Psalm 55:15

Translations

Modern

Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

Traditional

Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

Literal

Devastation is upon them! May they go down alive to Sheol! For evils are in their dwellings, within them.

Latin

Veniat mors super illos, et descendant in infernum viventes: quoniam nequitiæ in habitaculis eorum, in medio eorum.

Original

Hebrew

English

Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

Notes

Psalms 55:12–20

The psalmist's enemy used to be a friend. Remembering their close relationship causes him pain (see Psalm 31:11).

Psalms 55:1–23

The psalmist faces enemies led by a former friend (Psalm 55:12–14). This causes him great distress. He prays to the Lord and trusts him for justice (Psalm 55:22–23).

Jesus went through similar pain when Judas, his friend, betrayed him. He also experienced the psalmist’s prayer being answered:

by taking the place of the wicked and receiving their punishment (Isaiah 53:7–9), and
by trusting the Father, who saved (Luke 23:46) and rewarded him (Isaiah 53:10–12).

Psalms 51:1–65:13

These psalms of David share a common theme. They reflect on the experience of evil. In Psalm 51, the psalmist admits his wrongdoing and asks for God's forgiveness. Psalms 52–64 express sorrow over specific evils David faced. A song of praise (Psalm 65) brings David's laments to an end.

Theme notes and profiles

David Life After Death Prayers for Vengeance

Related verses

Psalm 59:13
Consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, so it may be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
Acts 1:18–20
(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
Psalm 64:7
But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded.
Psalm 109:6–20
Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
Psalm 9:17
The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.
Numbers 16:30–34
But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”
Matthew 26:24
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
2 Samuel 18:14
But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.
Matthew 27:5
So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
Acts 1:25
…to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
2 Samuel 18:9
Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.
Psalm 69:22–28
May their table become a snare; may it be a retribution and a trap.

Psalm 55:15

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