In this strophe the psalmist contrasts the destiny of the good and of the evil. The two verbs Mark and behold in verse 37a mean “observe carefully, keep a close eye on.” Since verse 37a consists of two completely parallel statements, in some languages it will be more convenient to reduce them to one; for example, “Notice the good and righteous person.” In languages where such a double use of adjectives would make it mean that these are two different persons, one may say, for example, “Notice the person who is both good and righteous.”

The Hebrew word translated posterity in both verses is “end, result,” which some take to mean “their future” (Dahood, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New American Bible); most, however, take it to mean “offspring, descendants.”

In verse 37b “a man of shalom” indicates not merely one who is easy to get along with, but one whose character is determined by God’s greatest gift, shalom. The expression man of peace may be rendered in idiomatic terms sometimes as “the person whose heart sits coolly” or “a person whose life says ‘quiet.’ ”

Transgressors and the wicked will be completely destroyed and leave no descendants. Transgressors are those who break God’s law. The verb destroyed is a strong one, “wiped out, exterminated, obliterated” (used also in 83.10a; 92.7c); and the adverb translated altogether may mean “completely, totally” or “all at once” (Bible en français courant), “one and all” (New English Bible).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .