Don't Envy the Wicked
In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied. Psalm 37:19 · Berean Standard Bible
When trouble comes and times get hard, the righteous won't be disgraced or ashamed, and even in famine, they'll have what they need.
David is realistic: hard times will come for everyone. But he's saying the righteous person's character is secure even when circumstances are difficult. They won't be humiliated by their struggles, and God will sustain them through deprivation.
David, preparing believers for difficulty while assuring them that difficulty doesn't define them or separate them from God's care.
This echoes in Hebrews 11, where faithful people faced persecution, poverty, and suffering but maintained their integrity and hope. It also points to Jesus facing the cross and finding that through death came resurrection.
When catastrophe arrives, the righteous will experience shame neither for their faith nor deprivation—God sustains them through famine itself.
'B'et ra'ah' (time of evil) and 'b'yeme ra'av' (days of famine) denote collective suffering and material scarcity—crises that historically accompany foreign occupation or economic collapse. The promise that the righteous 'will not be ashamed' ('lo yeboshu') and 'will be satisfied' ('yisbayu') asserts divine sustenance transcends material conditions. This is radical faith in extremis.
The wisdom teacher, now addressing the most severe test of faith—whether trust endures through actual deprivation.
This principle appears in the wilderness narratives (manna provision, Exodus 16) and Elijah's sustenance (1 Kgs 17) and reaches its culmination in Jesus's wilderness temptation (Matt 4:4) and his teaching on daily bread (Matt 6:11). It expresses faith's deepest conviction: God's care transcends material circumstances.
17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.
19In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.
21The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.
Read all of Psalm 37 — The temptation to resent the success of evil people is ancient. David's counsel: be still, wait, and trust. The wicked are grass.
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