Translations
For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the allotted portion of the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands toward wrongdoing.
For the scepter of the wicked will not be allowed to remain over the inheritance of the righteous, so that the righteous are never driven to reach out their hands toward corruption.
For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
Footnotes
Shevet carries a striking double meaning: both 'sceptre' (symbol of ruling power) and 'tribe' (as in the tribal allotments of Israel). Most translators choose 'sceptre,' understanding this as foreign or wicked dominion over God's people. Goral—'lot' or 'allotted portion'—is the technical term for the land apportioned by lot to each tribe and family in the conquest (Josh. 14–19), carrying covenantal weight: it is not merely 'territory' but divinely assigned inheritance. The verse implies a pastoral concern: prolonged oppression can morally corrupt even the righteous, pressuring them to adopt the survival tactics of the wicked. F.O.G. renders goral as 'allotted portion' to preserve its land-inheritance resonance; F.O.G.M. uses 'inheritance' to draw out the covenantal and typological weight pointing to the believer's everlasting portion.
