Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 59:14
And at evening let them return; [and] let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
14. A repetition of Psa 59:6. But is it (1) as the A.V. appears to take it, an ironical repetition as a curse? let them do now perforce what they did before in malice and wantonness, wandering to and fro (cp. Psa 59:11) in unsatisfied hunger. Or is it (2) a reiterated description of the writer’s present situation, introduced here to emphasise the contrast of his own security under Jehovah’s protection? The second alternative is preferable, as giving full force to the emphatic they ( Psa 59:15) and But I ( Psa 59:16). Render,
And though they return at evening, howl like dogs, and go round about the city,
Though they wander to and fro for meat,
And tarry all night if they be not satisfied;
Yet as for me, I shall sing &c.
The prey of which they were in quest was the Psalmist himself. Disappointed in their attempt they might tarry all night, yet he is confident that the dawn will see him still safe, and bring fresh occasion for praise. The A.V. grudge, i.e. murmur, follows the LXX and Jer.; but the contrast ‘in the morning’ ( Psa 59:15) is in favour of R.V. (cp. A.V. marg.) tarry all night.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
14 17. The Psalmist contrasts the baffled rage of his persecutors with his own calm trust in God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And at evening let them return – See the notes at Psa 59:6. The original here is the same as in Psa 59:6, with the exception of the word and at the beginning. This qualifies the sentence, and makes the construction in our version proper. The language is that of confident triumph. They came around the city to take David; they shouted and shrieked as dogs bark and howl when they come upon their prey. David asked God to interpose and save him; and then, says he, let them come if they will, and howl around the city; they will find no prey; they will be like hungry dogs from whom their anticipated victim has escaped. Let them come, and howl and rage. They can do no harm. They will meet with disappointment; and such disappointment will be a proper punishment for their sins.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. At evening let them return] He had mentioned before, Ps 59:6, that these persons came like beasts of prey round the city striving to get in, that they might take possession. Now, being fully assured of God’s protection, and that they shall soon be made a public example, he says, Let them return and make a noise like a dog, c., like dogs, jackals, and other famished creatures, who come howling about the city-walls for something to eat, and wander up and down for meat, grumbling because they are not satisfied, Ps 59:15. Nehemiah had made up all the breaches and had the city guarded so well day and night, by watches who continually relieved each other, that there was no longer any fear of being taken by surprise: and now they must feel like the hungry beasts who were disappointed of their prey.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What was their sin and their choice to do with evil design, let it be their punishment to do it by constraint, and for meat, as it follows, Psa 59:15.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14, 15. Meanwhile let therapacious dogs prowl, they cannot hurt the pious; yea, they shallwander famished and sleepless.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And at evening let them return; [and] let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. What in Ps 59:6 is related as matter of fact, is here expressed by way of imprecation; and what is there taken notice of as their sin, is here wished for at their punishment; unless it can be thought that this should refer to the conversion and return of the Jews in the evening of the world, and to their humiliation and mourning for piercing Christ, and to their very distressed and uncomfortable condition they will be in, until they have satisfaction that their sins are forgiven them; [See comments on Ps 59:6].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14 And at evening they shall return It is of no consequence whether we read the words in the future tense or in the subjunctive, understanding it to be a continuance of the preceding prayer. But it seems more probable that David, after having brought his requests to a close, anticipates the happy issue which he desired. And he makes an apt allusion to what he had already said of their insatiable hunger. The words which he had formerly used he repeats, but with a different application, ironically declaring that they would be ravenous in another sense, and that matters would issue otherwise than they had looked for. Above he had complained that they made a noise like dogs, adverting to the eagerness and fierceness with which they were bent upon mischief; now he derides their malicious efforts, and says, that after wearying themselves with their endless pursuit all day, they would go disappointed of their purpose. He uses no longer the language of complaint, but congratulates himself upon the abortive issue of their activity. The Hebrew word which I have translated, if not, in the close of the fifteenth verse, is by some considered to be the form of an oath. But this is an over-refined interpretation. Others would have the negation repeated, reading, if they shall not have been satisfied, neither shall they lodge for the night But this also is far-fetched. The simple and true meaning suggests itself at once, that, although they might not be satisfied, they would be forced to lay themselves down, and the misery of their hunger would be aggravated, by the circumstance that they had passed the whole day in fruitless application, and must lie down for the night empty, wearied, and unsatisfied. (375)
(375) Street translates, “If they be not satisfied, they spend the night in howling;” and observes, that there seems to be a word lost after the original verb לון, lun, which he renders, they spend the night; and he supplies h; by the words, in howling The meaning of the verb לום, lun, is ambiguous. It signifies both to continue all night, and to growl, or murmur Either sense will be appropriate in this passage. The Chaldee and Syriac understand it in the former sense; and the Septuagint in the latter.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
14. And at evening let them return Or, they shall return. A recurrence of the refrain, Psa 59:6, and an expression of the last degree of contempt, which must have produced inimitable effect in the musical performance.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
His Would Be Assassins Can Wander Up and Down Like Stray Dogs All Night If They Wish, But He Will Meanwhile Sing Of The Triumph And Protection Of His God ( Psa 59:14-17 ).
David concludes the Psalm by taunting his oppressors for wasting their time by awaiting him in order to strike him down (compare Psa 59:6-7), because he knows that it will be in vain. And he declares that meanwhile he will sing of God’s covenant love and faithfulness, knowing that God will be his refuge and strength.
Psa 59:14-15
‘And at evening let them return,
Let them howl like a dog, and go round about the city.’
They will wander up and down for food,
And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.’
David again takes up the picture of the wild dogs who scavenge in the city streets at night, if necessary wandering up and down all night if they are unable to find sufficient food. They would obtain their food from the rubbish thrown out of houses, which awaited collection by the rubbish collectors who would collect it in carts and burn it outside the city (in later days in the Valley of Hinnom).
He is quite content for his would be assassins to do the same, for he has prayed through to certainty of God’s deliverance. He sees them returning that night to keep watch outside his house, remaining there all night until they can seize him, only to be thwarted when they cannot find him. But he is satisfied now that it will be in vain, for he has already made his plans for escape, leaving them to face the smothered laughter of Israel when the story got around. (It may well be that the window through which he escaped (1Sa 19:12) was in the city wall, but whether it was or not, he was confident that they knew nothing about it, and he proved to be correct). So he sees them as like stray dogs, wandering the streets but never satisfied.
Psa 59:16
‘But I will sing of your strength,
Yes, I will sing aloud of your covenant love in the morning,
For you have been my high tower,
And a refuge in the day of my distress.’
Meanwhile David would sing of God’s strength, the strength which had delivered him, and he will sing aloud (in contrast to their howling) of God’s covenant love in the morning, by which time through God’s help he would be safe and far away. God had not overlooked His covenant promises, and was proving to be his High Tower.
Psa 59:17
‘To you, O my strength, will I sing praises,
For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.’
Indeed, he declares, he will yet sing praises to God who is his strength, and to God Who is his fortress, and the God Who shows him favour. Note that there is no boasting about his cleverness in escaping, or even of the wife who helped him to escape. All his thought is on the fact that he owes it all to God, and to His strength, protection and favour.
This Psalm is a reminder that God is concerned about all our troubles, especially when we appear to be beset by people who are trying to get us down. It especially speaks to God’s people when they are facing physical persecution, and reminds them that they are under God’s protection. All who are His are secure in God.
The whole Psalm is a preview of the life of Jesus, Who also was continually beset by enemies, only to come through triumphantly because His Father was with Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 59:14. And at evening let them return This is a repetition of the 6th verse, but is to be understood in a different sense: The 6th verse is a real complaint of their fury and diligence in pursuing him; here he speaks of them with a kind of indifference and contempt; and as free from any apprehension of danger from them. “Let them, if they please, return in the evening, growl at me like dogs, and watch all the avenues of the city to take me: Yet like greedy dogs they shall want their food and wander about, as though shivering for hunger; for they shall not be satisfied, but murmur on account of their disappointment.” The 15th verse should be rendered, They shall wander about, shivering for hunger, and because not satisfied they shall murmur. See Chandler and Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What strong figures are chosen in these verses to point out the restless, wretched, unsatisfying state of the wicked, whose mind is like the troubled sea! Isa 57:20-21 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 59:14 And at evening let them return; [and] let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
Ver. 14. And at evening let them return, &c. ] Let these backsliders in heart be filled with their own ways; run about for hunger, as before they did for malice, Psa 59:6 . Here the prophet mindeth to mock them, saith an interpreter, Revertantur famelici (Vat.). Sit poena eorum sicur peccatum (Kimchi).
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 59:14-17
Psa 59:14-17
“And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog,
Anti go round about the city.
They shall wander up and down for food,
And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.
But I will sing of thy strength;
Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning:
For thou hast been my high tower,
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing praises;
For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.”
“At evening let them return” (Psa 59:14). The picture that emerges here is that of an extensive search carried on by Saul’s detachment of soldiers, going about all over the city trying to find David. Their wandering up and down for food and searching all night trying to find it, is a metaphor taken from the behavior of scavenger dogs looking for garbage to eat; but, as Rawlinson noted, “David himself was the prey they were looking for.” If they could have found him, they would have devoured David as eagerly as a hungry dog devours his food.
“I will sing” (Psa 59:16). Singing is the perpetual glory of the people of God. The Moslem shouts from his minaret, “To Prayer, to Prayer”; the savage beats his drum; but the Christians “sing”! Matthew Henry commented on the manner of David’s singing.
“I will sing (Psa 59:16)”
“I will sing aloud (Psa 59:16)”
“I will sing in the morning (Psa 59:16)”
“I will sing praises (Psa 59:17)”
“I will sing unto God (Psa 59:17)”
“I will sing of God’s lovingkindness (Psa 59:16)”
“I will sing of God’s mercy (Psa 59:17)
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 59:14. Not having been literally destroyed, but only scattered, the enemies would return to the attack, hoping to accomplish their purpose. (Psa 59:6.) David would relish seeing them do so provided they failed in their intent.
Psa 59:15. This verse shows the motive indicated by my comments on the previous one. David would find much satisfaction in seeing the disappointment of the “dogs.”
Psa 59:16. The mercy of which David would sing was that which he expected on the basis of his service to God. The particular form of the mercy was that which defended him against the persecutions at the hands of his enemies.
Psa 59:17. God of my mercy is signifcant in that no mercy could be expected from earthly sources. Instead, man was causing the conditions that called for God’s mercy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
at evening: Psa 59:6, Psa 22:16
Reciprocal: Psa 55:10 – Day
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 59:14-15. And at evening let them return, &c. This is a repetition of the sixth verse, but is to be understood in a different sense. The sixth verse is a real complaint of their fury and diligence in pursuing him; here he speaks of them with a kind of indifference and contempt; and as free from any apprehension of danger from them. Let them, if they please, return in the evening, growl at me like dogs, and watch all the avenues of the city, to take me; yet, like greedy dogs, they shall want their food, and wander about, as those shivering for hunger; for they shall not be satisfied, but murmur on account of their disappointment. The Hebrew verbs of these verses are in the future tense, and ought to have been rendered, They shall return, &c. They shall make a noise, and go round about the city. They shall wander about, shivering for hunger, and, because not satisfied, they shall murmur. Chandler and Houbigant.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
59:14 And at evening let them {m} return; [and] let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
(m) He mocks their vain enterprises, being assured that they will not bring their purpose to pass.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
4. David’s joy in view of certain deliverance 59:14-17
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Returning to the thought of his enemies behaving like wild dogs (Psa 59:6-7), David reminded the Lord of their vicious attacks.