Read
Psalm 37:24
Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for the LORD holds him up with his hand.
22For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
23A man’s steps are established by the LORD. He delights in his way.
24Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for the LORD holds him up with his hand.
25I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
26All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed.
Notice
The stumble is allowed for in the sentence, which can challenge the expectation that a life upheld by God should always feel steady.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference do you see between stumbling and falling in this verse?
Write on thisWhere, if anywhere, do you find it hard to trust that YHWH’s hand holds you?
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
Isaiah 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the …Both passages describe God upholding his people with his hand, making his help the ground of their confidence.
Psalm 55:22Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.Both passages place the righteous person’s stability in the LORD’s sustaining care.
Proverbs 24:16for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.Both passages allow for the righteous person losing their footing without being left overthrown.
Psalm 37:17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.Both verses in this psalm name the LORD as the one who upholds the righteous.
Psalm 145:14The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.Both passages describe the LORD upholding people whose footing or strength has failed.
Psalm 94:18When I said, “My foot is slipping!” Your loving kindness, LORD, held me up.A slipping foot and a stumble share the same danger, and both passages credit the LORD with holding someone up.
Micah 7:7–8But as for me, I will look to the LORD. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.Both passages express dependence on the LORD, with Micah emphasizing waiting and being heard rather than the image of an upholding hand.
John 10:27–30My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.Both concern the Lord’s relationship with his people; John’s supplied line describes hearing and following rather than being upheld.
Luke 22:31–32The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat,Human vulnerability is the limited link: the psalm describes stumbling, while Jesus warns Simon of Satan’s demand to sift those addressed.
Job 8:20“Behold, God will not cast away a blameless man, neither will he uphold the evildoers.Both passages speak of God’s support, with Job’s supplied line contrasting his treatment of the blameless and evildoers.
Luke 2:34Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is …Falling is the shared image, though Simeon speaks of the child’s effect in Israel rather than a hand upholding someone.
Romans 14:4Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.Both passages ground a person’s ability to stand in God’s support rather than their own strength.
Where this verse fits
Fear for the future. doubt.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Stumbling does not prove that God has let go. The verse locates the righteous person’s security in YHWH’s hand, even when their footing fails.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 37:24. 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).