Forty verses of advice for one problem: the wicked are doing well and you are not. This is a wisdom poem, closer to Proverbs than to a prayer, and it argues rather than pleads. It is built as an alphabetical acrostic, but not a tidy one: most letters open a two-verse strophe, so the letter changes roughly every other verse, while dalet at verse 7, kaf at verse 20 and qof at verse 34 get one verse each, samekh at verse 27 stretches over three, and no verse in the Masoretic text begins with ayin. A learner should track one phrase: inheriting the land, which comes back at verses 9, 11, 22, 29 and 34 and is the psalm's answer each time. Verse 25 is the one most people know, because it is said at the table in the Grace after Meals.
1
לְדָוִד
אַל תִּתְחַר בַּמְּרֵעִים
אַל תְּקַנֵּא בְּעֹשֵׂי עַוְלָה
תִּתְחַר
tit-CHAR
inflame yourself
בַּמְּרֵעִים
bam-re-IM
at the evildoers
Do not burn with anger at evildoers,
תְּקַנֵּא
tka-NE
be envious
בְּעֹשֵׂי
be-o-SEI
of the doers of
do not envy those who do wrong.
The psalm opens on a prohibition, not a complaint. The problem it treats is not the evildoer but what the sight of him does to the person watching.
2
כִּי כֶחָצִיר מְהֵרָה יִמָּלוּ
וּכְיֶרֶק דֶּשֶׁא יִבּוֹלוּן
כֶחָצִיר
che-cha-TZIR
like the grass
יִמָּלוּ
yi-ma-LU
they wither
For like grass they wither quickly,
וּכְיֶרֶק
uch-YE-rek
and like the green of
דֶּשֶׁא
de-SHE
fresh growth
יִבּוֹלוּן
yi-bo-LUN
they will fade
and fade like green shoots.
The reason given is duration, not justice. Grass in this climate is the standard image for something that is genuinely green and genuinely brief.
3
בְּטַח בַּיהֹוָה וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב
שְׁכׇן אֶרֶץ וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה
בַּיהֹוָה
bai-ho-VA
in the LORD
Trust in the LORD and do good,
אֱמוּנָה
e-mu-NA
faithfulness
dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.
Four imperatives, and only the first is inward. The counsel is not to feel differently but to stay put and keep working.
4
וְהִתְעַנַּג עַל יְהֹוָה
וְיִתֶּן לְךָ מִשְׁאֲלֹת לִבֶּךָ
וְהִתְעַנַּג
ve-hit-a-NAG
and take delight
And take your delight in the LORD,
וְיִתֶּן
ve-YI-ten
and He will give
מִשְׁאֲלֹת
mish-a-LOT
the requests of
לִבֶּךָ
li-be-CHA
your heart
and He will give you what your heart asks.
The verb for delight is reflexive: you do it to yourself. The promise follows the practice rather than replacing it.
5
גּוֹל עַל יְהֹוָה דַּרְכֶּךָ
וּבְטַח עָלָיו וְהוּא יַעֲשֶׂה
דַּרְכֶּךָ
dar-ke-CHA
your way
Roll your way onto the LORD,
trust in Him, and He will act.
A physical verb: you roll a load off yourself onto something that can carry it. The final clause has no object, which is part of its force.
6
וְהוֹצִיא כָאוֹר צִדְקֶךָ
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ כַּצׇּהֳרָיִם
וְהוֹצִיא
ve-ho-TZI
and He will bring out
כָאוֹר
cha-OR
like the light
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
your righteousness
He will bring your righteousness out like the light,
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ
u-mish-pa-te-CHA
and your justice
כַּצׇּהֳרָיִם
ka-tzo-ho-ra-YIM
like the noon
and your case like noon.
The vindication is public and visible. Noon is chosen because it is the hour with no shadow to hide anything.
7
דּוֹם לַיהֹוָה וְהִתְחוֹלֵל לוֹ
אַל תִּתְחַר בְּמַצְלִיחַ דַּרְכּוֹ
בְּאִישׁ עֹשֶׂה מְזִמּוֹת
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
for the LORD
וְהִתְחוֹלֵל
ve-hit-cho-LEL
and wait in hope
Be silent before the LORD and wait for Him.
תִּתְחַר
tit-CHAR
inflame yourself
בְּמַצְלִיחַ
be-matz-LI-ach
at the one who prospers
Do not burn at the man who makes his way prosper,
עֹשֶׂה
o-SE
who carries out
מְזִמּוֹת
me-zi-MOT
schemes
at a man who carries out his schemes.
The prohibition of verse 1 returns, and the target is sharpened: not evil in general but the specific man whose plans are working.
8
הֶרֶף מֵאַף וַעֲזֹב חֵמָה
אַל תִּתְחַר אַךְ לְהָרֵעַ
וַעֲזֹב
va-a-ZOV
and abandon
Let go of anger and leave rage behind;
תִּתְחַר
tit-CHAR
inflame yourself
לְהָרֵעַ
le-ha-RE-a
to doing harm
do not burn, it leads only to harm.
The third and last time the verb appears, now with the consequence stated: resentment does not stay a feeling, it turns into an act.
9
כִּי מְרֵעִים יִכָּרֵתוּן
וְקֹוֵי יְהֹוָה הֵמָּה יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ
יִכָּרֵתוּן
yi-ka-re-TUN
will be cut off
For evildoers will be cut off,
וְקֹוֵי
ve-ko-VEI
but those who hope in
יִירְשׁוּ
yir-SHU
will inherit
but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
First appearance of the refrain. The pronoun before the verb is emphatic: these and not the others are the ones who stay.
10
וְעוֹד מְעַט וְאֵין רָשָׁע
וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ
וְאֵין
ve-EIN
and there is no
A little longer, and the wicked man is gone;
וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ
ve-hit-bo-nan-TA
and you will look closely
מְקוֹמוֹ
me-ko-MO
his place
וְאֵינֶנּוּ
ve-ei-ne-NU
and he is not there
you will look at his place, and he is not there.
The disappearance is described from the observer's side. You are still standing there; it is the place that has emptied.
11
וַעֲנָוִים יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ
וְהִתְעַנְּגוּ עַל רֹב שָׁלוֹם
וַעֲנָוִים
va-a-na-VIM
but the humble
יִירְשׁוּ
yir-SHU
will inherit
But the humble will inherit the land,
וְהִתְעַנְּגוּ
ve-hit-an-GU
and they will take delight
and take delight in abundant peace.
The refrain returns with a new subject. The same reflexive verb of delight used of God in verse 4 is now used of peace.
12
זֹמֵם רָשָׁע לַצַּדִּיק
וְחֹרֵק עָלָיו שִׁנָּיו
רָשָׁע
ra-SHA
the wicked man
לַצַּדִּיק
la-tza-DIK
against the righteous man
The wicked man plots against the righteous,
וְחֹרֵק
ve-cho-REK
and grinds
and grinds his teeth at him.
A block of five verses on the threat begins here. The psalm does not deny the danger; it dates it.
13
אֲדֹנָי יִשְׂחַק לוֹ
כִּי רָאָה כִּי יָבֹא יוֹמוֹ
for He sees that his day is coming.
The laughter is not mockery of suffering but the reaction of someone who can already see the end of the scene.
14
חֶרֶב פָּתְחוּ רְשָׁעִים וְדָרְכוּ קַשְׁתָּם
לְהַפִּיל עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן
לִטְבוֹחַ יִשְׁרֵי דָרֶךְ
פָּתְחוּ
pat-CHU
have drawn
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
וְדָרְכוּ
ve-dar-CHU
and have bent
קַשְׁתָּם
kash-TAM
their bow
The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow,
לְהַפִּיל
le-ha-PIL
to bring down
וְאֶבְיוֹן
ve-evi-ON
and the needy
to bring down the poor and needy,
לִטְבוֹחַ
lit-VO-ach
to slaughter
יִשְׁרֵי
yish-REI
the upright of
to slaughter those whose way is straight.
The threat is armed and aimed at the weakest, not at rivals. Two infinitives of purpose carry the whole second half.
15
חַרְבָּם תָּבוֹא בְלִבָּם
וְקַשְּׁתוֹתָם תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה
חַרְבָּם
char-BAM
their sword
בְלִבָּם
vli-BAM
into their own heart
Their sword will go into their own heart,
וְקַשְּׁתוֹתָם
ve-kash-to-TAM
and their bows
תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה
ti-sha-var-NA
will be broken
and their bows will be broken.
The weapons of the previous verse turn around, in order. No outside agent is named: the sentence is carried out by the equipment.
16
טוֹב מְעַט לַצַּדִּיק
מֵהֲמוֹן רְשָׁעִים רַבִּים
לַצַּדִּיק
la-tza-DIK
for the righteous man
Better the little that the righteous has
מֵהֲמוֹן
me-ha-MON
than the wealth of
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
wicked men
than the wealth of many wicked men.
A proverb dropped into the argument, in the standard better-than form of Proverbs. It answers the envy of verse 1 with arithmetic.
17
כִּי זְרוֹעוֹת רְשָׁעִים תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה
וְסוֹמֵךְ צַדִּיקִים יְהֹוָה
זְרוֹעוֹת
ze-ro-OT
the arms of
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה
ti-sha-var-NA
will be broken
For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
וְסוֹמֵךְ
ve-so-MECH
but the One who supports
צַדִּיקִים
tza-di-KIM
the righteous
but the LORD holds up the righteous.
Arm means strength here. The same verb for breaking that fell on the bows in verse 15 now falls on the body.
18
יוֹדֵעַ יְהֹוָה יְמֵי תְמִימִם
וְנַחֲלָתָם לְעוֹלָם תִּהְיֶה
תְמִימִם
tmi-MIM
the blameless
The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
וְנַחֲלָתָם
ve-na-cha-la-TAM
and their inheritance
and their inheritance will last for ever.
Knowing days is a way of saying the span is accounted for. The word for inheritance is the noun behind the refrain's verb.
19
לֹא יֵבֹשׁוּ בְּעֵת רָעָה
וּבִימֵי רְעָבוֹן יִשְׂבָּעוּ
יֵבֹשׁוּ
ye-vo-SHU
they will be shamed
They will not be put to shame in a bad time,
וּבִימֵי
u-vi-MEI
and in days of
יִשְׂבָּעוּ
yis-ba-U
they will be full
and in days of famine they will eat their fill.
The promise is deliberately modest: not wealth, but enough during the years when there is not enough.
20
כִּי רְשָׁעִים יֹאבֵדוּ
וְאֹיְבֵי יְהֹוָה כִּיקַר כָּרִים
כָּלוּ בֶעָשָׁן כָּלוּ
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
יֹאבֵדוּ
yo-ve-DU
will perish
For the wicked will perish,
וְאֹיְבֵי
ve-oi-VEI
and the enemies of
כִּיקַר
ki-KAR
like the glory of
כָּרִים
ka-RIM
meadows, or lambs
and the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures:
כָּלוּ
ka-LU
they are finished
בֶעָשָׁן
ve-a-SHAN
in smoke
כָּלוּ
ka-LU
they are finished
they are used up, they go up in smoke, they are used up.
The verse repeats its last word, which is unusual and probably deliberate. The image behind it is contested; see the remez.
21
לֹוֶה רָשָׁע וְלֹא יְשַׁלֵּם
וְצַדִּיק חוֹנֵן וְנוֹתֵן
רָשָׁע
ra-SHA
the wicked man
The wicked man borrows and does not repay,
וְצַדִּיק
ve-tza-DIK
but the righteous man
וְנוֹתֵן
ve-no-TEN
and gives
but the righteous is generous and gives.
The contrast moves from violence to money. Righteousness here is measured by what leaves the hand, not by what is believed.
22
כִּי מְבֹרָכָיו יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ
וּמְקֻלָּלָיו יִכָּרֵתוּ
מְבֹרָכָיו
me-vo-ra-CHAV
those blessed by Him
יִירְשׁוּ
yir-SHU
will inherit
For those He blesses will inherit the land,
וּמְקֻלָּלָיו
um-ku-la-LAV
and those cursed by Him
יִכָּרֵתוּ
yi-ka-re-TU
will be cut off
and those He curses will be cut off.
The refrain a third time, now with both halves attributed directly to God rather than to the behaviour of the parties.
23
מֵיְהֹוָה מִצְעֲדֵי גֶבֶר כּוֹנָנוּ
וְדַרְכּוֹ יֶחְפָּץ
מֵיְהֹוָה
mei-ho-VA
from the LORD
מִצְעֲדֵי
mitz-a-DEI
the steps of
כּוֹנָנוּ
ko-na-NU
are made firm
A man's steps are made firm by the LORD,
וְדַרְכּוֹ
ve-dar-KO
and in his way
יֶחְפָּץ
yech-PATZ
He delights
and He delights in his way.
The subject shifts from what happens to the wicked to what holds the ordinary walker up. Steps and way are the psalm's working metaphor.
24
כִּי יִפֹּל לֹא יוּטָל
כִּי יְהֹוָה סוֹמֵךְ יָדוֹ
יוּטָל
yu-TAL
he will be thrown down
Though he falls he is not thrown down,
for the LORD holds his hand.
Falling is conceded. What is denied is the second verb, the one that means being flung down and left there.
25
נַעַר הָיִיתִי גַּם זָקַנְתִּי
וְלֹא רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק נֶעֱזָב
וְזַרְעוֹ מְבַקֶּשׁ לָחֶם
זָקַנְתִּי
za-kan-TI
I have grown old
I was young and now I am old,
רָאִיתִי
ra-i-TI
I have seen
צַדִּיק
tza-DIK
a righteous man
and I have not seen a righteous man abandoned,
וְזַרְעוֹ
ve-zar-O
or his offspring
מְבַקֶּשׁ
me-VA-kesh
begging
nor his children begging for bread.
The one verse in the psalm spoken as personal testimony, and the one most readers argue with. It claims observation, not doctrine.
26
כׇּל הַיּוֹם חוֹנֵן וּמַלְוֶה
וְזַרְעוֹ לִבְרָכָה
חוֹנֵן
cho-NEN
he is gracious
וּמַלְוֶה
u-mal-VE
and lends
All day long he is generous and lends,
וְזַרְעוֹ
ve-zar-O
and his offspring
לִבְרָכָה
liv-ra-CHA
is for a blessing
and his children become a blessing.
It answers verse 25 in its own terms: the children who do not beg are the children of a man who lent to others.
27
סוּר מֵרָע וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב
וּשְׁכֹן לְעוֹלָם
Turn from evil and do good,
וּשְׁכֹן
ush-CHON
and dwell
and you will dwell for ever.
The imperatives of verse 3 come back almost word for word, and the reward attached to them has grown from the land to for ever.
28
כִּי יְהֹוָה אֹהֵב מִשְׁפָּט
וְלֹא יַעֲזֹב אֶת חֲסִידָיו
לְעוֹלָם נִשְׁמָרוּ
וְזֶרַע רְשָׁעִים נִכְרָת
For the LORD loves justice
יַעֲזֹב
ya-a-ZOV
will He abandon
חֲסִידָיו
cha-si-DAV
His faithful ones
and does not abandon His faithful ones.
נִשְׁמָרוּ
nish-ma-RU
they are kept safe
They are kept safe for ever,
וְזֶרַע
ve-ZE-ra
but the offspring of
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
נִכְרָת
nich-RAT
is cut off
but the seed of the wicked is cut off.
The longest verse in the psalm, and the place where the acrostic goes missing. It gives the reason under everything said so far.
29
צַדִּיקִים יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ
וְיִשְׁכְּנוּ לָעַד עָלֶיהָ
צַדִּיקִים
tza-di-KIM
the righteous
יִירְשׁוּ
yir-SHU
will inherit
The righteous will inherit the land,
וְיִשְׁכְּנוּ
ve-yish-KNU
and they will dwell
and live on it for ever.
The refrain a fourth time, and the only one that adds a preposition holding them on the land rather than merely receiving it.
30
פִּי צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה חׇכְמָה
וּלְשׁוֹנוֹ תְּדַבֵּר מִשְׁפָּט
צַדִּיק
tza-DIK
a righteous man
The mouth of the righteous murmurs wisdom,
וּלְשׁוֹנוֹ
ul-sho-NO
and his tongue
and his tongue speaks justice.
The verb is the low continuous sound of someone reciting under his breath, the same one used of meditating on the Torah.
31
תּוֹרַת אֱלֹהָיו בְּלִבּוֹ
לֹא תִמְעַד אֲשֻׁרָיו
תּוֹרַת
to-RAT
the teaching of
בְּלִבּוֹ
bli-BO
is in his heart
The teaching of his God is in his heart;
אֲשֻׁרָיו
a-shu-RAV
his steps
his steps do not slip.
Interior instruction produces exterior stability. It picks the steps of verse 23 back up and states the mechanism.
32
צוֹפֶה רָשָׁע לַצַּדִּיק
וּמְבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲמִיתוֹ
רָשָׁע
ra-SHA
the wicked man
לַצַּדִּיק
la-tza-DIK
for the righteous man
The wicked man watches the righteous,
וּמְבַקֵּשׁ
um-va-KESH
and seeks
לַהֲמִיתוֹ
la-ha-mi-TO
to put him to death
looking for a way to kill him.
The threat returns after twenty verses, in the same grammar as verse 12: participle, subject, target.
33
יְהֹוָה לֹא יַעַזְבֶנּוּ בְיָדוֹ
וְלֹא יַרְשִׁיעֶנּוּ בְּהִשָּׁפְטוֹ
יַעַזְבֶנּוּ
ya-az-ve-NU
will leave him
The LORD will not leave him in his power,
יַרְשִׁיעֶנּוּ
yar-shi-e-NU
will let him be condemned
בְּהִשָּׁפְטוֹ
be-hi-shaf-TO
when he is judged
and will not let him be condemned at his trial.
The scene becomes a courtroom. Both verbs carry the object suffix him, which is why the English needs so many more words.
34
קַוֵּה אֶל יְהֹוָה וּשְׁמֹר דַּרְכּוֹ
וִירוֹמִמְךָ לָרֶשֶׁת אָרֶץ
בְּהִכָּרֵת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה
Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
וִירוֹמִמְךָ
vi-ro-mim-CHA
and He will raise you
לָרֶשֶׁת
la-RE-shet
to take possession of
and He will lift you up to possess the land.
בְּהִכָּרֵת
be-hi-ka-RET
when are cut off
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
תִּרְאֶה
tir-E
you will see
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
The refrain a fifth and last time, and the only one addressed to you rather than reported about a group.
35
רָאִיתִי רָשָׁע עָרִיץ
וּמִתְעָרֶה כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן
רָאִיתִי
ra-i-TI
I have seen
I have seen a wicked man, a bully,
וּמִתְעָרֶה
u-mit-a-RE
and spreading himself
כְּאֶזְרָח
ke-ez-RACH
like a native tree
spreading out like a green tree in its own soil.
Second personal testimony, matching verse 25 and reversing it: here the speaker says what he did see, not what he did not.
36
וַיַּעֲבֹר וְהִנֵּה אֵינֶנּוּ
וָאֲבַקְשֵׁהוּ וְלֹא נִמְצָא
וַיַּעֲבֹר
va-ya-a-VOR
and he passed on
אֵינֶנּוּ
ei-ne-NU
he is gone
Then he was gone,
וָאֲבַקְשֵׁהוּ
va-a-vak-she-HU
and I looked for him
נִמְצָא
nim-TZA
he was found
I looked for him and he was not found.
The tree of the previous verse is not cut down or argued with. It is simply absent at the next visit, which is the whole point.
37
שְׁמׇר תָּם וּרְאֵה יָשָׁר
כִּי אַחֲרִית לְאִישׁ שָׁלוֹם
יָשָׁר
ya-SHAR
the upright man
Watch the blameless man and look at the upright,
אַחֲרִית
a-cha-RIT
there is a future
לְאִישׁ
le-ISH
for the man of
for the man of peace has a future.
The instruction is to redirect attention. After thirty-six verses spent looking at the wicked, look at somebody else.
38
וּפֹשְׁעִים נִשְׁמְדוּ יַחְדָּו
אַחֲרִית רְשָׁעִים נִכְרָתָה
וּפֹשְׁעִים
u-fosh-IM
but rebels
נִשְׁמְדוּ
nish-me-DU
are destroyed
But those who break faith are destroyed together;
אַחֲרִית
a-cha-RIT
the future of
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
נִכְרָתָה
nich-ra-TA
is cut off
the future of the wicked is cut off.
The same noun that meant a future in verse 37 here means what gets severed. The contrast is built on one word.
39
וּתְשׁוּעַת צַדִּיקִים מֵיְהֹוָה
מָעוּזָּם בְּעֵת צָרָה
וּתְשׁוּעַת
ut-shu-AT
and the rescue of
צַדִּיקִים
tza-di-KIM
the righteous
מֵיְהֹוָה
mei-ho-VA
is from the LORD
The rescue of the righteous comes from the LORD,
מָעוּזָּם
ma-u-ZAM
their stronghold
their refuge in a time of trouble.
Trouble is granted, not denied. The psalm ends by naming a shelter inside the bad time rather than an escape from it.
40
וַיַּעְזְרֵם יְהֹוָה וַיְפַלְּטֵם יְפַלְּטֵם
מֵרְשָׁעִים וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם
כִּי חָסוּ בוֹ
וַיַּעְזְרֵם
va-ya-ze-REM
and He helps them
וַיְפַלְּטֵם
vai-fal-TEM
and He rescues them
יְפַלְּטֵם
ye-fal-TEM
He rescues them
The LORD helps them and gets them out;
מֵרְשָׁעִים
mer-sha-IM
from the wicked
וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם
vei-o-shi-EM
and He saves them
He gets them out from the wicked and saves them,
חָסוּ
cha-SU
they took refuge
because they have taken shelter in Him.
Four verbs in a row, all with the suffix them, and one of them said twice. The last clause gives the only condition in the psalm.
♦ PARDES analysis: פרדס
The four levels of Jewish reading of the sacred text: פשט Peshat (literal meaning), רמז Remez (symbolic allusion), דרש Drash (midrashic interpretation), סוד Sod (mystical meaning). The word פרדס means "orchard", each level is a fruit.
פשט · Peshat: literal meaning
Someone is watching a dishonest man do well and it is eating him. The psalm answers with two moves, repeated in cycles. The first is a prohibition against the feeling itself, stated three times with the same verb, at verses 1, 7 and 8. The second is a time argument: what looks permanent is short, so what looks like an unjust distribution is really an unfinished one. Around this the poem builds a refrain, inheriting the land, at verses 9, 11, 22, 29 and 34, and each occurrence gives the promise to a different subject, those who wait, the humble, those God blesses, the righteous, and finally you. Nothing here is a prayer. There is no request, no complaint addressed upward, and God is spoken about rather than to for all forty verses. It is an older person giving advice, which is exactly how verse 25 presents it.
רמז · Remez: allusion
The acrostic is the frame and it is worth counting. Each Hebrew letter opens a strophe of two verses, so the letter changes every second verse, but four places break the pattern: dalet gets verse 7 alone, kaf gets verse 20 alone, qof gets verse 34 alone, samekh runs across verses 27 to 29, and no verse in the Masoretic text opens with ayin. The Greek version has an extra clause in verse 28 about wrongdoers being destroyed, and many modern editors retrovert that to a lost Hebrew line beginning with ayin, which would restore the sequence; others take the letter as simply missing. Both are conjectures and the printed Hebrew supports neither. A second crux sits in כָּרִים (ka-rim, v.20), a word that can be read as lambs or as meadows: the older translations give the fat of lambs going up on an altar, the newer ones the splendour of pasture that dries out. The verb of גּוֹל (gol, v.5) is worth its own note, because it means to roll a weight, not to entrust a matter.
דרש · Drash: midrashic reading
Verse 25 is recited in the Grace after Meals, and it is the verse of this psalm people have always pushed back on, because plenty of righteous people have in fact gone hungry. The traditional readings do not deny that. One takes the line as testimony, David reporting the limits of one lifetime rather than legislating for all of them. Another reads it forward into verse 26 and makes it conditional: the children who do not beg are the children of a man who spent his own days lending. Both readings agree that a verse about not having seen something is not a verse about it being impossible. The refrain about inheriting the land was heard by later readers as more than a property claim, since וַעֲנָוִים (va-a-na-vim, v.11), the humble, are promised the same land that armies were fighting over, and the psalm's own logic is that possession follows patience rather than force.
סוד · Sod: mystical reading
The mystical reading works from the verbs of transfer. In גּוֹל (gol, v.5) you roll your way off yourself, and the sentence that follows has no object at all: He will act, and what He will do is not specified, because the point of the handover is that you stop holding the outcome. In וּרְעֵה (ur-e, v.3) you are told to graze on faithfulness, which makes trust a food rather than an attitude, something consumed daily and never stored. Against this the wicked in verse 20 are the reverse image, substance turning into smoke, mass leaving without being handed to anyone. The land in the refrain is then read as the settled state itself, the condition of being placed rather than the acreage, and inheriting it is what happens to a person who has stopped burning.