Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 37:14
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay such as be of upright conversation.
14. Sword and bow are not merely figurative expressions for any means of inflicting injury. The Psalm deals with a state of society in which the poor and defenceless were in constant danger of actual violence ( Psa 37:32). Cp. Pro 1:10 ff.
the poor and needy ] Or, the afflicted and needy. See notes on Psa 9:12; Psa 9:18: and cp. Amo 8:4; Isa 32:7; Jer 22:16.
such as be of upright conversation ] Lit. the upright of way: those whose life and conduct are upright. Cp. Psa 119:1. The LXX however reads upright in heart (Psa 36:10, and often).
conversation, as in Psa 50:23, has the obsolete sense of manner of life, behaviour.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
14, 15. Stanza of Cheth. The machinations of the wicked recoil upon themselves. Cp. Psa 7:15 ff.; Psa 9:15 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The wicked have drawn out the sword – That is, they have prepared themselves with a full purpose to destroy the righteous.
And have bent their bow – literally, have trodden the bow, in allusion to the method by which the bow was bent: to wit, by placing the foot on it, and drawing the string back.
To cast down the poor and needy – To cause them to fall.
And to slay such as be of upright conversation – Margin, as in Hebrew: the upright of way. That is, those who are upright in their manner of life, or in their conduct.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword] There is an irreconcilable enmity in the souls of sinners against the godly; and there is much evidence that the idolatrous Babylonians whetted their tongue like a sword, and shot out their arrows, even bitter words, to malign the poor captives, and to insult them in every possible way.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They are furnished with all sorts of arms, and are ready to give the deadly blow.
Such as be of upright conversation; such against whom they have no quarrel for any injury they have done them, but only for their integrity and righteousness, or because they are better than themselves, and will not comply with their wicked counsels and courses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14, 15. sword, and . . . bowforany instruments of violence.
slayliterally,”slaughter” (1Sa 25:11).
poor and needyGod’speople (Psa 10:17; Psa 12:5).The punishment of the wicked as drawn on themselvesoften mentioned(compare Psa 7:15; Psa 7:16;Psa 35:8).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The wicked have drawn out the sword,…. That is, out of the scabbard; they drew upon the righteous, in order to sheath it in them; or they sharpened the sword, as Aben Ezra observes some interpret the word; it may be literally rendered, “opened the sword” q, which before lay hid in the scabbard:
and have bent their bow; having put the arrow in it, in order to shoot. The former expression may design the more open, and this the more secret way of acting against the righteous; and their view in both is
to cast down the poor and needy, who are so, both in a temporal and spiritual sense; to cause such to fall either into sin, or into some calamity or another:
[and] to slay such as be of upright conversation; who walk according to the rule of the word of God, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ: nothing less than the blood and life of these men will satisfy the wicked; and it is an aggravation of their wickedness that they should attempt to hurt men of such character who are poor and needy, holy, harmless, inoffensive, and upright; and this points at the reason why they hate them, and seek their ruin, because of the holiness and uprightness of their lives; see Joh 15:19.
q “aperuerunt gladium”, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That which corresponds to the “treading” or stringing of the bow is the drawing from the sheath or unsheathing of the sword: , Eze 21:28, cf. Psa 55:22. The combination is just like , Psa 119:1. The emphasis in Psa 37:14 is upon the suffix of : they shall perish by their own weapon. has (in Baer) a Sheb dirimens , as also in Isa 5:28 in correct texts.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
14. The wicked draw their sword, and bend their bow. David now goes on to say, that the ungodly, being armed with sword and bow, threaten with death the children of God; and this he does in order to meet the temptation which would otherwise overwhelm them. The promises of God do not have place in a time of quietness and peace, but in the midst of severe and terrible conflicts. And, therefore, David now teaches us that the righteous are not deprived of that peace of which he had spoken a little before, although the wicked should threaten them with instant death. The sentence ought to be explained in this way: Although the wicked draw their swords and bend their bows to destroy the righteous, yet all their efforts shall return upon their own heads, and shall tend to their own destruction. But it is necessary to notice the particular terms in which the miserable condition of the righteous is here described, until God at length vouchsafe to help them. First, they are called poor and needy; and, secondly, they are compared to sheep devoted to destruction, (30) because they have no power to withstand the violence of their enemies, but rather lie oppressed under their feet. Whence it follows, that a uniform state of enjoyment here is not promised to them in this psalm, but there is only set before them the hope of a blessed issue to their miseries and afflictions, in order to console them under them. But as it often happens that the wicked are hated and treated with severity for their iniquity, the Psalmist adds, that those who thus suffered were those who were of upright ways; meaning by this, that they were afflicted without cause. Formerly he described them as the upright in heart, by which he commended the inward purity of the heart; but now he commends uprightness in the conduct, and in fulfilling every duty towards our neighbor; and thus he shows not only that they are unjustly persecuted, because they have done no evil to their enemies, and have given them no cause of offense, but also, that though provoked by injuries, they nevertheless do not turn aside from the path of duty.
(30) “ De brebis destinees au sacrifice.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
14. Drawn out the sword bent their bow Two acts preparatory to immediate destruction; but in Psa 37:15 the lex talionis the law of universal justice is seen to recoil these death weapons upon themselves.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 37:14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, &c. I cannot but think, says a writer on the Psalms, that these are figurative expressions; and that David understood by these weapons, with which he has furnished the ungodly, their bitter and malicious invectives, their foul and false reproaches, &c. These were the arms, in the use of which, as he frequently complains, they were admirably well skilled. In short, this verse seems to be explained to this sense by Psa 57:4 where, speaking of wicked men, it is said, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword: and, if so, then the next verse will mean, that their intention will be frustrated; they shall not do the mischief that they intended; their bows shall be broken, and their invectives and calumnies shall recoil, and do themselves hurt; their sharp sword, their false and malicious tongues, shall pierce through their own soul. And that this was the Psalmist’s meaning, who can doubt, after reading Psa 64:3 where the wicked doers are said to have whet their tongue like a sword, and to shoot out their arrows, even bitter words? By the way, this agrees well with the learned author’s conjecture mentioned above.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Ver. 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow ] That they may assault the righteous, both cominus, nearer hand, and eminus, at a distance; for which purpose they come against him (like a walking armoury) with sword, bow, and other instruments of death; as resolved to kill and slay. “We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter,” Rom 8:36 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the poor and needy = a poor and needy one.
of upright conversation = upright in the (or their) way: i.e. in life. Some codices, with Septuagint and Vulgate, read “upright in heart”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
wicked: Psa 64:2-6, Act 12:2, Act 12:3, Act 12:11, Act 12:23
slay: 1Sa 24:11, 1Sa 24:17, Pro 29:10, Pro 29:27, Hab 1:13, Mat 23:30-34, Act 7:52, 1Jo 3:12
such as: etc. Heb. the upright of way
Reciprocal: Gen 39:17 – General Gen 49:24 – were made Est 5:14 – he caused Est 8:11 – to destroy Est 8:13 – avenge themselves Psa 10:9 – when Psa 11:2 – lo Psa 141:10 – the wicked Isa 8:9 – and ye Mar 6:24 – The head Luk 4:29 – that 1Pe 2:12 – your conversation 2Pe 3:11 – in all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 37:14-15. The wicked have drawn out the sword, &c. They are furnished with all sorts of arms, and are ready to give the deadly blow. To slay such as be of upright conversation Those against whom they have no quarrel, for any injury they have done them; but only for their integrity and righteousness, or because they are better than themselves, and will not comply with their wicked counsels and courses. Their sword shall enter into their own heart God will not only defend the upright from their mischievous designs, but will make those designs to fall upon their own heads. I cannot but think, says a writer quoted here by Dr. Dodd, that David understood by these weapons, with which he has furnished the ungodly, their bitter and malicious invectives, their false and foul reproaches, &c. These were the arms, in the use of which, as he frequently complains, they were admirably well skilled. Thus, (Psa 57:4,) speaking of wicked men, he says, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. And if so, then Psa 37:15 will mean that their intention will be frustrated; they shall not do the mischief they intended; their bows shall be broken And their invectives and calumnies shall recoil and do themselves hurt; their sharp sword, their false and malicious tongues, shall pierce through their own soul. And that this was the psalmists meaning, who can doubt, after reading Psa 64:3, where the wicked doers are said to have whet their tongue like a sword, and to shoot out their arrows, even bitter words.