Psalms 44:12

12 You 1sell Your people cheaply *, And have not profited by their sale.

Psalms 44:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 44:12

Thou sellest thy people for nought
So God, when he is said to deliver up his people into the hands of their enemies, is said to sell them to them; see ( Judges 2:14 ) ( 3:8 ) ( 4:2 ) ; and selling them for nought suggests, that in their apprehensions he had no esteem of them and value for them; just as men, when they have any person or thing to dispose of they have no regard unto, but choose to be rid of, will part with it for nothing: and as it follows, and dost not increase [thy wealth] by their price;
get nothing by the bargain. This must be understood after the manner of men, and in the opinion of the church, and not as in reality; no otherwise than as it has been true, that God has suffered some of his people to be in the bondage and slavery of mystical Babylon, called Egypt, one part of whose wares and merchandises are slaves and souls of men, ( Revelation 11:8 ) ( 18:13 ) .

Psalms 44:12 In-Context

10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary; And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11 You give us as sheep to be eaten And have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sell Your people cheaply , And have not profited by their sale.
13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to those around us.
14 You make us a byword among the nations, A laughingstock among the peoples.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Judges 3:8; Isaiah 52:3, 4; Jeremiah 15:13

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Lit "for no wealth"
  • [b]. Or "set a high price on them"
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