6 He poureth on the wicked snares, fire, and brimstone, And a horrible wind `is' the portion of their cup.
`For thus said Jehovah God of Israel unto me, Take the wine cup of this fury out of My hand, and thou hast caused all the nations to drink it unto whom I am sending thee; And they have drunk, and shaken themselves and shewn themselves foolish, because of the sword that I am sending among them. `And I take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah, and cause all the nations to drink unto whom Jehovah sent me:
At that time it is said of this people, And of Jerusalem: `A dry wind of high places in the wilderness,' The way of the daughter of My people, (Not for winnowing, nor for cleansing,) A full wind from these doth come for Me, Now, also, I speak judgments with them.
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, `Are' on thee, O inhabitant of the land. And it hath come to pass, He who is fleeing from the noise of the fear Doth fall into the snare, And he who is coming up from the midst of the snare, Is captured by the gin, For windows on high have been opened, And shaken are foundations of the land.
This `is' the portion of wicked man with God, And the inheritance of terrible ones From the Mighty they receive. If his sons multiply -- for them `is' a sword. And his offspring `are' not satisfied `with' bread. His remnant in death are buried, And his widows do not weep. If he heap up as dust silver, And as clay prepare clothing, He prepareth -- and the righteous putteth `it' on, And the silver the innocent doth apportion. He hath built as a moth his house, And as a booth a watchman hath made. Rich he lieth down, and he is not gathered, His eyes he hath opened, and he is not. Overtake him as waters do terrors, By night stolen him away hath a whirlwind. Take him up doth an east wind, and he goeth, And it frighteneth him from his place, And it casteth at him, and doth not spare, From its hand he diligently fleeth. It clappeth at him its hands, And it hisseth at him from his place.
And Moses stretcheth out his rod towards the heavens, and Jehovah hath given voices and hail, and fire goeth towards the earth, and Jehovah raineth hail on the land of Egypt, and there is hail, and fire catching itself in the midst of the hail, very grievous, such as hath not been in all the land of Egypt since it hath become a nation.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 11
Commentary on Psalms 11 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 11
Ps 11:1-7. On title, see Introduction. Alluding to some event in his history, as in 1Sa 23:13, the Psalmist avows his confidence in God, when admonished to flee from his raging persecutors, whose destruction of the usual foundations of safety rendered all his efforts useless. The grounds of his confidence are God's supreme dominion, His watchful care of His people, His hatred to the wicked and judgments on them, and His love for righteousness and the righteous.
1. my soul—me (Ps 3:2).
Flee—literally, "flee ye"; that is, he and his companion.
as a bird to your mountain—having as such no safety but in flight (compare 1Sa 26:20; La 3:52).
2. privily—literally, "in darkness," treacherously.
3. Literally, "The foundations (that is, of good order and law) will be destroyed, what has the righteous done (to sustain them)?" All his efforts have failed.
4. temple … heaven—The connection seems to denote God's heavenly residence; the term used is taken from the place of His visible earthly abode (Ps 2:6; 3:4; 5:7). Thence He inspects men with close scrutiny.
5. The trial of the righteous results in their approval, as it is contrasted with God's hatred to the wicked.
6. Their punishment is described by vivid figures denoting abundant, sudden, furious, and utter destruction (compare Ge 19:24; Job 18:15; Ps 7:15; 9:15).
cup—is a frequent figure for God's favor or wrath (Ps 16:5; 23:5; Mt 20:22, 23).
7. his countenance—literally, "their faces," a use of the plural applied to God, as in Ge 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8, &c., denoting the fulness of His perfections, or more probably originating in a reference to the trinity of persons. "Faces" is used as "eyes" (Ps 11:4), expressing here God's complacency towards the upright (compare Ps 34:15, 16).