Psalms 55 · Verse 23

Psalms 55:23

But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Psalms 55:23, King James Version

Psalms 55:23 in other translations

BSB	But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
WEB	But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you.
ASV	But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in thee.
YLT	And Thou, O God, dost bring them down To a pit of destruction, Men of blood and deceit reach not to half their days, And I--I do trust in Thee!
DARBY	And thou, OGod, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. But as for me, I will confide in thee.
BBE	But you, O God, will send them down into the underworld; the cruel and the false will be cut off before half their days are ended; but I will have faith in you.
Webster	But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

What does Psalms 55:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

23. bloody ... days--(compare Psa 5:6; 51:14), deceit and murderous dispositions often united. The threat is directed specially (not as a general truth) against the wicked, then in the writer's view.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction - The Chaldee is emphatic: "And thou, O Lord, by thy Word (במימרך bemeymerach) shalt thrust them into the deep gehenna, the bottomless pit, whence they shall never come out; the pit of destruction, where all is amazement, horror, anguish, dismay, ruin, endless loss, and endless suffering." Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days - So we find, if there be an appointed time to man upon earth, beyond which he cannot pass; yet he may so live as to provoke the justice of God to cut him off before he arrives at that period; yea, before he has reached half way to that limit. According to the decree of God, he might have lived the other half; but he has not done it. But I will trust in thee - Therefore I shall not be moved, and shall live out all the days of my appointed time. The fathers in general apply the principal passages of this Psalm to our Lord's sufferings, the treason of Judas, and the wickedness of the Jews; but these things do not appear to me fairly deducible from the text. It seems to refer plainly enough to the rebellion of Absalom. "The consternation and distress expressed in Psa 55:4-8, describe the king's state of mind when he fled from Jerusalem, and marched up the mount of Olives, weeping. The iniquity cast upon the psalmist answers to the complaints artfully laid against the king by his son of a negligent administration of justice: and to the reproach of cruelty cast upon him by Shimei, 2Sam 15:2, 2Sam 15:4; 2Sam 16:7, 2Sam 16:8. The equal, the guide, and the familiar friend, we find in Ahithophel, the confidential counsellor, first of David, afterwards of his son Absalom. The buttery mouth and oily words describe the insidious character of Absalom, as it is delineated, 2Sam 15:5-9. Still the believer, accustomed to the double edge of the prophetic style, in reading this Psalm, notwithstanding its agreement with the occurrences of David's life, will be led to think of David's great descendant, who endured a bitter agony, and was the victim of a baser treachery, in the same spot where David is supposed to have uttered these complaints." - Bishop Horsley.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 55:16-23

In every trial let us call upon the Lord, and he will save us. He shall hear us, and not blame us for coming too often; the oftener the more welcome. David had thought all were against him; but now he sees there were many with him, more than he supposed; and the glory of this he gives to God, for it is he that raises us up friends, and makes them faithful to us. There are more true Christians, and believers have…

Read the full comment on Psalms 55:16-23 →

Psalms 55:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאַתָּ֤הve.'a.Tahand youH859

אֱלֹהִ֨ים\׀'E.lo.HimO GodH430

תּוֹרִדֵ֬ם\׀to.ri.Demyou will bring down themH3381

לִבְאֵ֬רliv.'Erto [the] pit ofH875

שַׁ֗חַתSha.chat[the] pitH7845

אַנְשֵׁ֤י'an.Sheipeople ofH582

דָמִ֣יםda.Mimblood<s>H1818

וּ֭מִרְמָהU.mir.mahand deceitH4820

לֹא\־lo'-notH3808

יֶחֱצ֣וּye.che.Tzuthey will divide in halfH2673

יְמֵיהֶ֑םye.mei.Hemdays theirH3117

וַ֝אֲנִ֗יva.'a.Niand IH589

אֶבְטַח\־'ev.tach-I will trustH982

בָּֽךְ\׃Bakhin <the> you

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 55:23

Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
Psalms 5:6
Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
Job 15:32
It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
Psalms 7:15-16
He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
Psalms 73:18
Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Matthew 27:4-5
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Ecclesiastes 7:17
Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
Isaiah 38:17
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
2 Samuel 3:27
And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
Proverbs 15:11
Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
Psalms 58:9
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
Psalms 25:2
O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

O God.
7:15,16; 58:9; 59:12,13
pit.
Pr 15:11; 27:20; Isa 38:17
bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.Heb. men of bloods and deceit shall not halve their days.
5:6; 2Sa 3:27; 20:9,10; 1Ki 2:5,6; 2Sa 3:27; 20:9,10; 1Ki 2:5,6
Job 15:32; Pr 10:27; Ec 7:17; Mt 27:4,5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Psalms 55:22
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 55:23
But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Read all of Psalms 55

Psalms 55:23 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Mas tú, oh Dios, harás descender aquéllos al pozo de la sepultura: los hombres sanguinarios y engañadores no demediarán sus días: empero yo confiaré en ti.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Rejette ton fardeau sur l’ Éternel, et il te soutiendra; il ne permettra jamais que le juste soit ébranlé.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und du, Gott, wirst sie hinabstürzen in die Grube des Verderbens; die Männer des Blutes und des Truges werden nicht zur Hälfte bringen ihre Tage. Ich aber werde auf dich vertrauen.