Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 17:10
They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
10. Prosperity has resulted in obtuse self-complacency and contemptuous arrogance. Cp. Psa 73:7-8; Job 15:27. The right rendering of 10 a is however probably (cp. R.V. marg.) Their heart (lit. midriff) have they shut up. They have closed it against every influence for good and all sympathy. Cp. 1Jn 3:17. See for this explanation Prof. Robertson Smith’s Religion of the Semites, p. 360.
they speak proudly ] Cp. Psa 12:3 ff.; Psa 10:2; Psa 31:18; Psa 73:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10 12. The character of his enemies.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They are enclosed in their own fat – The meaning here is, that they were prosperous, and that they were consequently self-confident and proud, and were regardless of others. The phrase occurs several times as descriptive of the wicked in a state of prosperity, and as, therefore, insensible to the rights, the wants, and the sufferings of others. Compare Deu 32:15, But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked: thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, etc. Job 15:27, because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. Psa 73:7, their eyes stand out with fatness. Psa 119:70, their heart is as fat as grease.
With their mouth they speak proudly – Haughtily; in an arrogant tone; as a consequence of their prosperity.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 17:10
They are enclosed in their own fat.
A figure for self-complacency
To be enclosed in ones own fat means, to be wrapped up in pride and self-complacency, the effect upon weak and ignoble minds of worldly prosperity. It is said that the purely fatty part of the human body, having no nerves of sensation, can be cut and pierced without experiencing any feeling of pain. Hence, in Scripture phraseology, to say that ones heart is fat is equivalent to saying that it is hard and insensible, void of moral and sympathetic feeling, and not to be affected by any appeal made to its pity or sense of right. It indicates a haughtiness and insolence of bearing towards others that is hard to be borne by them. Alas! how a little worldly elevation sometimes changes the best character into the worst! How it renders the man proud who before was humble; the heart hard that before was tender! To be delivered from the tender mercies of mindless wealth, of heartless prosperity, is a prayer that others besides David have breathed into the ear of Divine mercy. It was not the poor, but the proud, the prosperous, the high in station and authority, that chased the Son of God to the Cross, and reviled Him there. (David Caldwell, A. M.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. They are enclosed in their own fat] Dr. Kennicott, Bishop Horsley, Houbigant, and others, read the passage thus: alai chablamo sageru, “They have closed their net upon me.” This continues the metaphor which was introduced in the preceding verse, and which is continued in the two following: and requires only that ali, “upon me,” should began this verse instead of end the preceding; and that cheleb, which signifies fat, should be read chebel, which signifies rope, cable, or net. This important reading requires only the interchange of two letters. The Syriac translates it, shut their mouth: but the above emendation is most likely to be true.
They speak proudly.] Having compassed the mountain on which I had taken refuge, they now exult, being assured that they will soon be in possession of their prey.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They live in great splendour and prosperity, whilst I am exercised with many and sore troubles. The like phrase we have Job 15:27; Psa 73:7.
They speak proudly; not only against us, whom they scorn, but even against God himself, whom they despise, boasting of their own power, and what great things they will certainly effect against me.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. enclosed . . . fatarebecome proud in prosperity, and insolent to God (Deu 32:15;Psa 73:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They are enclosed in their own fat,…. Or “their fat has enclosed them”; either their eyes, that they can hardly see out of them, or their hearts, so that they are stupid and senseless, and devoid of the fear of God; the phrase is expressive of the multitude of their wealth and increase of power, by which they were swelled with pride and vanity, and neither feared God nor regarded man; so the Targum paraphrases it,
“their riches are multiplied, their fat covers them;”
see De 32:15; some read it, “their fat shuts their mouths”, so Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or “with their fat they shut them” h; but the accent “athnach” will not admit of this reading; the last word belongs to the next clause;
with their mouth they speak proudly; against God and his people, belching out blasphemies against the one, and severe menaces and threatenings against the other.
h So De Dieu.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Psa 17:10 tell what sort of people these persecutors are. Their heart is called fat, adeps, not as though could in itself be equivalent to , more especially as both words are radically distinct ( from the root , ; from the root , to envelope: that which is enveloped, the kernel, the inside), but (without any need for von Ortenberg’s conjecture “they close their heart with fat”) because it is, as it were, entirely fat (Psa 119:70, cf. Psa 73:7), and because it is inaccessible to any feeling of compassion, and in general incapable of the nobler emotions. To shut up the fat = the heart (cf. 1Jo 3:17), is equivalent to: to fortify one’s self wilfully in indifference to sympathy, tender feeling, and all noble feelings (cf. = to harden, Isa 6:10). The construction of (which agrees in sound with , Job 15:27) is just the same as that of , Psa 3:5. On the other hand, (after the form and written plene) is neither such an accusative of the means or instrument, nor the second accusative, beside the accusative of the object, of that by which the object is surrounded, that is usually found with verbs of surrounding (e.g., Ps 5:13; Psa 32:7); for “they have surrounded me (us) with our step” is unintelligible. But can be the accusative of the member, as in Psa 3:8, cf. Psa 22:17, Gen 3:15, for “it is true the step is not a member” (Hitz.), but since “step” and “foot” are interchangeable notions, Psa 73:2, the is applicable to the former, and as, e.g., Homer says, Iliad vii. 355: , the Hebrew poet can also say: they have encompassed us (and in fact) our steps, each of our steps (so that we cannot go forwards or backwards with our feet). The Ker gets rid of the change in number which we have with the Chethb ; the latter, however, is admissible according to parallels like Psa 62:5, and corresponds to David’s position, who is hunted by Saul and at the present time driven into a strait at the head of a small company of faithful followers. Their eyes – he goes on to say in Psa 17:11 – have they set to fell, viz., us, who are encompassed, to the earth, i.e., so that we shall be cast to the ground. is transitive, as in Psa 18:10; Psa 62:4, in the transitively applied sense of Psa 73:2 (cf. Psa 37:31): to incline to fall (whereas in Psa 44:19, Job 31:7, it means to turn away from); and (without any need fore the conjecture ) expresses the final issue, instead of , Psa 7:6. By the expression one is prominently singled out from the host of the enemy, viz., its chief, the words being: his likeness is as a lion, according to the peculiarity of the poetical style, of changing verbal into substantival clauses, instead of . Since in Old Testament Hebrew, as also in Syriac and Arabic, is only a preposition, not a connective conjunction, it cannot be rendered: as a lion longs to prey, but: as a lion that is greedy or hungry (cf. Arab. ksf , used of sinking away, decline, obscuring or eclipsing, growing pale, and Arab. chsf , more especially of enfeebling, hunger, distinct from = Arab. ksf , to peel off, make bare) to ravin. In the parallel member of the verse the participle alternates with the attributive clause. is (according to Meier) the young lion as being covered with thicker hair.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
10. They have inclosed themselves in their own fat If the translation which is given by others is considered preferable, They have inclosed their own fat, the meaning will be quite the same. Some Jewish interpreters explain the words thus: that being stuffed with fat, and their throat being, as it were, choked with it, they were unable to speak freely; but this is a very meagre and unsatisfactory exposition. By the word fat, I think, is denoted the pride with which they were filled and swollen, as it were, with fatness. It is a very appropriate and expressive metaphor to represent them as having their hearts choked up with pride, in the manner in which corpulent persons are affected from the fat within them. (365) David complains of their being puffed up with their wealth and pleasures, and accordingly we see the ungodly, the more luxuriously they are pampered, conducting themselves the more outrageously and proudly. But I think there is described by the word fat an inward vice namely, their being inclosed on all sides with arrogance and presumption, and their having become utter strangers to every feeling of humanity. (366) The Psalmist next declares that this is abundantly manifested in their language. In short, his meaning is, that inwardly they swell with pride, and that they take no pains to conceal it, as appears from the high swelling words to which they give utterance. When it is said, They have spoken proudly with their mouth, the word mouth is not a pleonasm, as it often is in other places; for David means, that with mouths widely opened they pour forth scornful and contemptuous language, which bears testimony to the pride which dwells within them.
(365) “ Comme les gens replets se trouvent saisis de leur graisse au dedans.” — Fr. “The sacred writers employ this term [fat] to signify a body pampered to excess by luxury and self-indulgence, Psa 73:7; Job 15:27.” – French and Skinner’s Translation of the Book of Psalms. There may no doubt be a reference to the personal appearance and sensual indulgence of David’s enemies. But something more is implied. “We know that, in the figurative language of Scripture fatness denotes pride. This connection of ideas is still maintained in the East, where, when it is intended to indicate a proud man, he is said to be fat, or to look fat, whether really so or not.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible.
(366) Dr Geddes translates the clause, “Their hearts have they hardened.” “Literally,” says he, “they have closed their midriff; — shut out all compassion from their hearts.” The Hebrew word which is rendered fat is explained by Gesenius, when used figuratively, as denoting a fat, that is, an unfeeling heart.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) They are inclosed . . .Literally, Their fat have they shut up. So LXX. and Vulgate, without indicating the meaning. But the proudly of the next clause suggests that fat is only a figure for the conceit of prosperity, and as that verb is active, the word mouth should be joined with it as object from the next clause, In their conceit they shut their mouth; (when they do speak) they speak proudly.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. From this to Psa 17:14 the character and deadly purposes of the writer’s enemies are described.
Enclosed in their own fat A phrase to be understood figuratively for haughty, insubordinate, and selfish persons, who have become wanton by prosperity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘They are enclosed in their own fat (midriff?),
With their mouth they speak proudly.
They have now encompassed us in our steps,
They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.’
It may be that he vividly picture his enemies as being entrapped in their own midriff. (Different parts of the body are often used to depict the whole person and as thus affecting behaviour). Thus they are unable to consider their ways or behave humanely. The fat blocks their ears. Or it may signify that in their current prosperity (possibly gained by toadying up to the psalmist’s enemy) they are unable to hear the voice of God and behave righteously. Thus when they speak it is always with pride and arrogance. Either way they have now trapped the psalmist and his men, with their eyes showing their determination to cast them down to the earth.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 17:10. They are inclosed in their own fat This is a poetical or proverbial speech, to signify haughtiness, as caused by wealth or great prosperity; together with that indulgence of the sensual appetites, and disregard to the duties and doctrines of religion, which is a consequence of such haughtiness, Jeshurun waxed fat, i.e. rich and prosperous; and the consequence was that he kicked; i.e. grew proud, insulting, and luxurious. See Deu 32:15.; and Psa 73:7.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 17:10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
Ver. 10. They are inclosed in their own fat ] See Job 15:27 , See Trapp on “ Job 15:27 “ They abound in all delights, and therefore soare not to speak proudly. They have closed up their eyes in their fulsome fat, ut non videant nec timeant te, saith R. Solomon, that they cau neither see nor fear thee. Adipem suum obesant (Tram.).
With their mouth they speak proudly
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 17:10-12
Psa 17:10-12
“They are enclosed in their own fat:
With their mouth they speak proudly.
They have compassed us in our steps;
They have set their eyes to cast me down to the earth.
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.”
“Enclosed in their own fat” (Psa 17:10). Dummelow said this means that, “They have shut up their hearts, a figure of arrogance. “Their fat” may also refer to their plenty of this worlds’ goods. The people in view here were concerned only with this world and their possession of as much as possible of it. They had been successful, and from that their proud and arrogant speech was produced.
“They have compassed us in our steps” (Psa 17:11). Jamieson pointed out that this means, “They pursue us as hunters tracking a wild beast.”
“They set their eyes … etc.” (Psa 17:11). This is a reference to the demeanor of a lion about to spring upon the prey. He fixes his eyes intently upon the object of his “kill.” Who would have known something like this any better than David? He had protected his father’s sheep from wild beasts; and upon one occasion he had actually seized a lion by the beard and killed him (1Sa 17:34-37). This, of course, is one of the many things in this psalm that support the opinion that David wrote it.
“He is like a lion … etc.” (Psa 17:12). The significance of this lies in the use of the singular number. Whereas the psalmist has been speaking of “enemies,” “pursuers” and “adversaries,” here he compares his foe to “a lion.” This would fit the fact of King Saul’s being David’s real enemy, his soldiers, retainers, and supporters also being David’s adversaries.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 17:10. Fat is from CHELEB and Strong defines it, “from an unused root meaning to be fat; fat, whether literal or figurative; hence the richest or choice part.” These enemies of David were rich and were allowing their wealth to blind them to the regard they should have for others.
Psa 17:11. The enemies had surrounded David’s pathway, seeking to interfere with his progress. Eyes bowing down means the enemies had their eyes on the lower plain of life thinking to drag David down to it.
Psa 17:12. A lion is like all of the cat family in that he crouches in hidden places, waiting to spring upon his helpless prey.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
They are: Psa 73:7-9, Psa 119:70, Deu 32:15, Job 15:27, Isa 6:10, Mat 13:15, Act 28:27
with: Psa 12:3, Psa 12:4, Psa 31:18, Psa 123:4, Exo 5:2, Exo 15:9, 1Sa 2:3, 2Pe 2:18, Rev 13:5, Rev 13:6
Reciprocal: Deu 31:20 – waxen fat Jdg 3:29 – lusty Job 21:7 – Wherefore Job 21:24 – His breasts Psa 18:27 – bring Psa 73:4 – firm Isa 5:17 – the waste Isa 36:13 – cried Jam 3:5 – so
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 17:10. They are enclosed in their own fat They live in great splendour and prosperity, while I am exercised with many sore troubles. A similar phrase occurs Job 15:27; Psa 73:1. Dr. Dodd considers it as a poetical, or proverbial speech, to signify haughtiness, as caused by wealth or great prosperity; together with that indulgence of the sensual appetites, and disregard to the duties of religion, which are a consequence of such haughtiness. Jeshurun waxed fat, that is, rich and prosperous; and the consequence was, that he kicked, grew refractory, proud, and insolent, and would not submit to the yoke of Gods law, but lifted up the heel against him. The psalmist adds here, They speak proudly Boasting of their own power, and of the great things they had done, or would do. Pride, says Dr. Horne, is the child of plenty, begotten by self- indulgence, which hardens the hearts of men against the fear of God and the love of their neighbours; rendering them insensible of the judgments of the former and the miseries of the latter. Let every man take care, adds he, that by pampering the flesh, he do not raise up an enemy of this stamp against himself.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
17:10 They are inclosed in their own {i} fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
(i) They are puffed up with pride, as the stomach that is choked with fat.