What Does Psalm 37:27 Mean in the King James?

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

Psalm 37:27 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

Goodness is not a brief detour from evil; it becomes the place you inhabit.

THE MEANING

You are not trapped in a fixed identity called evil: this verse describes a movement away from harm, toward doing good, and into a dwelling that endures. The word translated “dwell” carries the sense of settling in, making a home.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that evil is an inescapable home: departure, good action, and enduring habitation belong to the same movement.

THE ROOT

שְׁכֹן

shekhon

GROWS FROM

שכן

To settle, dwell, or abide.

The command translated “dwell” comes from ⁨שכן⁩, the verb for settling or making a home. Its family includes ⁨מִשְׁכָּן⁩ (mishkan, “dwelling place”) and ⁨שָׁכֵן⁩ (shakhen, “neighbor”), so the verse’s ending suggests rooted habitation: a life that has found its place.

ALSO GROWS

mishkan: Dwelling place; tabernacle.

מִשְׁכָּן

This branch makes “dwell” concrete: the word belongs to the language of a place made for abiding.

shakhen: Neighbor; one who dwells nearby.

שָׁכֵן

The same root can name a settled presence among others, adding a relational sense to the verse’s picture of dwelling.

THE PATTERN

A life of lasting good takes shape by turning from what harms, practicing what is good, and settling into it.

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Job 28:28 · KJVUnderstanding appears as a departure from evil, echoing the movement from leaving harm toward a different way of life.

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Romans 12:9 · KJVLove takes shape through turning from evil and holding fast to good.

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

1 Peter 3:11 · KJVThe verse pairs turning away from evil with doing good, then extends that movement toward seeking wholeness.

THE THREAD

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

Exodus 25:8 · KJV

The Hebrew ⁨וְשָׁכַנְתִּי⁩ (weshakhanti, “and I may dwell”) shares the root ⁨שכן⁩ (shakan, “settle, dwell”) with this verse. The same root links enduring habitation with a presence that settles among people.

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