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Read the Bible
New King James Version
Psalms 141:6
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- Hastings'Encyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
When their iudges shall be cast downe in stonie places, they shal heare my wordes, for they are sweete.
When their rulers will be thrown offthe sides of a cliff,the people will listen to my words,for they are pleasing.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken.
Let their judges be put to death. Then everyone will know that I told the truth.
Their [wicked, godless] judges are thrown down the sides of the rocky cliff, And they [who followed them] will hear my words, for they are pleasant (just).
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; And they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
Everyone will admit that I was right when their rulers are thrown down a rocky cliff,
When their rulers are thrown down from the cliff, [the wicked] will hear that my words were fitting.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; and they shall hear my words, that they are sweet.
When their Iudges are ouerthrowen in stonie places, they shall heare my words, for they are sweet.
Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; and they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
When their rulers are thrown from the cliffs, the people will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
When their judges are thrown down the sides of a cliff, then they will understand that my words were pleasant.
Their judges have been dashed against the rock; they shall hear my words for they are pleasant.
Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs. Then people will know that I have spoken correctly:
They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. They will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
When their rulers are thrown down from high rocks, they will hear my words, for they are true.
Their judges, have been hurled down by a crag, Now have men heard my sayings, for they have become sweet.
(140-6) Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up. They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed:
When their judges are stopped by a strong hand, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs, the people will admit that my words were true.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
Let their iudges be thrust downe headlong from a rocke: then they wyll heare my wordes, for they be sweete.
When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
When their judges are thrown down from the rocks, they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
for the domesmen of hem ioyned to the stoon weren sopun vp. Here thei my wordis,
Their judges have been released by the sides of a rock, And they have heard my sayings, For they have been pleasant.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken.
When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that the word of the LORD is true.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; And they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
When destruction comes to their judges by the side of the rock, they will give ear to my words, for they are sweet.
so wil I take it, as though he had poured oyle vpo my heade: it shal not hurte my heade, yee I wil praye yet for their wickednesse.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the cliff,And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
When their judges: 1 Samuel 31:1-8, 2 Samuel 1:17-27, 1 Chronicles 10:1-7
they shall hear: 2 Samuel 2:4, 2 Samuel 5:1-3, 1 Chronicles 11:1-3, 1 Chronicles 12:38
for they: Psalms 45:2, 2 Samuel 2:5, 2 Samuel 2:6, 2 Samuel 23:1, 1 Chronicles 13:2, Luke 4:22
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 24:2 - the rocks 1 Samuel 24:3 - and Saul 1 Samuel 24:9 - General
Gill's Notes on the Bible
When their judges are overthrown in stony places,.... The judges of David's adversaries, the workers of iniquity; meaning Saul, Abner, c. Arama refers this to Saul and his sons being slain on the mountains of Gilboa, 1 Samuel 31:1 which might be here prophetically spoken of. Or, as it is by some rendered, "when their judges are let down by the sides of the rock" d; or let go free, as Saul was by David more than once; when it was in the power of his hands to have taken away his life, which his principal friends urged him to do,
1 Samuel 24:2. Some render the words as an imprecation or wish, "let their judges be cast down" e; or as a prophecy, they "shall be cast dozen in stony places", or "by the sides of a rock": so the word is used of casting or throwing down, 2 Kings 9:33; and may allude to the manner of punishment used in some places, by casting down from a precipice, from rocks and hills; see 2 Chronicles 25:12. Or, "when they slip by the sides of the rock" f; endeavouring to get up it; as ambitious men are desirous of getting to the top of honour, power, and authority, but stand in slippery places, and often slip and fall. And when this should be the case of these judges, then should David be raised up on high; the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And then
they shall hear my words, for these are sweet: that is, the common people should hear them, and be pleased with them, who had been set against him by their judges; by which they would easily perceive that he had no enmity nor malice, nor ill design against Saul. This may respect either his very affectionate lamentation at the death of Saul and his sons, 2 Samuel 1:17; or what he delivered at the several times he spared the life of Saul, when he could have taken it away,
1 Samuel 24:9; and it is especially true of all the words which David spoke by inspiration, or the Spirit of God spake to him; particularly in his book of Psalms, concerning the Messiah, the covenant of grace, and the blessings of it; of the rich experiences of grace he had, and the several doctrines of the Gospel declared by him; which were sweet, delightful, and entertaining to those who have ears to hear such things; or whose ears are opened to hear them, so as to understand them and distinguish them; but to others not.
d נשמטו בידי סלע "demittentur per loca saxosa", Tigurine version; "demissi sunt in manus petrae", Montanus; "dimittunt se in lateribue petrarum", Piscator. e "Praecipitentur", Munster; "dejiciantur", Gejerus; "praecipites dentur", Musculus; so Kimchi. f "Lubricati sunt per latere petrae", Cocceius.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
When ... - This passage is no less difficult than the preceding, and it seems almost impossible to determine its exact meaning. What is meant by “judges”? What judges are referred to by the word “their”? What is meant by their being “overthrown”? What is the sense of the words “in stony places”? Does the passage refer to some certain prospect that they “would be” overthrown, or is it a mere supposition which relates to something that “might” occur? Who are meant by “they,” in the phrase “they shall hear my words?” It seems to me that the most plausible interpretation of the passage is founded on that which has been assumed thus far in the explanation of the psalm, as referring to the state of things recorded in 1 Samuel 24:1-7. David was in the wilderness of En-gedi, in the midst of a rocky region. Saul, apprised of his being there, came with three thousand chosen men to apprehend him, and went into a cave to lie down to rest. Unknown, probably, to him, David and his men were in the “sides of the cave.” They now saw that Saul was completely in their power, and that it would be an easy thing to enter the cave, and kill him when off his guard. The men urgently advised David to do this. David entered the cave, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe, showing how completely Saul was in his power, but he proceeded no further; he did not follow the suggestions of his friends; he did not take the life of Saul, as he might have done; and he even regretted what he had done, as implying a want of due respect for the anointed of the Lord, 1 Samuel 24:11. Yet he had the fullest confidence that the king and his forces would be overthrown, and that it would be done in a way consistent with open and manly war, and not in an underhanded and stealthful way, as it would have been if he had cut him off in the cave. With this in view, it seems to me that the difficult passage before us may be explained with, at least, some degree of plausibility.
Their judges - By the judges, are to be understood the rulers of the people; the magistrates; those in office and power - referring to Saul and the officers of his government. “Their judges;” to wit, the judges or rulers of the hosts in opposition to me - of those against whom I war; Saul and the leaders of his forces.
Are overthrown - Are discomfited, vanquished, subdued; as I am confident they will be, in the regular prosecution of the war, and not by treachery and stealth.
In stony places - literally, “in the hands of the rock;” or, as the word “hands” may sometimes be used, “in the sides of the rock.” It might mean “by the power of the rock,” as thrown upon them; or, “against its sides.” The essential idea is, that the “rocks,” the rocky places, would be among the means by which they would be overthrown; and the sense is, that now that Saul was in the cave - or was in that rocky region, better known to David than to him - Saul was so completely in his power, that David felt that the victory, in a regular course of warfare, would be his.
They shall hear my words - The followers of Saul; the people of the land; the nation. Saul being removed - subdued - slain - the people will become obedient to me who have been anointed by a prophet as their king, and designated as the successor of Saul. David did not doubt that he would himself reign when Saul was overcome, or that the people would hear his words, and submit to him as king.
For they are sweet - They shall be pleasant; mild; gentle; equitable; just. After the harsh and severe enactments of Saul, after enduring his acts of tyranny, the people will be glad to welcome me, and to live under the laws of a just and equal administration. The passage, therefore, expresses confidence that Saul and his hosts would be overthrown, and that the people of the land would gladly hail the accession to the throne of one who had been anointed to reign over them.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 141:6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places — בידי סלע biyedey sela, "In the hands of the rock." Does this rock signify a strong or fortified place; and its hands the garrison which have occupied it, by whom these judges were overthrown? If we knew the occasion on which this Psalm was made, we might be the better able to understand the allusions in the text.
They shall hear my words; for they are sweet. — Some think there is here an allusion to David's generous treatment of Saul in the cave of En-gedi, and afterwards at the hill of Hachilah, in this verse, which might be translated: "Their judges have been dismissed in the rocky places; and have heard my words, that they were sweet." Or perhaps there may be a reference to the death of Saul and his sons, and the very disastrous defeat of the Israelites at Gilboa. If so, the seventh verse will lose its chief difficulty, Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth; but if we take them as referring to the slaughter of the priests at Nob, then, in stead of translating לפי שאול lephi sheol, at the grave's mouth, we may translate at the command of Saul; and then the verse will point out the manner in which those servants of the Lord were massacred; Doeg cut them in pieces; hewed them down as one cleaveth wood. Some understand all this of the cruel usage of the captives in Babylon. I could add other conjectures, and contend for my own; but they are all too vague to form a just ground for decided opinion.
