Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 141:6
When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
6. When their judges have been thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
They (or men) will hear my words, that they are sweet.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6, 7. It is not difficult to translate these verses, but it seems impossible to give any satisfactory explanation of them in their present context. They may be rendered:
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
When … – This passage is no less difficult than the preceding, and it seems almost impossible to determine its exact meaning. What is meant by judges? What judges are referred to by the word their? What is meant by their being overthrown? What is the sense of the words in stony places? Does the passage refer to some certain prospect that they would be overthrown, or is it a mere supposition which relates to something that might occur? Who are meant by they, in the phrase they shall hear my words? It seems to me that the most plausible interpretation of the passage is founded on that which has been assumed thus far in the explanation of the psalm, as referring to the state of things recorded in 1Sa 24:1-7. David was in the wilderness of En-gedi, in the midst of a rocky region. Saul, apprised of his being there, came with three thousand chosen men to apprehend him, and went into a cave to lie down to rest. Unknown, probably, to him, David and his men were in the sides of the cave. They now saw that Saul was completely in their power, and that it would be an easy thing to enter the cave, and kill him when off his guard. The men urgently advised David to do this. David entered the cave, and cut off the skirt of Sauls robe, showing how completely Saul was in his power, but he proceeded no further; he did not follow the suggestions of his friends; he did not take the life of Saul, as he might have done; and he even regretted what he had done, as implying a want of due respect for the anointed of the Lord, 1Sa 24:11. Yet he had the fullest confidence that the king and his forces would be overthrown, and that it would be done in a way consistent with open and manly war, and not in an underhanded and stealthful way, as it would have been if he had cut him off in the cave. With this in view, it seems to me that the difficult passage before us may be explained with, at least, some degree of plausibility.
Their judges – By the judges, are to be understood the rulers of the people; the magistrates; those in office and power – referring to Saul and the officers of his government. Their judges; to wit, the judges or rulers of the hosts in opposition to me – of those against whom I war; Saul and the leaders of his forces.
Are overthrown – Are discomfited, vanquished, subdued; as I am confident they will be, in the regular prosecution of the war, and not by treachery and stealth.
In stony places – literally, in the hands of the rock; or, as the word hands may sometimes be used, in the sides of the rock. It might mean by the power of the rock, as thrown upon them; or, against its sides. The essential idea is, that the rocks, the rocky places, would be among the means by which they would be overthrown; and the sense is, that now that Saul was in the cave – or was in that rocky region, better known to David than to him – Saul was so completely in his power, that David felt that the victory, in a regular course of warfare, would be his.
They shall hear my words – The followers of Saul; the people of the land; the nation. Saul being removed – subdued – slain – the people will become obedient to me who have been anointed by a prophet as their king, and designated as the successor of Saul. David did not doubt that he would himself reign when Saul was overcome, or that the people would hear his words, and submit to him as king.
For they are sweet – They shall be pleasant; mild; gentle; equitable; just. After the harsh and severe enactments of Saul, after enduring his acts of tyranny, the people will be glad to welcome me, and to live under the laws of a just and equal administration. The passage, therefore, expresses confidence that Saul and his hosts would be overthrown, and that the people of the land would gladly hail the accession to the throne of one who had been anointed to reign over them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places] biyedey sela, “In the hands of the rock.” Does this rock signify a strong or fortified place; and its hands the garrison which have occupied it, by whom these judges were overthrown? If we knew the occasion on which this Psalm was made, we might be the better able to understand the allusions in the text.
They shall hear my words; for they are sweet.] Some think there is here an allusion to David’s generous treatment of Saul in the cave of En-gedi, and afterwards at the hill of Hachilah, in this verse, which might be translated: “Their judges have been dismissed in the rocky places; and have heard my words, that they were sweet.” Or perhaps there may be a reference to the death of Saul and his sons, and the very disastrous defeat of the Israelites at Gilboa. If so, the seventh verse will lose its chief difficulty, Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth; but if we take them as referring to the slaughter of the priests at Nob, then, in stead of translating lephi sheol, at the grave’s mouth, we may translate at the command of Saul; and then the verse will point out the manner in which those servants of the Lord were massacred; Doeg cut them in pieces; hewed them down as one cleaveth wood. Some understand all this of the cruel usage of the captives in Babylon. I could add other conjectures, and contend for my own; but they are all too vague to form a just ground for decided opinion.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Their judges; the chief of mine enemies, their governors civil and military.
Are overthrown; or, shall be overthrown, or cast down headlong by thine exemplary vengeance. Or, as others, were left free, unhurt by me, when it was in my power to destroy them; of which see 1Sa 24; 26; to which histories this place is by divers learned interpreters thought to allude. And then by their judges he means Saul, although he thought not fit distinctly to mention him, but only to intimate him in an obscure and general way.
In stony places, Heb. in the hands or by the sides of the rock; which may relate either,
1. To the rocky nature of those places in which Saul fell into Davids hands. See 1Sa 24:2. Or,
2. To the ancient manner of punishing malefactors, which was by throwing them down from the tops of rocks; of which see 2Ch 25:12. Or,
3. To aggravate their overthrow; for falls in stony places are, as most easy and frequent, so also most mischievous.
They shall hear my words, for they are sweet: then they; either the judges, who will be wise too late; or the people spared by my favour, when others were overthrown and warned by that fearful example; will hear my words, i.e. hearken to my counsels and offers, which now they despise, and then they, my words, will be sweet and acceptable to them, which now they reject. Others thus, then they did hear my words that they were sweet; then they acknowledged that my words and carriage towards Saul were full of meekness and gentleness, and that I was not so false and malicious as they had represented me to be.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
When their judges are overthrown in stony places,…. The judges of David’s adversaries, the workers of iniquity; meaning Saul, Abner, c. Arama refers this to Saul and his sons being slain on the mountains of Gilboa, 1Sa 31:1 which might be here prophetically spoken of. Or, as it is by some rendered, “when their judges are let down by the sides of the rock” d; or let go free, as Saul was by David more than once; when it was in the power of his hands to have taken away his life, which his principal friends urged him to do,
1Sa 24:2. Some render the words as an imprecation or wish, “let their judges be cast down” e; or as a prophecy, they “shall be cast dozen in stony places”, or “by the sides of a rock”: so the word is used of casting or throwing down, 2Ki 9:33; and may allude to the manner of punishment used in some places, by casting down from a precipice, from rocks and hills; see 2Ch 25:12. Or, “when they slip by the sides of the rock” f; endeavouring to get up it; as ambitious men are desirous of getting to the top of honour, power, and authority, but stand in slippery places, and often slip and fall. And when this should be the case of these judges, then should David be raised up on high; the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And then
they shall hear my words, for these are sweet: that is, the common people should hear them, and be pleased with them, who had been set against him by their judges; by which they would easily perceive that he had no enmity nor malice, nor ill design against Saul. This may respect either his very affectionate lamentation at the death of Saul and his sons, 2Sa 1:17; or what he delivered at the several times he spared the life of Saul, when he could have taken it away,
1Sa 24:9; and it is especially true of all the words which David spoke by inspiration, or the Spirit of God spake to him; particularly in his book of Psalms, concerning the Messiah, the covenant of grace, and the blessings of it; of the rich experiences of grace he had, and the several doctrines of the Gospel declared by him; which were sweet, delightful, and entertaining to those who have ears to hear such things; or whose ears are opened to hear them, so as to understand them and distinguish them; but to others not.
d “demittentur per loca saxosa”, Tigurine version; “demissi sunt in manus petrae”, Montanus; “dimittunt se in lateribue petrarum”, Piscator. e “Praecipitentur”, Munster; “dejiciantur”, Gejerus; “praecipites dentur”, Musculus; so Kimchi. f “Lubricati sunt per latere petrae”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. Their judges have been thrown down upon stony places (240) Almost all interpreters agree, that the tense of the verb should be changed from the preterit to the future, and then resolve it into the optative — let them be thrown down. It appears to me that the sense of David would be made very plain by reading, When their judges have been cast down from the rock, or upon stony places, they shall hear my words. David, on perceiving the rage which the common people expressed towards him, as carried away through the influence of error and misrepresentation, lays the blame upon their leaders. When their power should be taken away, he is confident that the simple, who had been misled, would be brought to a right mind. Casting from the rocks, or upon stony places, is a metaphorical expression in reference to the high and dignified position in which they were placed. Although not without blame in following evil counselors so as to persecute unjustly a good and godly man, yet he had reason to entertain more hope of their repentance, that they would return to consideration when God executed vengeance upon those who were at their head. We see how ready the common people are to judge by impulse rather than deliberation, and to be hurried into most condemnable proceedings by blind prejudice, while afterwards upon being admonished they retrace their steps with equal precipitation. So that, granting cruelty must always be sinful, and simplicity no excuse, we are taught by David’s example to pray that sound counsel may be sent to such as are in error, with a view to enabling them to hear the truth and the right with patience.
(240) Those who understand this verse as containing an allusion to the generous manner in which David acted towards Saul in the cave of En-gedi, and to his mild expostulation after they had both left the cave, translate thus: —
“
Their princes on the sides of the rock were dismissed, or let go in safety; And they heard my words that they were pleasant.”
This exactly corresponds with the occurrences referred to. In correspondence with the first line, it, is said in 1Sa 24:2, that Saul and his chosen men went to seek David upon the rocks of the wild goats; and the terms in which David expostulated with Saul, were so gentle, dutiful and affecting, as for the time to melt into tenderness and contrition the heart of Saul, and to impress the minds of all who heard them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) This verse again is full of obscurities. The first clause probably should be rendered, Let their judges be broken to pieces by the force (literally, hands) of the rock; or, let their judges be cast down by the sides of the cliffi.e., hurled down the precipitous face of the ravine (See 2Ch. 25:12, and notice that the word here is Sela, the name of the capital of Edom; comp. Hos. 10:14; Psa. 137:9, where, however, the expression is against the cliff.)
They shall . . .Better, then shall they hear my words; how dainty they are, &c. The expression is ironical. The ungodly party, when their power is broken, instead of being entertained by the poet at a licentious banquet, will listen indeed to his wordsshall hear a dainty song from himviz., a song of triumph.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places Literally, Their judges [princes] have been cast down by the sides of the rock. The verb is in Niphal (passive) perfect, and applies to David’s enemies, whom he beholds as already condemned and punished by being thrown from a cliff, a mode of punishment not unknown to the ancients, (2Ch 25:12,) and probably the mode advised against David should he be arrested. French and Skinner translate:
“Their rulers shall be hurled over the sides of the rock,
And men shall hearken to my words, for they are sweet.”
But more probably shamat (rendered “overthrown”) should here be taken in the sense of release, dismiss, which it repeatedly bears, and read, “Their princes, or judges, were dismissed by the sides of the cliff, or rock,” referring to the hill or cliff of Hachilah, which David hastily descended on one side while Saul approached and encamped on the other. 1Sa 23:19-25; 1Sa 26:3. And this is the more probable, as it was from the sides of this rocky cliff that Saul finally abandoned all further pursuit of David, and returned home, while David departed the second time to Gath.
They shall hear my words; for they are sweet Literally, And they heard my words, for they were pleasant. Both at Hachilah and Engedi David spared Saul’s life, and his mild and pacific addresses to Saul from a distant cliff awakened in that fickle king tears of gratitude and relenting. 1 Samuel 24, 26
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 141:6-7. When their judges This first verse contains an account of David’s humanity towards Saul, in giving him his life at two several times, when he had it in his power to destroy him as he pleased, says Mr. Peters, who translates it thus: Their judges have been dismissed in the rocky places, and have heard my words that they were sweet. That is, “their princes have been dismissed in safety, when I had them at an advantage in those rocky desarts, and they only heard me expostulate with them in the gentlest words.” The next verse contains Saul’s barbarity and cruelty towards David or his friends, in the horrid massacre of Abimelech and the priests, by the hand of Doeg; done in such a savage manner, that he compares it to the chopping and cleaving of wood. Like as when one cutteth and cleaveth, so have our bones been scattered on the earth, at the command of Saul; for so I read the Hebrew words, lepi Saul. As much as to say, “How unlike, how barbarous has their treatment been of me! my best friends slaughtered in great numbers at the command of Saul, and hewn to pieces in his presence, as one would cut or chop a piece of wood!” We may observe an elegant opposition between the words of David, which he calls sweet or pleasant, and lepi Saul, the command of Saul, or the cruel sentence pronounced by him. It may be proper just to remark, that the word
Shophteihem, rendered judges, in the plural, may refer not only to Saul, but to his chief captain, and other military officers; for they were fast asleep about him when David and his companions surprised them; though it may be understood of Saul alone, and that by no very uncommon figure of speech. See particularly 1Sa 24:4 in the original. As to his using the word judge rather than king or prince, there seems to be a peculiar elegancy in it; as he was just about to mention that inhuman sentence of Saul’s executed upon the priests of Nob. So that it is as if he had said, “Even those cruel judges, who have sentenced my friends and favourers without mercy, have been dismissed by me in safety.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
If these words be the words of Christ, delivered by David in the spirit of prophecy (and as they are spoken of one person, they should seem to be so) perhaps the sense is, “when the great ones of the earth are brought down by affliction; the words of Jesus and his salvation shall then be considered dear, though now despised.”
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 141:6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
Ver. 6. When their judges are overthrown ] As I like just reprehensions, so I suffer unjust persecutions from the grandees of the nation, who shall shortly be dejected from their dignity, and dashed, as it were, against the rocks. And then,
They shall hear my words
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
When. Not in Hebrew text.
judges = rulers. Compare 2Ki 9:33.
in stony places = as by a rock; or, over a rock. Hebrew by the hands of a rock.
They: i.e. the people.
words = sayings. Hebrew. ‘imrah. App-73.
sweet. Cognate with “dainties”, Psa 141:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
When their judges: 1Sa 31:1-8, 2Sa 1:17-27, 1Ch 10:1-7
they shall hear: 2Sa 2:4, 2Sa 5:1-3, 1Ch 11:1-3, 1Ch 12:38
for they: Psa 45:2, 2Sa 2:5, 2Sa 2:6, 2Sa 23:1, 1Ch 13:2, Luk 4:22
Reciprocal: 1Sa 24:2 – the rocks 1Sa 24:3 – and Saul 1Sa 24:9 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 141:6. When their judges are overthrown, &c. Of this verse, as it stands in our translation, says Dr. Horne, I know not what can be made. When literally rendered from the Hebrew, it runs thus; Their judges have been dismissed in the sides of the rock, , and have heard my words that they were sweet. David, reflecting on Sauls cruelty in driving him out of his country to wander among aliens and idolaters, very naturally calls to mind, and mentions his own different behaviour toward that implacable enemy, whose life he had spared two several times, when he had it in his power to destroy him as he pleased. This is also Mr. Peterss interpretation of the passage, who translates it as above, understanding, by , rendered their judges, their leaders, or generals, according to the frequent usage of the word in Scripture. The sense evidently is, Their princes have been dismissed in safety when I had them at an advantage in those rocky deserts, and they only heard me expostulate with them in the gentlest words; indeed, in a manner so mild and humble that even Saul himself was overcome, and lift up his voice and wept, saying, My son David, thou art more righteous than I: the Lord reward thee good for what thou hast done unto me this day, 1Sa 24:16. Such has been my conduct toward the servants of Saul; yet how have my people, alas! been by them most miserably butchered!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
141:6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall {g} hear my words; for they are sweet.
(g) The people who follow their wicked rulers in persecuting the prophet will repent and turn to God, when they see their wicked rulers punished.