Psalms 91 · Verse 6

Psalms 91:6

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Psalms 91:6, King James Version

Psalms 91:6 in other translations

BSBnor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
WEBnor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
ASVFor the pestilence that walketh in darkness, Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
YLTOf pestilence in thick darkness that walketh, Of destruction that destroyeth at noon,
DARBYFor the pestilence that walketh in darkness, for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
BBEOr of the disease which takes men in the dark, or of the destruction which makes waste when the sun is high.
WebsterNor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day.

What does Psalms 91:6 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday - The rabbins supposed that the empire of death was under two demons, one of which ruled by day, the other by night. The Vulgate and Septuagint have - the noonday devil. The ancients thought that there were some demons who had the power to injure particularly at noonday. To this Theocritus refers, Id. 1: ver. 15: - Ου θεμις, ω ποιμαν, το μεσαμβρινον, ου θεμις αμμιν Συρισδεν· τον Πανα δεδοικαμες· η γαρ απ' αγρας Τανικα κεκμακως αμπαυεται, εντι γε πικρος, Και οἱ αει δριμεια χολα ποτι ῥινι καθηται. "It is not lawful, it is not lawful, O shepherd, to play on the flute at noonday: we fear Pan, who at that hour goes to sleep in order to rest himself after the fatigues of the chase; then he is dangerous, and his wrath easily kindled." Lucan, in the horrible account he gives us of a grove sacred to some barbarous power, worshipped with the most horrid rites, refers to the same superstition: - Lucus erat longo nunquam violatus ab aevo, Non illum cultu populi propiore frequentant, Sed cessere deis: medio cum Phoebus in axe est. Aut coelum nox atra tenet, pavet ipse sacerdos Accessus, dominumque timet deprendere luci. Lucan, lib. iii., ver. 399. "Not far away, for ages past, had stood An old inviolated sacred wood: The pious worshippers approach not near, But shun their gods, and kneel with distant fear: The priest himself, when, or the day or night Rolling have reached their full meridian height, Refrains the gloomy paths with wary feet, Dreading the demon of the grove to meet; Who, terrible to sight, at that fixed hour Still treads the round about this dreary bower." Rowe. It has been stated among the heathens that the gods should be worshipped at all times, but the demons should be worshipped at midday: probably because these demons, having been employed during the night, required rest at noonday and that was the most proper time to appease them. See Calmet on this place. Both the Vulgate and Septuagint seem to have reference to this superstition. The Syriac understands the passage of a pestilential wind, that blows at noonday. Aquila translates, of the bite of the noonday demon.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 91:1-8

He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the snares of the fowler, and from the contagion of sin, which is a noisome pestilence. Great security is promised to…

Read the full comment on Psalms 91:1-8 →

Psalms 91:6 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.

מִ֭דֶּבֶרMi.de.verfrom a plagueH1698
בָּאֹ֣פֶלba.'O.fel[which] in the darknessH652
יַהֲלֹ֑ךְya.ha.Lokhit will walkH1980
מִ֝קֶּ֗טֶבmi.Ke.tevfrom destructionH6986
יָשׁ֥וּדya.Shud[which] it will devastateH7736
צָהֳרָֽיִם\׃tzo.ho.Ra.yimnoon<s>H6672

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

Cross references for Psalms 91:6

  • Psalms 121:5-6

    The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

  • Numbers 16:48

    And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

  • Matthew 24:6-7

    And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

  • Exodus 12:29-30

    And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

  • 2 Kings 19:35

    And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:3-10

    And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. …

  • 2 Samuel 24:15

    So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer–sheba seventy thousand men.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
pestilence.
121:5,6; Ex 12:29,30; 2Ki 19:35
destruction.
Nu 16:48; 2Sa 24:15; Mt 24:6,7; 1Co 10:3-10

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

Context

  • Psalms 91:5

    Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

  • Psalms 91:6

    Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

  • Psalms 91:7

    A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Read all of Psalms 91

Psalms 91:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ni de pestilencia que ande en oscuridad, ni de mortandad que en medio del día destruya.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ni de la peste qui marche dans les ténèbres, ni de la destruction qui dévaste en plein midi.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Vor der Pest, die im Finstern wandelt, vor der Seuche, die am Mittag verwüstet.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! nimis profundæ factæ sunt cogitationes tuæ.