Psalm 37:35

Psalm 37:35, in plain English

The psalmist has actually seen wicked people who are thriving, deeply rooted, looking completely secure—which makes what he's about to say even more striking.

Why it's here

He's not speaking theoretically. He's been watching this wicked person flourish, like a native tree with deep roots and stability. For all appearances, this person has won. The setup is crucial—it makes the next verse hit harder.

Who's speaking

David from direct observation, perhaps thinking of someone specific from his own experience.

Where it sits in the story

This honest acknowledgment—that yes, the wicked can flourish for a time—is what makes the biblical story real. It's not a fantasy that denies reality. The point is what happens next.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist has personally observed a ruthless wicked person flourishing visibly—deeply rooted like a well-established native tree, appearing stable and secure.

Language and setting

The shift to first-person testimony ('I have seen,' רָאִיתִי, ra-iti) returns to the empirical ground established in verses 25-26. The wicked figure is described as 'ruthless' (עָרִיץ, aritz—violent, oppressive) and 'well-rooted native tree' (וַיְנַטַּע כְּאַלֶּה רַעֲנָן, va-ynatai ke-elle raanan)—explicitly using botanical metaphor to suggest thriving growth and apparent permanence. This verse frames the most serious apparent challenge to the psalm's theology: if the righteous suffer while the wicked flourish, what vindication is there? The next verses will resolve this.

Voice

The psalmist offers eyewitness testimony to apparent theodical contradiction.

Significance

This echoes Jeremiah's prayers and Job's complaints: the problem of the wicked's prosperity. The Psalter includes multiple expressions of this perplexity (Psalms 10, 73). The resolution here—that despite thriving appearance, the wicked disappear—anticipates Asaph's theodicy in Psalm 73:17-20, where entering the sanctuary provides the perspective from which the wicked's temporal flourishing appears insubstantial.

33the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

34Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,

36yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

37Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.

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.