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King James Version
Psalms 72:9
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!
They that dwell in ye wildernes, shall kneele before him, and his enemies shall licke the dust.
May desert tribes kneel before himand his enemies lick the dust.
Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust.
May all the people living in the desert bow down to him. May all his enemies bow before him with their faces in the dirt.
The nomads of the desert will bow before him, And his enemies will lick the dust.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust.
Force the desert tribes to accept his rule, and make his enemies crawl in the dirt.
May desert-dwellers bow before him; may his enemies lick the dust.
Let them that dwell in the wilderness bow before him; and his enemies lick the dust.
Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
The Ethiopians shall fall down before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
Let the desert dwellers bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
Those dwelling in the desert will bow before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust.
Let the people of the desert bow down to him, and make his enemies lick the dust.
Before him the coastlands will bow down, and his enemies will lick the dust.
Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust.
Desert nomads will bow before him; his enemies will fall before him in the dust.
Those who live in the desert will put their faces to the ground before Him. And those who hate Him will kiss the dust.
Before him, let the men of the desert kneel, But, as for his foes, the dust, let them lick;
(71-9) Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down: and his enemies shall lick the ground.
They that dwell on the islands shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
The peoples of the desert will bow down before him; his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.
May the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
They that dwell in the wildernesse shal kneele before him: his enemies shal licke the dust.
May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
The dwellers in the desert shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust.
Ethiopiens schulen falle doun bifore hym; and hise enemyes schulen licke the erthe.
Before him bow do the inhabitants of the dry places, And his enemies lick the dust.
Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust.
May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!
Those that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
Let those who are against him go down before him; and let his haters be low in the dust.
They that dwell in the wildernes, shal knele before him, & his enemies shal licke the dust.
Foes will fall on their knees before God, his enemies lick the dust. Kings remote and legendary will pay homage, kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth. All kings will fall down and worship, and godless nations sign up to serve him, Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need, the destitute who have run out of luck. He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out, he restores the wretched of the earth. He frees them from tyranny and torture— when they bleed, he bleeds; when they die, he dies.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the desert creatures kneel before him,And his enemies lick the dust.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
They that: 1 Kings 9:18, 1 Kings 9:20, 1 Kings 9:21, Isaiah 35:1, Isaiah 35:2
his enemies: Psalms 2:9, Psalms 21:8, Psalms 21:9, Psalms 110:1, Psalms 110:6, Luke 19:27
lick: Isaiah 49:23, Micah 7:17
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:14 - dust Genesis 22:17 - thy seed Genesis 24:26 - General Genesis 43:26 - bowed 2 Samuel 22:44 - head Psalms 74:14 - meat Psalms 95:6 - worship Isaiah 18:7 - shall the Isaiah 23:13 - for them Isaiah 45:24 - and all Isaiah 52:15 - kings Matthew 2:1 - from Mark 5:6 - he ran Luke 20:43 - General Acts 2:35 - thy foes
Gill's Notes on the Bible
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him,.... In token of subjection to him, reverence and worship of him, to whom every knee shall bow, Isaiah 45:23. The Septuagint version, and others, render the word ציים, "Ethiopians", who dwell in a dry land, parched and burnt with the sun; and so it is a prophecy of their conversion to Christ, as in Psalms 68:31; of which there is an instance, Acts 8:27; the word is used of the wild beasts of the field, in Isaiah 13:21; to which wicked men, for the malignity of their nature, may be compared; as they are to the wild ass, to lions, leopards, and bears; and yet these are so tamed by the power of divine grace as to be made subject to Christ. Kimchi explains it as we do, of the inhabitants of the wilderness; and so the word is rendered in Psalms 74:14; and instances in the Kedarenes; and it may in particular design those that dwell in the deserts of Arabia; and in general the Gentiles, the wilderness of the people, who in Gospel times should be brought to the knowledge of Christ, and submission to him: and it fitly describes the people of God in an unregenerate state; when they are as barren and unfruitful as the dry and parched ground, and as the heath in the wilderness; are in want of provision, and have nothing but husks to feed upon; in perplexity of ways, and know not which to take, or whither they are going; and in very dangerous circumstances, destruction and misery being in all their ways: in this wilderness state the Lord finds them, as he did Israel of old, and leads them about, and brings them to Christ; when they submit to him as a Saviour, being willing to be saved by him, and him only, and to his righteousness, as their justifying righteousness before God, and to the sceptre of his kingdom, to his laws and commands, to his Gospel, and the ordinances of it; all which they do not by constraint, but willingly. The Targum and Jarchi interpret it, the one of governors of provinces; the other of companies of princes. The Syriac version is, "the isles shall bow before him"; the inhabitants of the islands: but this is expressed in Psalms 72:10. Aben Ezra thinks masters of ships are meant;
and his enemies shall lick the dust; of the earth; which is an instance of their great subjection to him; see Isaiah 49:23; the allusion is to the custom of the eastern people, and which continues to this day with the Turks, that as soon as an ambassador sees the sultan, whether at the window, or elsewhere, he immediately falls down on his knees, and kisses the ground a. The Jews particularly are the enemies of Christ, who rejected him, and would not have him to reign over them; and yet some of these became obedient to the faith of Christ, and more of them, even the whole nation, will in the latter day: all that are Christ's are, before conversion, enemies to him, to his people, to his Gospel and ordinances, to him as a King, and to all his laws and commands; but when his arrows are sharp in their hearts, they fall under him, and submit to him; throw off the yoke of sin, Satan, and the world, and own him, and obey him, as their King and Lawgiver.
a Mandevil. Itinerar. c. 7.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him - The word rendered “they that dwell in the wilderness” - ציים tsı̂yı̂ym, means properly those who abide in deserts, dry places, solitudes; and it might be applied either to animals or to people. It is applied to the former in Isaiah 13:21 (see the notes at that place); Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 34:14; Jeremiah 50:39. In all these, except Isaiah 23:13, it is rendered “wild beasts of the desert,” denoting jackals, ostriches, etc.; but here, and in Psalms 74:14, it is evidently applied to people, as denoting shepherds - nomadic tribes - people who have no permanent home, but who wander from place to place. The idea is, that these wild, wandering, unsettled hordes would become subject to him, or would bow down and acknowledge his authority. This can be fulfilled only under the Messiah.
And his enemies shall lick the dust - This is expressive of the most thorough submission and abject humiliation. It is language derived from what seems actually to occur in Oriental countries, where people prostrate themselves on their faces, and place their mouths on the ground, in token of reverence or submission. Rosenmuller (Morgenland, vol. ii., pp. 82, 83) quotes a passage from Hugh Boyd’s Account of his embassage to Candy in Ceylon, where he says that when he himself came to show respect to the king, it was by kneeling before him. But this, says he, was not the case with other ambassadors. “They almost literally licked the dust. They cast themselves on their faces on the stony ground, and stretched out their arms and legs; then they raised themselves upon their knees, and uttered certain forms of good wishes in the loudest tones - May the head of the king of kings reach above the sun; may he reign a thousand years.” Compare the notes at Isaiah 49:23.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 72:9. They that dwell in the wilderness — The ציים tsiyim, termed Ethiopians by the Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, and Arabic. The Syriac terms them the islands. But it is likely that those who dwell by the sea-coasts, and support themselves by navigation and fishing, are here intended.
His enemies shall lick the dust. — Shall be so completely subdued, that they shall be reduced to the most abject state of vassalage, till they shall become proselytes to the Jewish faith.
