Psalms 53:5

5 There they shall be in great terror, in terror such as has not been. For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

Psalms 53:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 53:5

There were they in great, fear, [where] no fear was
Before; neither of God nor man, nor any dread of punishment, but the utmost security, ( Revelation 18:7 Revelation 18:8 Revelation 18:10 ) ; also (See Gill on Psalms 14:5);

for God hath scattered the bones of [him] that encampeth [against]
thee;
either against Christ, or against his church and people; who set themselves against the person, office, and grace of Christ, and seek to distress and destroy his interest: "the bones [of such] God will scatter": that is, he will destroy antichrist and his armies, which are his strength, as the bones are the strength of the human body; and make such a carnage of them, that the fowls of the air shall eat their flesh, and their bones shall be scattered here and there; see ( Revelation 19:17-21 ) . So the Targum,

``for God scatters the strength of the armies of the wicked.''

Kimchi interprets it of the bones of the nations that shall encamp against Jerusalem, in the days of Gog; see ( Revelation 20:8 Revelation 20:9 ) ; and Aben Ezra observes, that "thee" respects either God or the Messiah;

thou hast put [them] to shame;
this is either an address of the psalmist unto God, declaring what he had done; or rather of God the Father to his Son Christ Jesus; and so Kimchi and Ben Melech say this refers to the Messiah: and it may be expressive of the shame and confusion that antichrist and his followers will be thrown into, when they shall make war with the Lamb, and he shall overcome them, ( Revelation 17:14 ) ;

because God hath despised them;
or rejected them as reprobates; given them up to a reprobate mind; and being ungodly men, has before ordained them to this condemnation. The Targum is,

``for the Word of the Lord hath rejected them;''

as filthy, loathsome, and abominable, and cast them alive into the lake of fire, ( Revelation 19:20 ) .

Psalms 53:5 In-Context

3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
5 There they shall be in great terror, in terror such as has not been. For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb [him who encamps against you]
  • [b]. Gk: Heb [you have put (them) to shame]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.