Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 2:5
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
5. Then ] There is a limit to the divine patience. He will not always look on in silence. If they persist in their folly He must speak, and His word (like that of His representative, Isa 11:4) is power.
vex ] Trouble, confound, dismay, with panic terror, paralysing their efforts. Cp. Psa 48:5; Psa 83:15; Psa 83:17.
in his sore displeasure ] Lit. fiery wrath (Exo 15:7), a word used almost exclusively of divine anger.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then shall he speak unto them – That is, this seeming indifference and unconcern will not last forever. He will not always look calmly on, nor will he suffer them to accomplish their purposes without interposing. When he has shown how he regards their schemes – how impotent they are, how much they are really the objects of derision, considered as an attempt to cast off his authority – he will interpose and declare his own purposes – his determination to establish his king on the hill of Zion. This is implied in the word then.
In his wrath – In anger. His contempt for their plans will be followed by indignation against themselves for forming such plans, and for their efforts to execute them. One of these things is not inconsistent with the other, for the purpose of the rebels may be very weak and futile, and yet their wickedness in forming the plan may be very great. The weakness of the scheme, and the fact that it will be vain, does not change the character of him who has made it; the fact that he is foolish does not prove that he is not wicked. God will treat the scheme and those who form it as they deserve – the one with contempt, the other with his wrath. The word wrath here, it is hardly necessary to say, should be interpreted in the same manner as the word laugh in Psa 2:4, not as denoting a feeling precisely like that which exists in the human mind, subject as man is to unreasonable passion, but as it is proper to apply it to God – the strong conviction (without passion or personal feeling) of the evil of sin, and the expression of his purpose in a manner adapted to show that evil, and to restrain others from its commission. It means that he will speak to them as if he were angry; or that his treatment of them will be such as men experience from others when they are angry.
And vex them – The word here rendered vex – bahal – means in the original or Qal form, to tremble; and then, in the form used here, the Piel, to cause to tremble, to terrify, to strike with consternation. This might be done either by a threat or by some judgment indicative of displeasure or anger. Psa 83:15; Dan 11:44; Job 22:10. The idea here is that he would alarm them, or make them quake with fear, by what is specified of his purpose; to wit, by his determination to set his King on his holy hill, and by placing the scepter of the earth in his hands. Their designs, therefore, would be frustrated, and if they did not submit to him they must perish (see Psa 2:9-12).
In his sore displeasure – literally, in his heat or burning, that is, in his anger; as we speak of one that is inflamed with anger, or that burns with indignation; or, as we speak of the passions, kindling into a flame. The meaning here is, that God would be displeased with their purposes, and that the expression of his design would be adapted to fill them with the deepest alarm. Of course, all such words are to be interpreted in accordance with what we know to be the nature of God, and not in accordance with the same passions in men. God is opposed to sin, and will express his opposition as if he felt angry, but it will be in the most calm manner, and not as the result of passion. It will be simply because it ought to be so.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath] He did so to the Jews who rejected the Gospel, and vexed and ruined them by the Roman armies; he did so with the opposing Roman emperors, destroying all the contending factions, till he brought the empire under the dominion of one, and him he converted to Christianity viz., Constantine the Great.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then; in the midst of all their plots and confidences of success.
Shall he speak to them in his wrath; he shall severely rebuke them, not so much verbally as really, by dreadful judgments. For Gods speaking is oft put for his actions; and so here it is explained by vexing in the next branch. Or, he shall pronounce a terrible sentence against them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. Then shall he speakHisrighteous indignation as well as contempt is roused. For God to speakis for Him to act, for what He resolves He will do (Gen 1:3;Psa 33:9).
vex themagitate orterrify them (Ps 83:15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,…. Or, “and he shall speak to them”; so Noldius: that is, the Lord that sits in the heavens, and laughs, and has the Heathen, the people, the kings and rulers in derision, shall not only silently despise their furious and concerted opposition to him and his Messiah, but shall at last speak out unto them, not in his word, but in his providences; and not in love, as to his own people, when he chastises them, but in great wrath, inflicting severe and just punishment. It seems to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem, after the crucifixion, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; and after the pouring out of the Spirit, and when the Gospel, to their great mortification, had got ground, and made large advances in the Gentile world;
and vex them in his sore displeasure; or “in the heat of his anger” e: see De 29:24, where the Holy Ghost speaks of the same people, and of the same ruin and destruction of them at the same time, as here: and as the carrying of the Jews captive into Babylon is called their vexation, Isa 9:1; much more may their destruction by the Romans; then it was they howled for vexation of spirit, Isa 65:14; the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermost; they were filled with trouble and confusion, with terror and consternation, as the word f used signifies; they were vexed to see themselves straitened and pent in on every side by the Roman armies, oppressed with famine and internal divisions, rapine and murder; to see their temple profaned and burnt, their city plundered and destroyed, and themselves taken and carried captive: and what most of all vexed them was, that their attempts against Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah, were fruitless; and that, notwithstanding all their opposition to him, his name was famous, his interest increased, his kingdom was enlarged, through the spread of his Gospel among the Gentiles; and what Jehovah in Ps 2:6 says, though it is to the comfort of his people, was to their terror and vexation.
e “in aestu irae suae”, Junius Tremellius. f “conturbabit”, V. L. Vatablus, Gejerus so Musculus; Junius Tremellius, Piscator “terrebit”, Pagninus, Montanus; so Cocceius, Michaelis; see Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Moreover, he ascribes speech to God, not for the purpose of instructing his enemies, but only to convict them of their madness; indeed, by the term speak, he means nothing else than a manifestation of God’s wrath, which the ungodly do not perceive until they feel it. The enemies of David thought it would be the easiest thing in the world for them to destroy one who, coming from a mean shepherd’s cot, had, in their view, (27) presumptuously assumed the sovereign power. The prophecy and anointing of Samuel were, in their estimation, mere ridiculous pretences. But when God had at length overthrown them, and settled David on the throne, he, by this act, spoke not so much with his tongue as with his hand, to manifest himself the founder of David’s kingdom. The Psalmist hereon then, refers to speaking by actions, by which the Lord, without uttering a single word, makes manifest his purpose. In like manner, whenever he defends the kingdom of his Son against the ungodly, by the tokens and inflictions of his wrath, although he does not speak a single word, yet in effect he speaks enough to make himself understood. (28) David afterwards, speaking in the name of God, shows more clearly how his enemies were guilty of wickedly fighting against God himself in the hatred which they bore towards him whom God had made king. The sum is this: Wicked men may now conduct themselves as wickedly as they please, but they shall at length feel what it is to make war against heaven. The pronoun I is also emphatical, by which God signifies that he is so far exalted above the men of this world, that the whole mass of them could not possibly obscure his glory in the least degree. As often, then, as the power of man appears formidable to us, let us remember how much it is transcended by the power of God. In these words there is set before us the unchangeable and eternal purpose of God effectually to defend, even to the end, the kingdom of his Son, of which he is the founder; and this may well support our faith amidst the troublous storms of the world. Whatever plots, therefore, men may form against it, let this one consideration be sufficient to satisfy us, that they cannot render ineffectual the anointing of God. Mention is here made of mount Sion in express terms, not because David was first anointed thereon but because at length, in God’s own time, the truth of the prophecy was manifested and actually established by the solemn rite of his consecration. And although David in these words had a regard to the promise of God, and recalled the attention of himself and others to it, yet, at the same time, he meant to signify that his own reign is holy and inseparably connected with the temple of God. But this applies more appropriately to the kingdom of Christ, which we know to be both spiritual and joined to the priesthood, and this is the principal part of the worship of God.
(27) Il avoit a Leur avis. — Fr.
(28) Encore qu’il ne dise un seul, si est ce qu’en effect il parle assez pour se faire entendre. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) Then.An emphatic particle, marking the climax; possibly equal to Lo! behold. The grand roll of the words in the original is like the roll of the thunder, and is rendered more effective by its contrast with the quiet manner of Psa. 2:4.
And vex them.Literally, and greatly (the verb is in the intensive conjugation) terrify them in his nostrils and in his heat.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Then Emphatic. At the moment when their “counsel” was about to be executed: at the crisis when they expected success. See Deu 29:19-20; where “then” indicates that point where success was looked for. The connexion shows that God had suffered them to prosper for a time, but at length “he arose to judgment.” Psa 76:9.
Speak God speaks in his acts as well as his words. The context shows that the speaking is in wrathful judgment, and that men shall hear and know.
Vex He will perplex and terrify them by a sudden miscarriage of their plans. See Exo 14:24-25
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 2:5. Then shall he speak unto them This denotes, not God’s speaking to them by an audible voice; but his making them know, to their full conviction, by the disappointment of their schemes, and the vengeance taken of them, that David was established king in Jerusalem, and should reign in his son the Messiah throughout all generations. For David declares that God would speak to them in his wrath; i.e. by the effects of it; a language the most expressive and convincing of all others. The word bahal rendered vex (in the Margin of our Bibles, trouble,) has a very strong and significant meaning; it implies, that God should put them into the utmost terror, and consternation of mind, and deprive them of all power and ability of soul and body, to save themselves from the vengeance which should be executed on them.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Ver. 5. Then shall he speak unto them, &c. ] Heb. He shall tell them, viz. a piece of his mind, to their small comfort. As a great prince sitting on a lofty throne berateth his rebels when once he hath brought them before him, and pronounceth sentence upon them in fierce wrath, see Jer 52:9 , so will the King of heaven do by his sturdy refractories. Whether he will speak unto them by his words or by his rods, Job 33:14 ; Job 33:19-21 , and when he will do it he hath reserved in his own power and pleasure, Act 1:7 , but sooner or later he will not fail to do it; and
Poena venit gravior, quo mage sera venit.
And vex them ] Or trouble them, as he did the builders of Babel, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, others; either by horror or conscience or corporal plagues, one way or the other he will have his penny worth of them, as he had of the old and late persecutors of his people.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Then: Psa 50:16-22, Isa 11:4, Isa 66:6, Mat 22:7, Mat 23:33-36, Luk 19:27, Luk 19:43, Luk 19:44, Rev 1:16, Rev 19:15
vex: or, trouble
sore: Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6, Zec 1:15
Reciprocal: Job 36:18 – Because Psa 2:12 – when Psa 6:1 – rebuke Psa 6:10 – sore Psa 21:9 – in his Psa 76:12 – He shall Psa 98:1 – his right Psa 109:20 – Let this Isa 25:11 – he shall bring Isa 30:30 – the Lord Mic 4:3 – and rebuke Mat 21:41 – He will
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 2:5. Then In the midst of all their plots and confidence of success; shall he speak unto them in his wrath That is, severely rebuke them, not only by his prophets and other messengers in words, but by dreadful judgments, the effects of his wrath, which he will execute upon them. He shall make them know, to their full conviction, by the disappointment of their schemes and the vengeance taken on them, 1st, That David is established king in Jerusalem; and, 2d, That the Messiah, his son, shall reign throughout all generations. In other words, by pouring out his indignation on the adversaries of his anointed king, he shall no less evidently convict and reprove their folly and impiety than if he had actually spoken to them in terrible majesty from his eternal throne. The word , jebahaleemo, in the next clause, rendered vex, and in the margin, trouble them, has a very strong meaning, implying that God would put them into the utmost terror and consternation of mind, and deprive them of all power and ability of soul and body, to save themselves from the vengeance which should be executed upon them: a prediction most awfully verified in the terrible destruction which came upon the murderers of Christ and the persecutors of his church and people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:5 {c} Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
(c) God’s plagues will declare that in resisting his Christ, they fought against him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God also spoke to the nations. What He said, He spoke in anger, because they had refused to submit to the authority of His king, who was an extension of Himself.