Psalms 78:49

49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels.

Psalms 78:49 in Other Translations

KJV
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
ESV
49 He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.
NLT
49 He loosed on them his fierce anger— all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels.
MSG
49 His anger flared, a wild firestorm of havoc, An advance guard of disease-carrying angels
CSB
49 He sent His burning anger against them: fury, indignation, and calamity- a band of deadly messengers.

Psalms 78:49 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:49

He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger
This with the following words,

wrath, and indignation, and trouble,
are thought by some to intend the other plagues, which are not particularly mentioned; or rather they express the manner in which they were all inflicted, in great wrath and hot displeasure for their sins and iniquities, and which particularly were shown

by sending evil angels among them;
not evil in themselves, but because they were the instruments God made use of to bring evil things upon the Egyptians, as good angels often are; though some think that demons, devils, or wicked spirits, were sent among them at that time; the darkness was over all the land, and frightened them; in the Apocrypha:

``3 For while they supposed to lie hid in their secret sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished, and troubled with [strange] apparitions. 4 For neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear: but noises [as of waters] falling down sounded about them, and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances.'' (Wisdom 17)

According to Arama, the three last plagues are meant: the words may be rendered "messengers of evil things" F12, as they are by some, and be understood of Moses and Aaron, who were sent time after time with messages of evil things to Pharaoh, in which were expressed his wrath and fury against them.


FOOTNOTES:

F12 (Myer ykalm) "numcios malorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Psalms 78:49 In-Context

47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility— a band of destroying angels.
50 He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Exodus 15:7
  • 2. S Genesis 19:13; 1 Corinthians 10:10
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