Psalms 78:57

57 They turned away and were disloyal just like their ancestors. They were like a crooked bow that does not shoot straight.

Psalms 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.

Psalms 78:57 In-Context

55 He forced out the other nations, and he had his people inherit the land. He let the tribes of Israel settle there in tents.

56 But they tested God and turned against God Most High; they did not keep his rules.

57 They turned away and were disloyal just like their ancestors. They were like a crooked bow that does not shoot straight.

58 They made God angry by building places to worship gods; they made him jealous with their idols.

59 When God heard them, he became very angry and rejected the people of Israel completely.