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Psalm 37:20
But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of the LORD shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke.
18The LORD knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
19They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of the LORD shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke.
21The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously.
22For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
Notice
The movement from the beauty of fields to vanishing smoke confronts the apparent strength of the wicked with the certainty of their destruction.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does the change from field beauty to smoke affect what you admire or fear?
Write on thisWhat difference do you notice between the wicked vanishing and the inheritance described in verse 18?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 68:2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.Both psalms compare the wicked to smoke, with Psalm 68 turning the declaration of their destruction into a prayer.
Genesis 6:7The LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am …Both passages speak of destruction under the LORD’s judgment, though Genesis includes animals as well as human beings.
Psalm 92:9For behold, your enemies, LORD, for behold, your enemies shall perish. All the evildoers will be scattered.Both psalms declare that the LORD’s enemies will perish, linking opposition to him with an end that cannot be escaped.
Psalm 102:3For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a torch.Both use smoke to picture something passing away, though Psalm 102 describes the suffering speaker’s days rather than the wicked.
Luke 13:3I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.Both passages warn that people will perish; Luke adds Jesus’ direct call to repentance.
Deuteronomy 33:14–16for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, for the precious things that the moon can yield,The shared thread is agricultural imagery: the psalm mentions the beauty of fields, while Deuteronomy describes precious produce.
Judges 5:31“So let all your enemies perish, LORD, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had rest forty years.Both speak of the LORD’s enemies perishing; Judges expresses this as a prayer and contrasts their end with those who love him.
Genesis 19:28He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.Smoke pictures disappearance in the psalm and rises from the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis.
Leviticus 3:3–11He shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to the LORD. The fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the …The connection is slight: the psalm pictures vanishing smoke, while Leviticus describes an offering made by fire to the LORD.
2 Peter 2:12But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their …Both texts announce the destruction of those who do evil, using images from the natural world.
Leviticus 3:16The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is the LORD’s.The imagery has a loose connection through smoke and burning, though Leviticus concerns an altar offering rather than the destruction of enemies.
Luke 13:5I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”Perishing is the shared warning; the psalm names the LORD’s enemies, while Jesus warns his hearers that they must repent.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. envy and comparison. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The threat of wickedness can feel fixed in place. This psalm declares that YHWH’s enemies will perish, while the surrounding verses speak of an inheritance that endures.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 37:20. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).