Psalms 79 · Verse 2

Psalms 79:2

The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
Psalms 79:2, King James Version

Psalms 79:2 in other translations

BSBThey have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
WEBThey have given the dead bodies of your servants to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your saints to the animals of the earth.
ASVThe dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
YLTThey gave the dead bodies of Thy servants Food for the fowls of the heavens, The flesh of Thy saints For the wild beast of the earth.
DARBYThe dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowl of the heavens, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth:
BBEThey have given the bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, and the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.
WebsterThe dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food to the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints, to the beasts of the earth.

What does Psalms 79:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 79:2-3
2-3. (Compare Jr 15:3; 16:4).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 The dead bodies of thy servants - It appears that in the destruction of Jerusalem the Chaldeans did not bury the bodies of the slain, but left them to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey. This was the grossest inhumanity.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 79:1-5

God is complained to: whither should children go but to a Father able and willing to help them? See what a change sin made in the holy city, when the heathen were suffered to pour in upon them. God's own people defiled it by their sins, therefore he suffered their enemies to defile it by their insolence. They desired that God would be reconciled. Those who desire God's favour as better than life, cannot but dread…

Read the full comment on Psalms 79:1-5 →

Psalms 79:2 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.

נָֽתְנ֡וּna.te.Nuthey have givenH5414
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
נִבְלַ֬תniv.Lat[the] corpse[s] ofH5038
עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ'a.va.Dei.khaservants yourH5650
מַ֭אֲכָלMa.'a.kholfoodH3978
לְע֣וֹףle.'ofto [the] bird[s] ofH5775
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
בְּשַׂ֥רbe.Sar[the] fleshH1320
חֲ֝סִידֶ֗יךָcha.si.Dei.khafaithful [people] yourH2623
לְחַיְתוֹ\־le.chay.tov-to [the] animal[s] ofH2416
אָֽרֶץ\׃'A.retz[the] earthH776

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

Cross references for Psalms 79:2

  • Jeremiah 7:33

    And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.

  • Jeremiah 34:20

    I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

  • Jeremiah 16:4

    They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

  • Jeremiah 19:7

    And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

  • Deuteronomy 28:26

    And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

  • Jeremiah 15:3

    And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 7:33; 15:3; 16:4; 34:20

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

Context

  • Psalms 79:1

    A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

  • Psalms 79:2

    The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

  • Psalms 79:3

    Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.

Read all of Psalms 79

Psalms 79:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dieron los cuerpos de tus siervos por comida á las aves de los cielos; la carne de tus santos á las bestias de la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Elles ont donné les cadavres de tes serviteurs en pâture aux oiseaux des cieux, la chair de tes saints aux bêtes de la terre;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Die Leichen deiner Knechte haben sie den Vögeln des Himmels zur Speise gegeben, das Fleisch deiner Frommen den wilden Tieren der Erde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Qui regis Israël, intende; qui deducis velut ovem Joseph. Qui sedes super cherubim, manifestare