Psalms 34:21 (WEB)

Passage

Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

Nearby Context

Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.

Psalms 34:20 He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.

Psalms 34:21 Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

Psalms 34:22 Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "condemn", "evil", "shall", "kill", "wicked", "hate", "righteous", and "condemned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "condemn" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "He protects all of his bones Not..." into verse 22's "Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants...", so "condemn" and "evil" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "condemn" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.