR)
• Los malvados, los enemigos del Señor, acabarán por ser destruidos; desaparecerán como las flores silvestres, se desvanecerán como el humo (NVI)
• Los malvados arderán como hierba seca; los enemigos del Señor se desvanecerán como el humo.
• Mais les méchants disparaîtront, et les ennemis du Seigneur, comme les plus beaux prés ; ils s'évanouissent, ils s'évanouissent en fumée (NBS)
• Mais les méchants périront, Et les ennemis de l'Éternel, comme les plus beaux pâturages ; Ils s'évanouissent, ils s'évanouissent en fumée. (NVS78P)
• Les méchants périssent et les ennemis de l’Eternel ╵sont comme les fleurs des prés : ils disparaîtront ; ╵comme une fumée, ╵ils s’évanouiront. (BDS)
• Oui, les gens mauvais vont mourir, les ennemis du Seigneur disparaîtront comme l’herbe des champs. Ils partiront en fumée, en fumée, ils partiront. (PDV2017)
• Oui, les méchants périront ; les ennemis du Seigneur, semblables aux fleurs des prés, s'en vont, ils s'en vont en fumée. (NFC)
• tandis que les méchants disparaissent, les ennemis de l’Eternel connaissent le même sort que les plus beaux pâturages: ils s’évanouissent, ils s’évanouissent comme une fumée. (S21)

Fat of lambs (כִּיקַר כָּרִים)

• But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. (KJV)
• Mas los impíos perecerán, los enemigos de Jehová serán consumidos; como la grasa de los carneros, se disiparán como el humo. (RVR95)
• No así lost malvados, que perecerán. Los enemigos de YHVH serán consumidos como grosura de carneros, y se disiparán como el humo. (BTX4)

Burning of ovens (כִּיקֹד כֻּרִים)

• But evil men will die; the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated—they will go up in smoke. (NET)
• But the wicked shall perish and their children shall beg their bread. The enemies of the Lord, like fuel in a furnace, are consumed in smoke. (NEB)
• But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord, like fuel in a furnace, will go up in smoke. (REB)

Secondary Literature

Allegro, J. M. 1954. “A Newly-Discovered Fragment of a Commentary on Psalm XXXVII from Qumrân.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 86 (2): 69–75.

Allegro, John M., ed. 1968. Qumrân Cave 4 (4Q158-4Q186). Vol. 1. DJD 5. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Barthélemy, Dominique. 2005. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament. Vol. Tome 4: Psaumes. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press.

Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.

Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Translated by James Anderson. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

García Martínez, Florentino, and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar. 1997. The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition. Vol. 1. Leiden: Brill.

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1868. Die Psalmen. Vol. 2. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.

Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.

Jones, Scott C. 2019. “Psalm 37 and the Devotionalization of Instruction in the Postexilic Period.” In Prayers and the Construction of Israelite Identity, edited by Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher, 167–87. Ancient Israel and Its Literature 35. Atlanta: SBL Press.

Klein, Peter. 2018. “Kümmere Dich Nicht Um Die Bösen! Vertraue Auf Gott Und Geh Deinen Weg! Eine Synchrone Textbetrachtung von Psalm 37.” Sacra Scripta 16 (1): 48–82.

Radak. Radak on Psalms.

Stegemann, Hartmut. 1963. “Der Pešer Psalm 37 Aus Höhle 4 von Qumran (4 Q p Ps 37).” Revue de Qumran 4 (2): 235–70.

Wellhausen, J. 1895. The Book of Psalms : Critical Edition of the Hebrew Text. Translated by J. D. Prince. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung.

References

37:20 Approved