the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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King James Version
Psalms 118:12
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord .
They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: in the name of the LORD I will cut them off.
They compassed me about like bees; They are quenched as the fire of thorns: In the name of Yahweh I will cut them off.
They surrounded me like a swarm of bees, but they died as quickly as thorns burn. By the Lord 's power, I defeated them.
They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly as a fire among thorns. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
They encompassed me like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the name of Yahweh I cut them off.
They swarmed around me like bees; They flare up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
Thei cumpassiden me as been, and thei brenten out as fier doith among thornes; and in the name of the Lord, for Y am avengid on hem.
They swarmed around me like bees; they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
They swarmed around like bees, but by the power of the Lord , I got rid of them and their fiery sting.
They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
They are round me like bees; but they are put out like a fire among thorns; for in the name of the Lord I will have them cut down.
They surrounded me like bees but were extinguished [as quickly] as a fire in thorns; in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
They encompassed me like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of Jehovah have I destroyed them.
They surrounded me like a swarm of bees, but they were quickly destroyed like a fast-burning bush. I defeated them with the Lord 's power.
They compass me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns;
They compassed mee about like Bees, they are quenched as the fire of thornes: for in the Name of the Lord I wil destroy them.
They were all around me like bees and they died out fast like burning thorns. I will destroy them in the name of the Lord.
They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
They came about mee like bees, but they were quenched as a fire of thornes: for in the Name of the Lord I shall destroy them.
They surrounded me like hornets; they are quenched like the fire of stubble; for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
They swarmed around me like bees, but they burned out as quickly as a brush fire; by the power of the Lord I destroyed them.
They have compassed me about like wax bees, they have blazed up like the fire of thorns, In the Name of Yahweh, surely I will make them be circumcised.
(117-12) They surrounded me like bees, and they burned like fire among thorns: and in the name of the Lord I was revenged on them.
They surrounded me like bees, they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
They swarmed about me lyke bees, and they be extinguished as the fire [made] of thornes: [for I trusted] in the name of God that I should destroy the.
They compassed me about as bees do a honeycomb, and they burst into flame as fire among thorns: but in the name of the Lord I repulsed them.
They surrounded me like bees;they were extinguished like a fire among thorns;in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They surrounded me like bees; they were extinguished like a fire of thorns. In the name of Yahweh I opposed them indeed.
They surround me like bees; they are quenched like the fire of thorns; for surely I will cut them off in the name of Jehovah.
They compassed me about as bees, They have been extinguished as a fire of thorns, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.
They came aboute me like bees, & were as hote as the fyre in the thornes, but in the name of the LORDE I wil destroye them.
They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished like a fire of thorn bushes; In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off.
They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished as a fire of thorns; In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
They surrounded me like bees;They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;In the name of Yahweh I will surely cut them off.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
like bees: Deuteronomy 1:44
quenched: Psalms 83:14, Psalms 83:15, Ecclesiastes 7:6, Isaiah 27:4, Nahum 1:10
in the name: Psalms 8:9, Psalms 20:1, Psalms 20:5, 1 Samuel 17:45, 2 Samuel 23:6, 1 Chronicles 14:10, 1 Chronicles 14:11, 1 Chronicles 14:14-16, 2 Chronicles 14:11, 2 Chronicles 14:12, 2 Chronicles 16:7-9, 2 Chronicles 20:17-22, 2 Chronicles 22:7, 2 Chronicles 22:8
destroy them: Heb. cut them down
Reciprocal: 2 Kings 6:16 - Fear not Psalms 18:37 - General Psalms 27:2 - they Psalms 58:9 - thorns Isaiah 7:18 - fly
Gill's Notes on the Bible
They compassed me about like bees,.... In great numbers w; as a swarm of bees, which, being irritated and provoked, will fly upon persons in a body, and with great fury; to which the Amorites and the Assyrian army were compared, Deuteronomy 1:44. They will attack horses and kill them, as Aristotle x says; and places besieged have been delivered by throwing out hives of bees among the besiegers y: and yet as they are feeble creatures, so by striking they lose their sting; and either die very quickly, or however become useless. All which denotes the numbers of the enemies of David and of Christ, and of his church and people, and the wrath and fury of them against them, as well as their fruitless and unsuccessful attempts upon them; for though they rage, what they contrive and endeavour to put in execution are vain things, and in the issue end in their own ruin and destruction;
they are quenched as the fire of thorns; which make a blaze, a noise, for a while; but are soon consumed, and leave only a few ashes behind. Wicked men are often compared to thorns, they being like them, unfruitful in themselves, unprofitable to others, harmful to the saints, and whose end is to be burnt; and whose destruction is certain and sudden, and easily effected as the burning of thorns; see Psalms 58:9 Ecclesiastes 7:6. The Targum renders it,
"they burned as fire among thorns;''
which is easily kindled and soon quenched: and so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions; as if it was expressive of their wrath and fury, which was soon over; which agrees with what follows:
for; or "but", or "verily" z,
in the name of the Lord I will destroy them;
Ecclesiastes 7:6- : and
Ecclesiastes 7:6- :.
w ηυτε εθνεα μελισσα ων, Homer. Iliad. 2. v. 87, Vid. Virgil. Aeneid. 12. v. 587. x Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 40. y Vid. Dieteric. Antiqu. Biblic. p. 478. z כי "sed", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "certe utique", Polus; "quod certissime", Michaelis.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
They compassed me about like bees -
(a) As thick or numerous as bees;
(b) armed as bees - or, their weapons might be compared to the stings of bees.
They are quenched as the fire of thorns - The Septuagint and the Vulgate render this, “They burn as the fire of thorns.” The connection would seem to demand this, but the Hebrew will not bear it. The figure is changed in the Hebrew, as is not uncommon. The mind of the psalmist at first recalls the number and the malignity of his foes; it then instantly adverts to the rapid manner in which they were destroyed. The illustration from the “fire of thorns” is derived from the fact that they quickly kindle into a blaze, and then the flame soon dies away. In Eastern countries it was common to burn over their fields in the dry time of the year, and thus to clear them of thorns and briars and weeds. Of course, at such a time they would kindle quickly, and burn rapidly, and would soon be consumed. So the psalmist says it was with his enemies. He came upon them, numerous as they were, as the fire runs over a field in a dry time, burning everything before it. Compare the notes at Isaiah 33:12.
For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them - That is, such was his purpose then; such was the reason why they so soon and suddenly disappeared.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 118:12. They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns — I shall refer to Dr. Delaney's note on this passage. The reader has here in miniature two of the finest images in Homer; which, if his curiosity demands to be gratified, he will find illustrated and enlarged, Iliad ii., ver. 86.
--------------- Επεσσευοντο δε λαοι.
Ηΰτε εθνεα εισι μελισσαων αδιναων,
Πετρης εκ γλαφυρης αιει νεον ερχομεναων,
Βοτρυδον δε πετονται επ' ανθεσιν ειαρινοισιν,
Αἱ μεν τ' ενθα ἁλις πεποτηαται, αἱ δε τε ανθα
Ὡς των εθνεα πολλα νεων απο και κλισιαων
Ηΐονος προπαροιθε βαθειης εστιχοωντο
Ιλαδον εις αγορην.
----------------The following host,
Poured forth by thousands, darkens all the coast.
As from some rocky cleft the shepherd sees,
Clustering in heaps on heaps, the driving bees,
Rolling and blackening, swarms succeeding swarms,
With deeper murmurs and more hoarse alarms:
Dusky they spread a close embodied crowd,
And o'er the vale descends the living cloud;
So from the tents and ships a lengthening train
Spreads all the beach, and wide o'ershades the plain;
Along the region runs a deafening sound;
Beneath their footsteps groans the trembling ground.
POPE
The other image, the fire consuming the thorns, we find in the same book, ver. 455: -
Ηΰτε πυρ αΐδηλον επιφλεγει ασπετον ὑλην,
Ουρεος εν κορυφης· ἑκαθεν δε τε φαινεται αυγη·
Ὡς των ερχομενων, απο χαλκου θεσπεσιοιο
Αιγλη παμφανοωσα δι' αιθερος ουρανον ἱκεν.
As on some mountain, through the lofty grove,
The crackling flames ascend and blaze above;
The fires expanding, as the winds arise,
Shoot their long beams, and kindle half the skies;
So, from the polished arms, and brazen shields,
A gleamy splendour flashed along the fields.
POPE.
The arms resembling a gleaming fire is common both to the psalmist and Homer; but the idea of that fire being quenched when the army was conquered, is peculiar to the psalmist.
