Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, October 10th, 2024
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Psalms 55:9

Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Prayer;   Strife;   Thompson Chain Reference - Cities;   Corruption;   Nation, the;   Violence;   World, the;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Strife;  

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Violence;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Psalms;   Sin;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - God;   Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Tongue;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Destroy their tongues O Lorde, and deuide [them]: for I haue seene oppression and strife in the citie.
Darby Translation
Swallow [them] up, Lord; divide their tongue: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
New King James Version
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Literal Translation
Swallow up, O Lord; divide their tongue; for I see violence and strife in the city.
Easy-to-Read Version
My Lord, confuse their words and stop their plans. I see so much cruelty and fighting in this city.
World English Bible
Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language, For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
King James Version (1611)
Destroy, O Lord, and diuide their tongues: for I haue seene violence and strife in the citie.
King James Version
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
This goeth daye and night aboute the walles, myschefe and vyce are in the myddest of it.
THE MESSAGE
Come down hard, Lord—slit their tongues. I'm appalled how they've split the city Into rival gangs prowling the alleys Day and night spoiling for a fight, trash piled in the streets, Even shopkeepers gouging and cheating in broad daylight.
Amplified Bible
Confuse [my enemies], O Lord, divide their tongues [destroying their schemes], For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
American Standard Version
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongue; For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Bible in Basic English
Send destruction on them, O Lord, make a division of tongues among them: for I have seen fighting and violent acts in the town.
Update Bible Version
Destroy, O Lord, [and] divide their tongue; For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Webster's Bible Translation
Destroy, O Lord, [and] divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
New English Translation
Confuse them, O Lord! Frustrate their plans! For I see violence and conflict in the city.
Contemporary English Version
Confuse my enemies, Lord! Upset their plans. Cruelty and violence are all I see in the city,
Complete Jewish Bible
I would quickly find me a shelter from the raging wind and storm."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Destroy, O Lord, and deuide their tongues: for I haue seene crueltie and strife in the citie.
George Lamsa Translation
Destroy, O LORD, and render useless their tongues; for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Hebrew Names Version
Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language, For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
I would haste me to a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest.'
New Life Bible
Mix them up, O Lord. Divide their tongues. For I have seen fighting and trouble in the city.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen iniquity and gain saying in the city.
English Revised Version
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongue: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Berean Standard Bible
O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.
New Revised Standard
Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech; for I see violence and strife in the city.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Confuse, O My Lord, divide their speech, For I have seen violence and contention in the city;
Douay-Rheims Bible
(54-10) Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city.
Lexham English Bible
Confuse, O Lord; divide their speech, because I see violence and strife in the city.
English Standard Version
Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
New American Standard Bible
Confuse them, Lord, divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
New Century Version
Lord, destroy and confuse their words, because I see violence and fighting in the city.
Good News Translation
Confuse the speech of my enemies, O Lord! I see violence and riots in the city,
Christian Standard Bible®
Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lord, caste thou doun, departe thou the tungis of hem; for Y siy wickidnesse and ayenseiyng in the citee.
Young's Literal Translation
Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue, For I saw violence and strife in a city.
Revised Standard Version
Destroy their plans, O Lord, confuse their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.

Contextual Overview

9 Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city. 10 Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city. 11 Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets. 12 It is not an enemy who taunts me— I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me— I could have hidden from them. 13 Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. 14 What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God. 15 Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

divide: That is, "Distract their counsels; and let their devices be confounded" - and the prayer was heard. See the parallel passages. Genesis 11:7-9, 2 Samuel 15:31, 2 Samuel 17:1-14, John 7:45-53, Acts 23:6-10

I have: Jeremiah 6:7, Jeremiah 23:14, Matthew 23:37, Matthew 23:38

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:11 - filled 2 Samuel 22:3 - thou savest Psalms 26:10 - In Psalms 56:7 - in thine Ecclesiastes 5:8 - thou seest Habakkuk 1:3 - General Acts 2:3 - cloven Acts 21:35 - for Acts 23:7 - there

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Destroy, O Lord,.... Or "swallow up" s, as Pharaoh and his host were swallowed up in the Red sea; or as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were swallowed up in the earth; so all the enemies of Christ and his church will be destroyed; and death, the last of them, will be swallowed up in victory, Isaiah 25:8. The Targum interprets it, "destroy", or "scatter their counsel": but this seems to be intended in the next clause;

[and] divide their tongues: as at the confusion of languages at Babel, to which the allusion is: this had its accomplishment in Absalom's counsellors according to David's wish, 2 Samuel 15:31; and in the Jewish sanhedrim in Christ's time, and in the witnesses they produced against him, Luke 23:51; and of which there is an instance in the council of the Jews, held on account of the Apostle Paul, Acts 23:7;

for I have seen violence and strife in the city: in the city of Jerusalem, now left by David, and possessed by Absalom, by whom "violence" was done to David's wives, through the advice of Ahithophel; and "strife", contention, and rebellion, were fomented among the people: this David saw, understood, and perceived, by the intelligence brought him from time to time: and in the times of Christ the kingdom of heaven suffered "violence" in this place, and he endured the "contradiction" of sinners against himself.

s בלע "degluti", Montanus, Tigurine version; "absorbe", Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Destroy, O Lord - The word rendered “destroy,” properly means to “swallow up;” to “devour” with the idea of greediness. Isaiah 28:4; Exodus 7:12; Jonah 1:17; Jeremiah 51:34. Then it is used in the sense of “destroy,” Job 20:18; Proverbs 1:12. The reference here is to the persons who had conspired against David. It is a prayer that they, and their counsels, might be destroyed: such a prayer as people always offer who pray for victory in battle. It is a prayer that the may be successful in what they regard as a righteous cause; but this implies a prayer that their enemies may be defeated and overcome. That is, they pray for success in what they have undertaken; and if it is right for them to attempt to do the thing, it is not wrong to pray that they may be succesful.

And divide their tongues - There is evident allusion here to the confusion of tongues at Babel Genesis 11:1-9; and as the language of those who undertook to build that tower was confounded so that they could not understand each other, so the psalmist prays that the counsels of those engaged against him might be confounded, or that they might be divided and distracted in their plans, so that they could not act in harmony. It is very probable that there is an allusion here to the prayer which David offered when he learned that Ahithophel was among the conspirators 2 Samuel 15:31; “And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” This would tend to divide and distract; the purposes of Absalom, and secure his defeat.

For I have seen violence and strife in the city - In Jerusalem. Perhaps he had learned that among the conspirators there was not entire harmony, but that there were elements of “strife” and discord which led him to hope that their counsels would be confounded. There was little homogeneoushess of aim and purpose among the followers of Absalom; and perhaps David knew enough of Ahithophel to see that his views, though he might be enlisted in the cause of the rebellion, would not be likely to harmonize with the views of the masses of those who were engaged in the revolt.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 55:9. Destroy, O lordSwallow them up-confound them.

Divide their tongues — Let his counsellors give opposite advice. Let them never agree, and let their devices be confounded. And the prayer was heard. Hushai and Ahithophel gave opposite counsel. Absalom followed that of Hushai; and Ahithophel, knowing that the steps advised by Hushai would bring Absalom's affairs to ruin, went and hanged himself. See 2 Samuel 15:1-17.

Violence and strife in the city. — They have been concerting violent measures; and thus are full of contention.


 
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