Psalms 37:25 (KJV)

What does Psalms 37:25 mean?

Psalms 37:25 presents an older person’s observation about people who live rightly. Looking back across his life, the speaker says he has not seen such a person abandoned or that person’s children reduced to begging for food.

The contrast between youth and old age gives weight to the speaker’s account: he is drawing on a lifetime of what he has seen. “Begging bread” pictures a family in need of the most basic food, while “forsaken” describes a person left without care or support.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 37:25

• “righteous” — צַדִּיק (tsaddiq): This word describes a person who acts rightly or is in the right. Here it identifies the kind of person the speaker has watched over the years.
• “seed” — זֶרַע (zeraʿ): The word can mean seed, but it can also refer to a person’s children or descendants. The speaker’s observation extends beyond the individual to the next generation.

Why Psalms 37:25 matters

• The verse gives the speaker’s own observation, framed by “have I not seen.” Its wording presents what he reports from experience rather than describing every person’s situation.
• The connection with verse 26 adds a picture of generosity: the person described there gives freely and lends. The mention of descendants in both verses carries the thought forward to the family that follows.