8 Around the wicked walk continually, According as vileness is exalted by sons of men!
and ye have risen against the house of my father to-day, and slay his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and cause Abimelech son of his handmaid to reign over the masters of Shechem, because he `is' your brother -- yea, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and he doth rejoice -- even he -- in you; and if not -- fire cometh out from Abimelech and devoureth the masters of Shechem and the house of Millo, and fire cometh out from the masters of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devoureth Abimelech.' And Jotham hasteth, and fleeth, and goeth to Beer, and dwelleth there, from the face of Abimelech his brother. And Abimelech is prince over Israel three years, and God sendeth an evil spirit between Abimelech and the masters of Shechem, and the masters of Shechem deal treacherously with Abimelech, for the coming in of the violence `to' the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, and of their blood to place `it' on Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and on the masters of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. And the masters of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the hills, and rob every one who passeth over by them in the way, and it is declared to Abimelech. And Gaal son of Ebed cometh -- also his brethren -- and they pass over into Shechem, and the masters of Shechem trust in him, and go out into the field, and gather their vineyards, and tread, and make praises, and go into the house of their god, and eat and drink, and revile Abimelech. And Gaal son of Ebed saith, `Who `is' Abimelech, and who `is' Shechem, that we serve him? is `he' not son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his commander? Serve ye the men of Hamor father of Shechem, and wherefore do we serve him -- we? and oh that this people were in my hand -- then I turn Abimelech aside;' and he saith to Abimelech, `Increase thy host, and come out.' And Zebul, prince of the city, heareth the words of Gaal son of Ebed, and his anger burneth, and he sendeth messengers unto Abimelech deceitfully, saying, `Lo, Gaal son of Ebed and his brethren are coming into Shechem, and lo, they are fortifying the city against thee; and, now, rise by night, thou and the people who `are' with thee, and lay wait in the field, and it hath been, in the morning, about the rising of the sun, thou dost rise early, and hast pushed against the city; and lo, he and the people who `are' with him are going out unto thee -- and thou hast done to him as thy hand doth find.' And Abimelech riseth, and all the people who `are' with him, by night, and they lay wait against Shechem -- four detachments; and Gaal son of Ebed goeth out, and standeth at the opening of the gate of the city, and Abimelech riseth -- also the people who `are' with him -- from the ambush, and Gaal seeth the people, and saith unto Zebul, `Lo, people are coming down from the top of the hills;' and Zebul saith unto him, `The shadow of the hills thou art seeing like men.' And Gaal addeth yet to speak, and saith, `Lo, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and another detachment is coming by the way of the oak of Meonenim.' And Zebul saith unto him, `Where `is' now thy mouth, in that thou sayest, Who `is' Abimelech that we serve him? is not this the people against which thou hast kicked? go out, I pray thee now, and fight against it.' And Gaal goeth out before the masters of Shechem, and fighteth against Abimelech, and Abimelech pursueth him, and he fleeth from his presence, and many fall wounded -- unto the opening of the gate. And Abimelech abideth in Arumah, and Zebul casteth out Gaal and his brethren from dwelling in Shechem. And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the people go out to the field, and they declare `it' to Abimelech, and he taketh the people, and divideth them into three detachments, and layeth wait in a field, and looketh, and lo, the people are coming out from the city, and he riseth against them, and smiteth them. And Abimelech and the detachments who `are' with him have pushed on, and stand at the opening of the gate of the city, and the two detachments have pushed against all who are in the field, and smite them, and Abimelech hath fought against the city all that day, and captureth the city, and the people who `are' in it he hath slain, and he breaketh down the city, and soweth it `with' salt. And all the masters of the tower of Shechem hear, and go in unto the high place of the house of the god Berith, and it is declared to Abimelech that all the masters of the tower of Shechem have gathered themselves together, and Abimelech goeth up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people who `are' with him, and Abimelech taketh the great axe in his hand, and cutteth off a bough of the trees, and lifteth it up, and setteth `it' on his shoulder, and saith unto the people who `are' with him, `What ye have seen I have done -- haste, do ye like it.' And all the people also cut down each one his bough, and go after Abimelech, and set `them' at the high place, and burn by these the high place with fire, and also all the men of the tower of Shechem die, about a thousand men and women. And Abimelech goeth unto Thebez, and encampeth against Thebez, and captureth it, and a strong tower hath been in the midst of the city, and thither flee do all the men and the women, and all the masters of the city, and they shut `it' behind them, and go up on the roof of the tower. And Abimelech cometh unto the tower, and fighteth against it, and draweth nigh unto the opening of the tower to burn it with fire, and a certain woman doth cast a piece of a rider on the head of Abimelech, and breaketh his skull, and he calleth hastily unto the young man bearing his weapons, and saith to him, `Draw thy sword, and thou hast put me to death, lest they say of me -- A woman slew him;' and his young man pierced him through, and he dieth. And the men of Israel see that Abimelech `is' dead, and go each one to his place; and God turneth back the evil of Abimelech which he did to his father to slay his seventy brethren; and all the evil of the men of Shechem hath God turned back on their head, and come unto them doth the cursing of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.
And Saul saith unto David, `Lo, my elder daughter Merab -- her I give to thee for a wife; only, be to me for a son of valour, and fight the battles of Jehovah;' and Saul said, `Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.' And David saith unto Saul, `Who `am' I? and what my life -- the family of my father in Israel -- that I am son-in-law to the king?'
and it is contemptible in his eyes to put forth a hand on Mordecai by himself, for they have declared to him the people of Mordecai, and Haman seeketh to destroy all the Jews who `are' in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus -- the people of Mordecai. In the first month -- it `is' the month of Nisan -- in the twelfth year of the king Ahasuerus, hath one caused to fall Pur (that `is' the lot) before Haman, from day to day, and from month to month, `to' the twelfth, it `is' the month of Adar. And Haman saith to the king Ahasuerus, `There is one people scattered and separated among the peoples, in all provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws `are' diverse from all people, and the laws of the king they are not doing, and for the king it is not profitable to suffer them; if to the king `it be' good, let it be written to destroy them, and ten thousand talents of silver I weigh into the hands of those doing the work, to bring `it' in unto the treasuries of the king.' And the king turneth aside his signet from off his hand, and giveth it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of the Jews; and the king saith to Haman, `The silver is given to thee, and the people, to do with it as `it is' good in thine eyes.' And scribes of the king are called, on the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it is written according to all that Haman hath commanded, unto lieutenants of the king, and unto the governors who `are' over province and province, and unto the heads of people and people, province and province, according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, in the name of the king Ahasuerus it hath been written and sealed with the signet of the king, and letters to be sent by the hand of the runners unto all provinces of the king, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy all the Jews, from young even unto old, infant and women, on one day, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month -- it `is' the month of Adar -- and their spoil to seize, a copy of the writing to be made law in every province and province is revealed to all the peoples, to be ready for this day. The runners have gone forth, hastened by the word of the king, and the law hath been given in Shushan the palace, and the king and Haman have sat down to drink, and the city Shushan is perplexed.
Sons of folly -- even sons without name, They have been smitten from the land.
By day and by night they go round it, on its walls. Both iniquity and perverseness `are' in its midst, Mischiefs `are' in its midst. Fraud and deceit depart not from its street.
And the heart of those hastened Understandeth to know, And the tongue of stammerers hasteth to speak clearly. A fool is no more called `noble,' And to a miser it is not said, `rich;' For a fool speaketh folly, And his heart doth iniquity, to do profanity, And to speak concerning Jehovah error, To empty the soul of the hungry, Yea, drink of the thirsty he causeth to lack.
`And stood up on his station hath a despicable one, and they have not given unto him the honour of the kingdom, and he hath come in quietly, and hath strengthened the kingdom by flatteries.
And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And ye do walk in their counsels, For My giving thee for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And the reproach of My people ye do bear!
And the chief priest, having rent his garments, saith, `What need have we yet of witnesses? Ye heard the evil speaking, what appeareth to you?' and they all condemned him to be worthy of death, and certain began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him, `Prophesy;' and the officers were striking him with their palms.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 12
Commentary on Psalms 12 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 12
Ps 12:1-8. On title, see Introduction and see on Ps 6:1. The Psalmist laments the decrease of good men. The pride and deceit of the wicked provokes God's wrath, whose promise to avenge the cause of pious sufferers will be verified even amidst prevailing iniquity.
1. the faithful—or literally, "faithfulness" (Ps 31:23).
2. The want of it is illustrated by the prevalence of deceit and instability.
3, 4. Boasting (Da 7:25) is, like flattery, a species of lying.
lips, and … tongue—for persons.
5. The writer intimates his confidence by depicting God's actions (compare Ps 9:19; 10:12) as coming to save the poor at whom the wicked sneer (Ps 10:5).
6. The words—literally, "saying of" (Ps 12:5).
seven times—thoroughly (Da 3:19).
7. them—(Margin.)
8. The wicked roam undisturbed doing evil, when vileness and vile men are exalted.