Psalm 55:15

15 Let death come ¹deceitfully upon them; Let them ²go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

Psalm 55:15 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 55:15

Let death seize upon them
Ahithophel and his accomplices, Judas and the men with him; as a mighty man, as the king of terrors, and shake them to pieces. Or, "let him exact upon them" {a}; as a creditor upon the debtor, and demand the debt of punishment for sin: or let him come upon them at an unawares; let them not die a natural, but a violent death. The Targum mentions Doeg and Ahithophel;

[and] let them, go down quick into hell:
as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, went down quick or alive into the earth; so let these men die, and descend into the grave, in their full strength; and accordingly Absalom and Ahithophel died sudden and violent deaths, ( 2 Samuel 17:23 ) ( 18:9 ) ; and so did Judas, ( Matthew 27:5 ) ; and the beast and false prophet, another part of the antitype, will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire, ( Revelation 19:20 ) ;

for wickedness [is] in their dwellings;
and dwells in them; wherever they go or sojourn, this goes and abides with them, being the reigning principle in their hearts and lives;

[and] among them;
in the midst of them; their inward part is very wickedness. The Targum is, "in their bodies". But rather the sense is, in their hearts; wickedness was both in their houses and in their hearts, and is the reason of the imprecation on them; which arises not from a revengeful spirit, but from a zeal for the glory of God; and is to be considered as a prophecy of what would be, and not to be drawn into an example for private Christians to act by.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (yvy) "exigat debitum", Pagninus; "aget vel agat exactorem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Amama.

Psalm 55:15 In-Context

13 But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend;

14 We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng.

15 Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

16 As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me.

17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 64:7; Proverbs 6:15; Isaiah 47:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:3
• 2. Numbers 16:30, 33

Footnotes

• [a] Another reading is "desolations be upon them"
• [b] I.e. the nether world