Psalms 75:4
in Psalms 75I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I said unto the arrogant, Deal not arrogantly; And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
KJV
I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
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This verse in Psalms 75
Commentary
10 notes on this verseI said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly. The Lord bids the boasters boast not, and commands the mad oppressors to stay their folly. How calm is he, how quiet are his words, yet how divine the rebuke. If the wicked were not insane, they would even now hear in their consciences the still small voice bidding them cease from evil, and forbear their pride. And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn. He bids the ungodly stay their haughtiness.
This site's exposition
I say to the proud
on Psalms 75:4-5
The warning goes to the proud and to the wicked: keep the boasting down and keep the horn down. A horn on an animal is its strength showing, and Hannah's horn is lifted by the LORD at 1 Samuel 2:1. The neck that will not bend is the second picture.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We have heard now, brethren, that which day by day is not kept secret: let us hear now what He has cried through these pillars....He cries what? "I have said to unjust men, Do not unjustly" [Psalm 75:4]....But already they have done, and they are guilty: already there has flowed down the earth, and all they that dwell therein. Pricked to the heart were they that crucified Christ, [Acts 2:37] they acknowledged their sin, they learned something of the Apostle, that they might not despair of the pardon of the Preacher. For as Physician He had come, and therefore had not come to the whole. "For there is no need," He says, "to the whole of a physician, but to them that are sick. I have not come to call righteous men, but sinners to repentance." [Matthew 9:12-13] Therefore, "I have said to unjust men, Do not unjustly." They heard not. For of old to us it was spoken: we heard not, we fell, were made mortal, were begotten mortal: the earth flowed down. Let them hear the Physician even now in order that they may rise, Him that came to the sick man, Him whom they would not hear when whole in order that they might not fall, let them hear when lying down in order that they may rise...."I have said to unjust men, Do not unjustly; and to the delinquent, Do not exalt your horn." There shall be exalted in you the horn of Christ, if your horn be not exalted. Your horn is of iniquity, the horn of Christ is of majesty.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This agrees with David's resolutions, Ps. ci. Herein David was a type of Christ, who with the breath of his mouth shall slay the wicked, but shall exalt with honour the horn of the righteous, Ps. cxii.
I said unto the fools,....
Let not the anti-christian power, with its heads and horns, lift up itself against him, for it shall certainly be broken to pieces; what is said with a stiff neck must be unsaid again with a broken heart, or we are undone. Pharaoh said with a stiff neck, Who is the Lord?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Here the writer speaks in view of God's declaration, warning the wicked. Lift . . . up the horn--to exalt power, here, of the wicked himself--that is, to be arrogant or self-elated.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly. The Lord bids the boasters boast not, and commands the mad oppressors to stay their folly. How calm is he, how quiet are his words, yet how divine the rebuke. If the wicked were not insane, they would even now hear in their consciences the still small voice bidding them cease from evil, and forbear their pride. And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn. He bids the ungodly stay their haughtiness. The horn was the emblem of boastful power; only the foolish, like wild and savage beasts, will lift it high; but they assail heaven itself with it, as if they would gore the Almighty himself. In dignified majesty he rebukes the inane glories of the wicked, who beyond measure exalt themselves in the day of their fancied power.
I said unto the fools - I have given the idolatrous Chaldeans sufficient warning to abandon their idols, and worship the true God; but they would not. I have also charged the wicked, to whom for a season I have delivered you because of your transgressions, not to lift up their horn - not to use their power to oppress and destroy. They have, notwithstanding, abused their power in the persecutions with which they have afflicted you. For all these things they shall shortly be brought to an awful account. On the term horn, see the note on Luk 1:69.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I said unto the fools - To the wicked people in rebellion. Folly and wickedness in the Bible are synonymous terms, as they are identical in fact. See the notes at Psa 14:1. Deal not foolishly - Act not foolishly; carry not out your wicked plans. Do not pursue your schemes of wickedness and folly, for they cannot be successful, and they will only tend to involve you in ruin. And to the wicked - The wicked people engaged in rebellion - either against a lawful human government, or against God. Lift not up the horn - The horn is a symbol of strength. Compare Job 16:15; Dan 7:7-8, Dan 7:11, Dan 7:21; Dan 8:5, Dan 8:8-9, Dan 8:21. This is to be understood as the language of the person represented as speaking in the psalm - whether a prince, or whether God himself. It is counsel addressed to the wicked, that they should not attempt to put forth their strength in the accomplishment of their evil purposes. The reason given for this is stated in Psa 75:6, namely, that success does not depend on chance, or on human power, but must come from God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
When the earth and all its inhabitants were melting away, etc.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
When I take a festive day When we have a festival, we do not engage in obscenity and levity, as [do] all the nations.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָמַ֣רְתִּי | ʾamarti | I say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַֽ֭הוֹלְלִים | laholim | to the boasters | H1984 → | 165 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תָּהֹ֑לּוּ | taholu | you boast | H1984 → | 165 times |
| וְ֝לָרְשָׁעִ֗ים | velareshaim | and to the wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תָּרִ֥ימוּ | tarimu | you lift up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| קָֽרֶן׃ | karen | a horn | H7161 → | 76 times |
אָמַ֣רְתִּיI say
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
לַֽ֭הוֹלְלִיםto the boasters
laholimH1984 →165 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תָּהֹ֑לּוּyou boast
taholuH1984 →165 times
וְ֝לָרְשָׁעִ֗יםand to the wicked [people]
velareshaimH7563 →263 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תָּרִ֥ימוּyou lift up
tarimuH7311 →190 times
קָֽרֶן׃a horn
karenH7161 →76 times
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
Psalms 148:14He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!
it leads to
- Psalms 75:10
“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 2:17
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
- Deuteronomy 4:7
For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?
- 1 Samuel 2:1
At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD in whom my horn is exalted. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.
- Psalms 112:9
He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Psalms 75:10
Through
Proverbs 8:5O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:22
“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
- Proverbs 1:22
Through
Proverbs 1:22“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
it leads to
- John 3:20
Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
- Psalms 1:1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
- John 3:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 75; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.