The Meaning of Psalms 37:36 Explained

Psalms 37:36

KJV: Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

YLT: And he passeth away, and lo, he is not, And I seek him, and he is not found!

Darby: but he passed away, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, but he was not found.

ASV: But one passed by, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet he passed away,  and, lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought  him, but he could not be found. 

What does Psalms 37:36 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 37:30-40 - Steps That Shall Not Slide
How dear this psalm has been to God's saints! It has been peculiarly prized by them in all ages. Gerhardt has paraphrased it in his noble hymn:
Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope, and be undismayed.
When banished from Berlin by the Elector, he turned into a small wayside hostelry, not knowing where to go. Seeing his wife greatly depressed, he turned to find comfort for them both in these verses, and the conception of his hymn broke upon him. That evening messengers arrived from the Duke of Mecklenburg, offering Gerhardt an honorable position in his kingdom. Among many others, Psalms 37:5 was frequently quoted by David Livingstone.
Bishop Coverdale's translation of Psalms 37:37 is noteworthy: "Keep innocency and take heed unto the thing that is right, for that shall bring a man peace at the last." But the psalmist repeatedly insists that the fulfillment of God's promises is conditioned by our faith, Psalms 37:40. The day may break stormily, but the storms expend themselves before nightfall and the sunset is golden. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 37

1  David persuades to patience and confidence in God,
12  by the different estate of the godly and the wicked

What do the individual words in Psalms 37:36 mean?

And yet he passed away and behold he [was] no [more] and indeed I sought him but not he could be found
וַ֭יַּֽעֲבֹר וְהִנֵּ֣ה אֵינֶ֑נּוּ וָֽ֝אֲבַקְשֵׁ֗הוּ וְלֹ֣א נִמְצָֽא

וַ֭יַּֽעֲבֹר  And  yet  he  passed  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
וְהִנֵּ֣ה  and  behold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
אֵינֶ֑נּוּ  he  [was]  no  [more] 
Parse: Adverb, third person masculine singular
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
וָֽ֝אֲבַקְשֵׁ֗הוּ  and  indeed  I  sought  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
וְלֹ֣א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
נִמְצָֽא  he  could  be  found 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.