Psalms 57:4
in Psalms 57My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
KJV
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
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This verse in Psalms 57
Commentary
4 notes on this verseMy soul is among lions,.... Not literally understood; though such there might be in the wildernesses where he sometimes was; but figuratively, men comparable to lions, for their stoutness, courage, strength, fierceness, and cruelty; meaning not his own men, as some think, who were fierce, and of keen resentment against Saul, and would fain have killed him when he was in the cave, had they not been restrained by David, 1Sa 24:4; but Saul, and those with him, who were three thousand chosen men, stout, courageous, fierce, and furious.
This site's exposition
He reaches down from heaven and saves me
on Psalms 57:3-5
God reaches down from heaven and sends out His loving devotion and truth, the way light and truth are sent out at Psalm 43:3. Verse 4 names the weapon: teeth that are spears and arrows, tongues that are sharp swords. Verse 5 lifts the prayer over the danger, and verse 11 repeats it.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
My soul is among lions. He was a very Daniel. Howled at, hunted, wounded, but not slain. His place was in itself one of extreme peril, and yet faith made him feel himself secure, so that he could lie down. The cave may have reminded him of a lion's den, and Saul and his band shouting and yelling in their disappointment at missing him, were the lions; yet beneath the divine shelter he finds himself safe. And I lie even among them that are set on fire.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The mingled figures of wild beasts (Ps 10:9; 17:12) and weapons of war (Ps 11:2) heighten the picture of danger. whose . . . tongue--or slanders.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נַפְשִׁ֤י׀ | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בְּת֥וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| לְבָאִם֮ | levaim | lions | H3833 → | |
| אֶשְׁכְּבָ֪ה | ʾeshkevah | I lie with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| לֹ֫הֲטִ֥ים | lohatim | [those that] devour | H3857 → | 11 times |
| בְּֽנֵי־ | benei- | [the] children of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| שִׁ֭נֵּיהֶם | shineihem | teeth their | H8127 → | 55 times |
| חֲנִ֣ית | chanit | [are] a spear | H2595 → | 47 times |
| וְחִצִּ֑ים | vechitzim | and arrows | H2671 → | 53 times |
| וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗ם | uleshonam | and tongue their | H3956 → | 117 times |
| חֶ֣רֶב | cherev | [is] a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| חַדָּֽה׃ | chadah | sharp | H2299 → |
נַפְשִׁ֤י׀self my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
בְּת֥וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
לְבָאִם֮lions
levaimH3833 →
אֶשְׁכְּבָ֪הI lie with
ʾeshkevahH7901 →212 times
לֹ֫הֲטִ֥ים[those that] devour
lohatimH3857 →11 times
בְּֽנֵי־[the] children of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
שִׁ֭נֵּיהֶםteeth their
shineihemH8127 →55 times
חֲנִ֣ית[are] a spear
chanitH2595 →47 times
וְחִצִּ֑יםand arrows
vechitzimH2671 →53 times
וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗םand tongue their
uleshonamH3956 →117 times
חֶ֣רֶב[is] a sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
חַדָּֽה׃sharp
chadahH2299 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 30:14there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men.
it leads to
- Psalms 3:7
Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 29:17
I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 14:4
Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
- Psalms 3:7
Through
Psalms 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
it leads to
- Proverbs 5:3–4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Psalms 64:3
who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
- Proverbs 5:3–4
Through
Psalms 35:17How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 1:13
Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than…
- Habakkuk 1:13
About Psalms
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).