10 Send them to destruction, O Lord; let their evil designs be the cause of their fall; let them be forced out by all their sins; because they have gone against your authority.
Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, Hushai's suggestion is better than that of Ahithophel. For it was the purpose of the Lord to make the wise designs of Ahithophel without effect, so that the Lord might send evil on Absalom.
Now when Ahithophel saw that his suggestion was not acted on, he got his ass ready, and went back to his house, to the town where he came from, and having put his house in order, he put himself to death by hanging; so he came to his end and was put in the resting-place of his father.
Let those who say evil against my soul be overcome and put to shame; let my haters be made low and have no honour.
Let their table before them be for their destruction; let their feasts become a net to take them. Let their eyes be blind so that they may not see; let their bodies for ever be shaking. Let your curse come on them; let the heat of your wrath overtake them. Give their houses to destruction, and let there be no one in their tents.
Do to them what you did to the Midianites; what you did to Sisera and Jabin, at the stream of Kishon: Who came to destruction at En-dor; their bodies became dust and waste. Make their chiefs like Oreb and Zeeb; and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna: Who have said, Let us take for our heritage the resting-place of God. O my God, make them like the rolling dust; like dry stems before the wind. As fire burning a wood, and as a flame causing fire on the mountains, So go after them with your strong wind, and let them be full of fear because of your storm. Let their faces be full of shame; so that they may give honour to your name, O Lord. Let them be overcome and troubled for ever; let them be put to shame and come to destruction; So that men may see that you only, whose name is Yahweh, are Most High over all the earth.
Because they went against the words of God, and gave no thought to the laws of the Most High:
Put an evil man over him; and let one be placed at his right hand to say evil of him. When he is judged, let the decision go against him; and may his prayer become sin. Let his life be short; let another take his position of authority. Let his children have no father, and his wife be made a widow. Let his children be wanderers, looking to others for their food; let them be sent away from the company of their friends. Let his creditor take all his goods; and let others have the profit of his work. Let no man have pity on him, or give help to his children when he is dead. Let his seed be cut off; in the coming generation let their name go out of memory. Let the Lord keep in mind the wrongdoing of his fathers; and may the sin of his mother have no forgiveness. Let them be ever before the eyes of the Lord, so that the memory of them may be cut off from the earth. Because he had no mercy, but was cruel to the low and the poor, designing the death of the broken-hearted. As he took pleasure in cursing, so let it come on him; and as he had no delight in blessing, let it be far from him. He put on cursing like a robe, and it has come into his body like water, and into his bones like oil. Let it be to him as a robe which he puts on, let it be like a band which is round him at all times. Let this be the reward given to my haters from the Lord, and to those who say evil of my soul.
O Lord, keep in mind against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; how they said, Let it be uncovered, uncovered even to its base. O daughter of Babylon, whose fate is destruction; happy is the man who does to you what you have done to us. Happy is the man who takes your little ones, crushing them against the rocks.
As for those who come round me, let their heads be covered by the evil of their lips. Let burning flames come down on them: let them be put into the fire, and into deep waters, so that they may not get up again.
Give ear, O heavens, and you, O earth, to the word which the Lord has said: I have taken care of my children till they became men, but their hearts have been turned away from me.
But if your hearts are turned against me, I will send destruction on you by the sword; so the Lord has said.
Those who are against her have become the head, everything goes well for her haters; for the Lord has sent sorrow on her because of the great number of her sins: her young children have gone away as prisoners before the attacker.
We are sinners, acting wrongly and doing evil; we have gone against you, turning away from your orders and from your laws:
The days of punishment, the days of reward are come; Israel will be put to shame; the prophet is foolish, the man who has the spirit is off his head, because of your great sin.
Now, we have knowledge that what the law says is for those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and all men may be judged by God: Because by the works of the law no man is able to have righteousness in his eyes, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
Your hand will make a search for all your haters; your right hand will be hard on all those who are against you. You will make them like a flaming oven before you; the Lord in his wrath will put an end to them, and they will be burned up in the fire. Their fruit will be cut off from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag.
And David, hearing that Nabal was dead, said, May the Lord be praised, who has taken up my cause against Nabal for the shame which he put on me, and has kept back his servant from evil, and has sent on Nabal's head the reward of his evil-doing. And David sent word to Abigail, desiring to take her as his wife.
But while he was talking to him the king said to him, Have we made you one of the king's government? say no more, or it will be the cause of your death. Then the prophet gave up protesting, and said, It is clear to me that God's purpose is your destruction, because you have done this and have not given ear to my words.
So Haman was put to death by hanging him on the pillar he had made for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath became less.
Who makes the designs of the wise go wrong, so that they are unable to give effect to their purposes. He takes the wise in their secret designs, and the purposes of the twisted are cut off suddenly. In the daytime it becomes dark for them, and in the sunlight they go feeling about as if it was night.
O let the evil of the evil-doer come to an end, but give strength to the upright: for men's minds and hearts are tested by the God of righteousness. God, who is the saviour of the upright in heart, is my breastplate. God is the judge of the upright, and is angry with the evil-doers every day. If a man is not turned from his evil, he will make his sword sharp; his bow is bent and ready. He has made ready for him the instruments of death; he makes his arrows flames of fire. That man is a worker of evil; the seed of wrongdoing has given birth to deceit. He has made a hole deep in the earth, and is falling into the hole which he has made
The nations have gone down into the hole which they made: in their secret net is their foot taken. The Lord has given knowledge of himself through his judging: the evil-doer is taken in the net which his hands had made. (Higgaion. Selah.)
Up! Lord, come out against him, make him low, with your sword be my saviour from the evil-doer.
But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us go through; for the Lord your God made his spirit hard and his heart strong, so that he might give him up into your hands as at this day.
Do not take me away with the sinners and the workers of evil, who say words of peace to their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts. Give them the right reward of their acts, and of their evil doings: give them punishment for the works of their hands, let them have their full reward.
Let the false lips be shut, which say evil against the upright, looking down on him in their pride.
<Of David.> O Lord, be on my side against those who are judging me; be at war with those who make war against me. Be a breastplate to me, and give me your help. Take up your spear and keep back my attackers; say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let them be overcome and put to shame who make attempts to take my soul; let those who would do me damage be turned back and made foolish. Let them be like dust from the grain before the wind; let the angel of the Lord send them in flight. Let their way be dark and full of danger; let them be troubled by the angel of the Lord. For without cause they have put a net ready for me secretly, in which to take my soul. Let destruction come on them without their knowledge; let them be taken themselves in their secret nets, falling into the same destruction.
Let the hand of death come on them suddenly, and let them go down living into the underworld; because evil is in their houses and in their hearts.
Because of the sin of their mouths and the word of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and for their curses and their deceit, Put an end to them in your wrath, put an end to them, so that they may not be seen again; let them see that God is ruling in Jacob and to the ends of the earth. (Selah.)
Or make discovery of our secret purpose? The design is framed with care; and the inner thought of a man, and his heart, is deep. But God sends out an arrow against them; suddenly they are wounded. The evil of their tongues is the cause of their fall; all those who see them are shaking their heads at them.
He is ruling in power for ever; his eyes are watching the nations: may his haters have no strength against him. (Selah.)
<To the chief music-maker. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.> Let God be seen, and let his haters be put to flight; let those who are against him be turned back before him. Let them be like smoke before the driving wind; as wax turning soft before the fire, so let them come to an end before the power of God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 5
Commentary on Psalms 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 5
Ps 5:1-12. Upon Nehiloth—flutes or wind instruments. The writer begs to be heard, on the ground of God's regard for His covenant-people and true worshippers as contrasted with His holy hatred to the wicked. He prays for divine guidance, on account of his watchful, malignant, and deceitful enemies; and for their destruction as being also God's enemies. At the same time he expresses his confidence that God will extend aid to His people.
1. meditation—moanings of that half-uttered form to which deep feeling gives rise—groanings, as in Ro 8:26, 27.
2. Hearken—incline the ear (Ps 10:17; compare Ps 61:2)—give close attention.
my cry—that is, for help (Ps 61:2; Jer 8:19).
my King—thus by covenant relation interested in my cause.
3. direct—literally, "set in order," as the showbread was placed or set in order (Ex 40:23).
4. For, &c.—God only regards sincere worshippers.
evil—or, "the evil man."
dwell—lodge, remain under protection.
5. foolish—vainglorious and insolent.
iniquity—especially such as denotes a negation, or defect, that is, of moral principle.
6. leasing—a lie.
the bloody … man—literally, "man of blood"—murderer.
7. But—as in Ps 2:6, literally, "and."
house—(1Ch 9:23), the tabernacle.
temple—literally, "palace," applied to God's residence, the Holy of Holies (1Sa 3:3; 2Sa 22:7); the inner part of the tabernacle.
toward—not in; the high priest alone was allowed to enter.
8. enemies—literally, "watchers" (Ps 27:11), hence special need of guidance.
in thy righteousness—an attribute implying faithfulness in promises as well as threatenings.
make thy way straight—that is, make the way of providence plain.
9. The wicked are not reliable because by nature they are full of wickedness, or literally, "wickednesses," of every kind (Ro 8:7).
sepulchre—a dwelling-place of corruption, emitting moral putridness.
flatter—or, "make smooth."
their tongue—speaks deceitfully.
10. Destroy—or, "condemn" them to destruction as guilty.
11. defendest—(compare Margin).
love thy name—Thy manifested perfections (Ps 9:10).
12. with favour—or, "acceptance," alluding to the favor shown to an acceptable offering and worshipper (Le 7:18; 19:7).
shield—(compare Ps 3:3).