Psalm 78:57

57 And they turned and were treacherous like their ancestors. They twisted like a crooked bow.

Psalm 78:57 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:57

But turned back
From God and his worship, apostatized from the true religion, and turned to idols:

and dealt unfaithfully, like their fathers;
in the wilderness; see ( Psalms 78:8 Psalms 78:36 Psalms 78:37 ) ,

they were turned aside like a deceitful bow;
that promises well to carry the arrow right, but drops it at the feet of the archer; or carries it another way, so that it misses the mark, The Targum is,

``as a bow casting arrows;''

to the ground, and not to the mark; see ( Hosea 7:16 ) , or being too much stretched is suddenly broken, and kills the archer; or returns to its own nature; so Arama.

Psalm 78:57 In-Context

55 And he drove out nations before them and allocated them for an inheritance by [boundary] line, and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56 But they tested and rebelled against God Most High and did not keep his statutes.

57 And they turned and were treacherous like their ancestors. They twisted like a crooked bow.

58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and made him jealous with their images.

59 God heard and he was very angry and rejected Israel utterly.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "fathers"
• [b] Or "deceitful"