תהלים 17:14

Hebrew Modern Translation

ממתים ידך יהוה ממתים מחלד חלקם בחיים וצפינך תמלא בטנם ישבעו בנים והניחו יתרם לעולליהם׃

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Aleppo Codex
ידך יהוה ממתים מחלד חלקם בחיים וצפינך (וצפונך) תמלא בטנם ישבעו בנים והניחו יתרם לעולליהם

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)
מִֽמְתִ֥ים יָדְךָ֨ ׀ יְהוָ֡ה מִֽמְתִ֬ים מֵחֶ֗לֶד חֶלְקָ֥ם בַּֽחַיִּים֮ *וּצְפִינְךָ **וּֽצְפוּנְךָ֮ תְּמַלֵּ֪א בִ֫טְנָ֥ם יִשְׂבְּע֥וּ בָנִ֑ים וְהִנִּ֥יחוּ יִ֝תְרָ֗ם לְעוֹלְלֵיהֶֽם ׃

Westminster Leningrad Codex
מִֽמְתִים יָדְךָ ׀ יְהוָה מִֽמְתִים מֵחֶלֶד חֶלְקָם בַּֽחַיִּים וּֽצְפוּנְךָוּצְפִינְךָ| תְּמַלֵּא בִטְנָם יִשְׂבְּעוּ בָנִים וְהִנִּיחוּ יִתְרָם לְעוֹלְלֵיהֶֽם ׃

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

which are: or, by

men of: Luke 16:8, John 8:23, John 15:19, John 17:14, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 4:5

portion: Psalms 49:17-19, Psalms 73:12, Luke 12:19-21, Luke 16:25, James 5:5

belly: Job 12:6, Job 12:9, Job 21:7-15, Job 22:18

hid: Proverbs 2:4, Matthew 13:44

they are full: etc. or, their children are full

leave: Psalms 39:6, Job 21:21, Job 27:14-17, Luke 16:27, Luke 16:28

Reciprocal: Genesis 25:6 - gifts Genesis 31:1 - glory Leviticus 11:20 - General Leviticus 11:29 - creeping things that creep Numbers 11:5 - the fish 1 Samuel 25:2 - man Job 9:24 - earth Psalms 10:18 - the man Psalms 49:10 - leave Psalms 73:4 - no Psalms 73:7 - have Psalms 84:10 - to dwell Psalms 109:27 - General Proverbs 16:27 - diggeth Ecclesiastes 2:18 - I should Ecclesiastes 6:2 - so Isaiah 5:17 - the waste Isaiah 10:5 - the rod Isaiah 10:15 - the ax Isaiah 26:18 - the inhabitants Isaiah 30:31 - which smote Daniel 7:17 - out Matthew 6:32 - after Matthew 19:22 - for Mark 10:24 - trust Luke 12:13 - Master Luke 12:18 - General Luke 15:12 - give 1 Corinthians 6:3 - pertain 1 Corinthians 15:19 - this Ephesians 2:2 - walked according Philippians 3:19 - who Colossians 3:1 - seek 1 Timothy 6:19 - Laying James 5:1 - ye

Gill's Notes on the Bible

From men [which are] thy hand, O Lord,.... Some understand these words, with what follows, as independent of the former, and of another set of men, even of good men; so the Targum,

"and the righteous who deliver their souls for thy sake, O Lord, unto death in the earth, their portion is in eternal life;''

so Jarchi gives the like sense of them: but the words are to be connected with the preceding, as they are by Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; and the sense is, deliver my soul from men, which are instruments in thine hand to chastise thy people: so even Satan himself, and the Sabeans and Chaldeans, whom he instigated to afflict Job, are called the "hand" of the Lord that touched him, because he suffered them to do what they did for the trial of him, Job 19:21. The words may be rendered, "the men of thy hand" m; who are raised up by thine hand to the power and dignity they have; and who can easily be pulled down by it; and who are in thine hand, and at thy beck and control, and whose wrath and fury thou canst restrain. Or they may be rendered, "from men by thy hand" n; that is, deliver me from them by thy strong hand and mighty power; as Israel of old was delivered from the Egyptians by the strong and mighty hand of God;

from men of the world: who are, as they were when they came into the world, in sin, in darkness, and in a carnal and unregenerate state; who are not only in the world, but of it, and belong to it, and to it only; and are under the influence of the god of the world, and are taken with the lusts and pleasures of it, and live in them and serve them: and are of worldly spirits, inordinately love the things of the world, mind earth and earthly things, and are unconcerned about the things of another world; see Luke 16:8;

[which have] their portion in [this] life; and in this only; have a large share of the good things of this life; and which is all their portion, Luke 16:25;

and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid [treasure]: earthly treasure, as gold and silver, which is called hid treasure, because it is first hid in the bowels of the earth, out of which it is dug, and afterwards hid in the coffers of worldly men; and oftentimes kept to the hurt of the owners of it. Or the phrase may denote the value and preciousness of it. And to have the belly filled with this is to have a very great affluence and plenty of it; though it is very rare, let it be ever so large, that men are fully satisfied with it;

they are full of children; which among the eastern nations was reckoned a considerable part of outward prosperity and happiness; see

Job 21:7; or their "children are full", or "filled" o with hidden treasure also;

and leave the rest of their [substance] to their babes; their children's children; their grandchildren, as Kimchi explains it; and which is said, not by way of complaint, as an evil in them, since it is lawful and right for parents to lay up for their children, and leave it to them: unless the sense is, that they engross all to themselves, and to their posterity, in life and death; while they live, they indulge their sensual appetites and lusts, and fill themselves and theirs, but give nothing to the poor and hungry; nor part with anything for the interest of God and true religion; and when they die leave nothing for such use and service, but all to their posterity: but rather the phrase is expressive of their great plenty; that having lived in and enjoyed great fulness themselves, and given large portions to their children, yet have much left; which, at death, they bequeath to the young generation. Now from such men in power and dignity, and from being hurt by them, as well as from communion and conversation with them, the psalmist desires to be delivered; and expresses his satisfaction in other and better things than they enjoy, in the following words.

m ממתים ידך "ab inimieis manus tuae", V. L. so Sept. "a viris manus tuae", Lutherus, Musculus. n "Manu tua", Montaus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus. o ישבעו בנים "saturantur vel satiantur filii", Munster, Muis, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus so Targ. Ar. Ainsworth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From men which are thy hand - Margin, “From men by thy hand.” Here the rendering in the common version would be still more harsh than in the previous verse, since it is at least unusual to call men “the hand” of God, in the sense that they are his instruments in accomplishing his purposes. The more obvious construction is to regard it as a prayer that God would deliver him by his own hand from “men” - from men that rose up against him. Compare 2 Samuel 24:14.

From men of the world - A better construction of this would be “from men; from the world.” The psalmist prays first that he may be delivered from men by the hand of God. He then “repeats” the prayer, “from men, I say,” and then adds, “from the world.” He desires to be rescued entirely from such worldly plans, devices, purposes; from people among whom nothing but worldly principles prevail.

Which have their portion in this life - Their portion - their lot - is among “the living;” that is, they have nothing to look forward to - to hope for in the world to come. They are, therefore, governed wholly by worldly principles. They have no fear of God; they have no regard to the rights of others further than will be in accordance with their own worldly interest. People whose portion is wholly in this life will make everything subordinate to their worldly interests.

And whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure - The meaning of this portion of the verse is that, in respect to the object for which they lived, they were successful. They lived only for the world, and they obtained what the world had to bestow. They had prosperity in their purposes in life. The word “hid” here - “hid treasure” - means that which is hoarded, secreted, carefully guarded; and the word commonly refers to the practice of secreting from public view valuable treasures, as silver and gold. It is possible, however, that the reference here is to the fact that God has hidden these objects in the depths of the earth, and that it is necessary to “search” for them carefully if men would obtain them. Compare Job 28:1-11. The phrase “whose belly thou hast filled” means that their appetite or cravings in this respect were satisfied. They had what they wanted.

They are full of children - Margin, “their children are full.” The margin probably expresses the sense of the Hebrew better than the text. The literal rendering would be, “satisfied are their sons;” that is, they have enough to satisfy the wants of their children. The expression “they are full of children” is harsh and unnatural, and is not demanded by the original, or by the main thought in the passage. The obvious signification is, that they have enough for themselves and for their children.

And leave the rest of their substance to their babes - That is, what remains after their own wants are supplied, they leave to their babes. They not only have enough for the supply of their own wants and the wants of their children during their own lives, but they also leave an inheritance to their children after they are dead. The word rendered “babes” properly means little children, though it seems here to be used as denoting children in general. The meaning is, that they are able to provide for their children after they themselves are dead. Compare the description of worldly prosperity in Job 21:7-11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 17:14. From men of the world, which have] ממתים מחלד mimethim mecheled, from mortal men of time; temporizers; men who shift with the times, who have no fixed principle but one, that of securing their own secular interest: and this agrees with what follows - which have their portion in this life; who never seek after any thing spiritual; who have bartered heaven for earth, and have got the portion they desired; for thou fillest their belly with thy hid treasure. Their belly - their sensual appetites - is their god; and, when their animal desires are satisfied, they take their rest without consideration, like the beasts that perish.

Their portion in this life — בחיים bachaiyim, in lives, probably meaning heritable lands and estates; for they leave them to their children, they descend to posterity, and every one has his life portion in them. They are lands of lives.

They are full of children — Have a numerous offspring, whom they educate in the same principles, and to whom they leave a large earthly patrimony, and who spend it as their fathers have done, and perhaps even more dissolutely. Often covetous fathers lay up riches, which profligate sons scatter to all the winds of heaven. I have seen many instances of this.