Psalms 78:33

33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.

Psalms 78:33 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:33

Therefore their days did he consume in vanity
They were not immediately cut off by the hand of God, though some were; but the greatest part spent their time, for about eight and thirty years together, in fruitless marches to and fro in the wilderness, and never entered into the land of Canaan, where they were gradually wasted and consumed, till at length all their carcasses fell in the wilderness; see ( Numbers 14:32 Numbers 14:35 ) , time spent in sin is all waste time, and is spent in vanity; let a man enjoy ever so much of worldly things, it is all vanity and vexation of spirit; if he does not get to heaven at last, his life here is lived in vain; it had been better if he had never been born:

and their years in trouble:
or "in terror" F1 and consternation; through their enemies, who smote and discomfited them, ( Numbers 14:45 ) , through the earth's opening and swallowing many of them up; through fire coming from heaven on some of them, and fiery serpents being sent among them all, ( Numbers 16:31 ) ( Numbers 21:6 Numbers 21:7 ) . It is an awful consideration, and yet it is true, of some wicked men, though not all, that they have nothing but trouble here, by what their sins bring upon them, and hell at last. Kimchi renders the word here used "suddenly", and interprets it of the sudden death of the spies; so the Syriac and Arabic versions "swiftly", following the Vulgate Latin, which renders it "with haste".


FOOTNOTES:

F1 (hlhbb) "in terrore", Montanus; "per consternationem aut terrorem", Gejerus; "in terrore et consternatione", Michaelis.

Psalms 78:33 In-Context

31 the anger of God rose against them and he slew the strongest of them, and laid low the picked men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they still sinned; despite his wonders they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.
34 When he slew them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the 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.