Psalms 79:3

3 They dumped out their blood like buckets of water. All around Jerusalem, their bodies were left to rot, unburied.

Psalms 79:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 79:3

Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem,
&c.] Without any concern of mind, or remorse of conscience; without any fear of God or man; as if it had been so much water only; and this they shed in great abundance: from the Apocrypha:

``And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.'' (1 Maccabees 1:24)

``And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel.'' (1 Maccabees 1:30)

``Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it:'' (1 Maccabees 1:37)

``So they rose up against them in battle on the sabbath, and they slew them, with their wives and children and their cattle, to the number of a thousand people.'' (1 Maccabees 2:38)

in like manner the blood of the saints has been shed by the antichristian beast of Rome, for which he and his followers will be righteously retaliated, ( Revelation 17:6 ) ( 18:24 ) ( 16:6 )

and there was none to bury them:
either the number of the slain was so great, that there were not left enough to bury the dead, or they that did remain were not suffered to do it; this will be the case of the two witnesses, when slain, ( Revelation 11:7-9 ) .

Psalms 79:3 In-Context

1 God! Barbarians have broken into your home, violated your holy temple, left Jerusalem a pile of rubble!
2 They've served up the corpses of your servants as carrion food for birds of prey, Threw the bones of your holy people out to the wild animals to gnaw on.
3 They dumped out their blood like buckets of water. All around Jerusalem, their bodies were left to rot, unburied.
4 We're nothing but a joke to our neighbors, graffiti scrawled on the city walls.
5 How long do we have to put up with this, God? Do you have it in for us for good? Will your smoldering rage never cool down?
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.