Psalm chapter 112
English Standard Version
1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. 6For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. 7He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. 8His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. 10The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!
New International Version
1Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. 2Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. 4Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. 6Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. 7They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 8Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
New American Standard Bible
1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is a person who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments. 2His descendants will be mighty on the earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. 4Light shines in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous. 5It goes well for a person who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. 6For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever. 7He will not fear bad news; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 8His heart is firm, he will not fear, But will look with satisfaction on his enemies. 9 He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor. 10The wicked will see it and be vexed, He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked will perish.
Christian Standard Bible
1Hallelujah! Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands. 2His descendants will be powerful in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4Light shines in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous. 5Good will come to the one who lends generously and conducts his business fairly. 6He will never be shaken. The righteous one will be remembered forever. 7He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord. 8His heart is assured; he will not fear. In the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
New Living Translation
1 Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. 2Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. 4Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. 5Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. 6Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. 7They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. 8They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. 9They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. 10The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.
King James Version
New King James Version
1Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. 4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5 A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. 6Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. 7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 8His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies. 9He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor. 10The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish.
What does Psalm chapter 112 mean?
This song echoes a major theme of the book of Proverbs: that those who follow God's will set themselves up for success (Proverbs 1:7; 3:1–2; 15:33). This does not guarantee material wealth, or health, or happiness. An ungodly world will often persecute a faithful Christian (John 16:33). But obeying the Lord keeps the believer away from many dangers and promotes valuable, helpful attitudes (Proverbs 1:7; 3:33–34; 8:32–36). Similar ideas are seen in other psalms (Psalm 111:10; 119:4).Where the prior psalm emphasized God's great deeds, this one looks at the personal benefits which come from faith. Cooperating with the One who created us, as common sense would indicate, leads away from dangers and towards a better likelihood of success. The godly person has good reason to anticipate a positive reputation, a successful family life, positive business relationships, and mutual help from others (Psalm 112:1–6).
For the same reasons, the godly person has great peace of mind (Psalm 23:4). Even when news is bad, the believer has an anchor of hope (Psalm 46:1–2). Those who place their trust in God anticipate eternal victory. No matter what happens in this life, those redeemed by the Lord know their future is secure. In contrast, those who reject God have no such hope. They can only expect to live in jealousy and angst, until their life ends (Revelation 20:11–15) and everything they have gained is lost (Psalm 112:7–10).
