Bible Strands
Psalms 37:21
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Israel with a wisdom contrast, placing this observation between the description of the wicked vanishing like smoke and the promise that the blessed will inherit the land.
The words — רָשָׁע (ra.sho') denotes the wicked, while צַדִּיק (tza.Dik) marks the righteous. The paired verbs לֹוֶה (lo.Veh, borrowing) and חוֹנֵן (cho.Nen, showing favor) frame the behavioral divide.
The thread — This contrast echoes the biblical pattern seen in Proverbs 22:7, Psalms 112:5, and Hebrews 13:16.
Why it lands — The text states that the wicked default on debts while the righteous practice openhanded generosity, demanding a reader to align their financial conduct with the character of God’s people rather than the destructive habits of the ungodly.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
Cross-references
- Hebrews 13:16 And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Psalms 112:5 It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
- Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
- Psalms 112:9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Luke 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
- Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- Job 31:16 If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,
- Isaiah 58:7 Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?