Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 37:36
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
36. Yet he passed away ] R.V. But one passed by. Better, with LXX, Vulg., Syr., Jer.; And I passed by.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yet he passed away – Compare the notes at Job 20:5. The allusion here, of course, is to the man, and not to the tree, though the grammatical construction might refer to either. The idea is that he passed out of view – he was gone; he had no permanent abode on earth, but with all his pomp and splendor he had disappeared. Neither his prosperity, his greatness, nor his wealth, could secure him a permanent abode on earth. It might be said, also, in reply to this, that the good man passes away and is not. That is true. But the meaning here is, that this occurs so much more frequently in the case of a wicked man, or that wickedness is followed so often in this life by the judgment of God in cutting him off, as to show that there is a moral government, and that that government is administered in favor of the righteous, or that it is an advantage in this life to be righteous. It cannot be meant that this is universally so here, but that this is the general rule, and that it is so constant as to show that God is on the side of virtue and religion.
And lo, he was not – He was no more; there was no longer any such person: The word lo implies that there was some degree of surprise, or that what had occurred was not looked for or expected. The observer had seen him in great power, flourishing, rich, honored; and, to his astonishment, he soon passed entirely away.
Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found – This is intended to confirm what had been just said, or to show how completely he had disappeared. It might be supposed, perhaps, that his removal was only temporary – that he was still somewhere upon the earth; but the psalmist says that after the most diligent search, he could not find him. He had disappeared entirely from among men.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 36. Yet he passed away] Both Nebuchadnezzar and his wicked successor, Belshazzar; and on the destruction of the latter, when God had weighed him in the balance, and found him wanting, numbered his days, and consigned him to death, his kingdom was delivered to the Medes and Persians; and thus the Babylonian empire was destroyed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He was gone in an instant, like a tree blasted and blown down, or cut off and rooted out, and carried away in a moment. There was no monument nor remainder of him left.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
36. he was not(Compare Ps37:10).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Yet he passed away,…. At once, on a sudden; either his riches and honour, which, in one hour, came to nought, by one providence or another; or he himself by death; in the midst of all his prosperity, and while blessing himself in it, his soul was required of him; and so the Targum is, “he ceased from the world”; he went out of it unawares: the laurel, or bay tree, very quickly grows old d;
and, lo, he [was] not; he was not reduced to nothing; he did not become a nonentity, though he might wish himself to be so; it being better for him if he had never been born; but he was not in the land of the living, in hell he lifted up his eyes;
yea, I sought him, but he could not be found; in the place where he formerly was, that knowing him no more; he could not be found on earth, from whence he was gone; nor in heaven, where no place is found for such wicked men; he was gone to his own place, as is said of Judas, and of whom Jerom interprets the whole of this passage.
d “Senescit velociter”, Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 44.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(36) Yet he passed away.This should be, And there went one by, &c. LXX. and Vulg. have, And I passed by. (Comp. Prayer Book version.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 37:36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Ver. 36. Yet he passed away, &c. ] The Greek and Latin have it, I passed by. See Psa 37:10 . How soon and utterly withered and wasted the fig tree Christ cursed! so forcible is his curse.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
he. Aramaean, Septuagint, and Vulg, read “I”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 37:10, Exo 15:9, Exo 15:10, Exo 15:19, Job 20:5-29, Isa 10:16-19, Isa 10:33, Isa 10:34, Act 12:22, Act 12:23
Reciprocal: Jdg 4:17 – fled Est 5:12 – to morrow Est 7:9 – Hang him thereon Job 4:20 – without Job 5:3 – taking Job 7:8 – The eye Job 7:21 – but I shall not be Job 8:16 – green Job 8:18 – he Job 19:10 – mine hope Job 20:9 – The eye Job 21:28 – Where Job 24:24 – are exalted Psa 37:2 – General Psa 37:9 – evildoers Psa 52:5 – pluck Psa 58:8 – pass Psa 92:7 – it is that Pro 21:12 – wisely Pro 29:16 – but Isa 17:14 – at eveningtide Isa 41:12 – shalt seek Isa 51:13 – where is Jer 31:15 – because Jer 49:10 – he is not Jer 49:25 – General Eze 26:21 – though Eze 27:36 – never shalt be any more Eze 31:5 – his height Dan 2:35 – no place Dan 4:10 – a tree Dan 11:4 – he shall stand Dan 11:19 – but Luk 16:25 – thy good 1Co 1:28 – to bring Jam 1:10 – because Jam 1:11 – so Rev 18:21 – and shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
37:36 Yet he {x} passed away, and, lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
(x) So that the prosperity of the wicked is but as a cloud, which vanishes away in a moment.