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LXX Psalms

Septuagint

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Psalm 36

1 A Psalm of David. Do not fret yourself because of evil-doers, neither be envious of those who do iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be withered as the grass, and shall soon fall away as the green herbs. 3 Hope in the Lord, and do good; and dwell on the land, and you shall be fed with the wealth of it. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; and he shall grant you the requests of your heart. 5 Disclose your way to the Lord, and hope in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noon-day. 7 Submit yourself to the Lord, and plead him: do not fret yourself because of him that prospers in his way, at the man that does unlawful deeds. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake fierce anger: do not fret yourself so as to do evil. 9 For evil-doers shall be destroyed: but they that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land. 10 And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and you shall seek for his place, and shall not find it. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land;⁠ and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The sinner will watch for the righteous, and gnash his teeth upon him. 13 But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foresees that his day will come. 14 Sinners have drawn their swords, they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy one, and to kill the upright in heart. 15 Let their sword enter into their own heart, and their bows be broken. 16 A little is better to the righteous than abundant wealth of sinners. 17 For the arms of sinners shall be broken; but the Lord supports the righteous. 18 The Lord knows the ways of the perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in an evil time; and in days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 For the sinners shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honored and exalted have utterly vanished like smoke. 21 The sinner borrows, and will not pay again: but the righteous has compassion, and gives. 22 For they that bless him shall inherit the earth; and they that curse him shall be utterly destroyed. 23 The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord: and he will take pleasure in his way. 24 When he falls, he shall not be ruined: for the Lord supports his hand. 25 I was once young, indeed I am now old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread. 26 He is merciful, and lends continually; and his seed shall be blessed. 27 Turn aside from evil, and do good; and dwell for ever. 28 For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints; they shall be preserved for ever: but transgressors shall be banished, and the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed. 29 But the righteous shall inherit the earth, and dwell upon it for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom, and his tongue will speak of judgment. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not slide. 32 The sinner watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him. 33 But the Lord will not leave him in his hands, nor by any means condemn him when he is judged. 34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the land: when the wicked are destroyed, you shall see it. 35 I saw the ungodly very highly exalting himself, and lifting himself up like the cedars of Lebanon.⁠ 36 Yet I passed by, and look! he was not: and I sought him, but his place was not found. 37 Maintain innocence, and look at uprightness: for there is a remnant to the peaceful man. 38 But the transgressors shall be utterly destroyed together: the remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of affliction. 40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: and he shall rescue them from sinners, and save them, because they have hoped in him.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Psalm 36:11 and Matthew 5:5

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

Matthew 5 uses the Greek Septuagint translation of LXX Psalm 36, where the meek inherit the land. Matthew matches a biblical pattern that points to the land of Israel, suggesting he interprets the psalm as a promise of Israel’s inheritance.

Passages

LXX Psalm 36:11

Septuagint
9 For evil-doers shall be destroyed: but they that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land. 10 And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and you shall seek for his place, and shall not find it. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The sinner will watch for the righteous, and gnash his teeth upon him. 13 But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foresees that his day will come.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Psalms

Matthew 5:5

New Testament
2 Then he began to teach them by saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Positively, Matthew’s addition of the article is still significant. So why did Matthew add [an] article to the LXX? This can be explained in a number of ways: (1) textual corruption - Matthew used a Greek translation of the Old Testament or a Hebrew text that included the article, but is no longer extant; (2) a memory slip—Matthew alluded to Psalm 37:11 from memory and unintentionally added the article since in the LXX, κληρονομέω often takes the article + γῆ as its direct object; or (3) an intentional change - Matthew consciously, intentionally modified the Greek and/or Hebrew texts available to him (or memorized by him) for his own purposes. The best explanation is probably #3 along with the relevant biblical data from #2: The addition of the article allowed Matthew to bring his allusion to Psalm 37:11 into conformity with the overarching use of κληρονομέω + the article + γῆ in the rest of the Old Testament, thus making clear that Matthew 5:5 refers to inheriting the land of Israel. In other words, Matthew adds the article to build the specific combination [κληρονομέω + the article + γῆ], a combination that significantly narrows down the possible meaning of τὴν γῆν in Matthew 5:5 ..."
Nelson S. Hsieh, “Matthew 5:5 and the Old Testament Land Promises: An Inheritance of the Earth or the Land of Israel?” The Master's Seminary Journal 28.1 (2017): 41–75.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • Awesome👍
    Helps a lot to learn and meditate the bible

    Felishia Freddy, March 28, 2025

LXX Psalm 36:11 and Matthew 5:5

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