Psalms 78:63
in Psalms 78Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Fire devoured their young men; And their virgins had no marriage-song.
KJV
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
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This verse in Psalms 78
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
God was furious and rejected Israel completely
on Psalms 78:59-64
God abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh and gave His strength to captivity, which is the ark taken by the Philistines at 1 Samuel 4:11. The judgment fell across the nation, fire on the young men, priests falling by the sword, maidens without wedding songs. The widows could not lament.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Their young men the fire devoured:" that is, wrath. "And their virgins mourned not" [Psalm 78:63]. For not even for this was there leisure, in fear of the foe.
"Their young men the fire devoured:" that is, wrath. "And their virgins mourned not" [Psalm 78:63]. For not even for this was there leisure, in fear of the foe.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The fire consumed their young men,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fire--either figure of the slaughter (1Sa 4:10), or a literal burning by the heathen. given to marriage--literally, "praised"--that is, as brides.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The fire consumed their young men. As fire slew Nadab and Abihu literally, so the fire of divine wrath fell on the sons of Eli, who defiled the sanctuary of the Lord, and the like fire, in the form of war, consumed the flower of the people. And their maidens were not given to marriage. No nuptial hymn were sung, the bride lacked her bridegroom, the edge of the sword had cut the bands of their espousals, and left unmarried those who else had been extolled in hymns and congratulations. Thus Israel was brought very low, she could not find husbands for her maids, and therefore her state was not replenished; no young children clustered around parental knees. The nation had failed in its solemn task of instructing the young in the fear of Jehovah, and it was a fitting judgment that the very production of a posterity should be endangered.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The fire consumed their young men. As fire slew Nadab and Abihu literally, so the fire of divine wrath fell on the sons of Eli, who defiled the sanctuary of the Lord, and the like fire, in the form of war, consumed the flower of the people. And their maidens were not given to marriage. No nuptial hymn were sung, the bride lacked her bridegroom, the edge of the sword had cut the bands of their espousals, and left unmarried those who else had been extolled in hymns and congratulations.
Their maidens were not given to marriage - הוללו hullalu, were not celebrated with marriage songs. It is considered a calamity in the east if a maiden arrives at the age of twelve years without being sought or given in marriage.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The fire consumed their young men - Fire here may be regarded as an image of destructive war, as in Num 21:28: “For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab,” etc. The idea here is, that the young people had been cut off in war. And their maidens were not given to marriage - As the young people who would have entered into this relation were cut off in war.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּחוּרָ֥יו | bachurav | young men its | H970 → | 44 times |
| אָֽכְלָה־ | ʾakhelah- | it consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֵ֑שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וּ֝בְתוּלֹתָ֗יו | uvetulotav | and young women its | H1330 → | 50 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הוּלָּֽלוּ׃ | hulalu | they were praised | H1984 → | 165 times |
בַּחוּרָ֥יוyoung men its
bachuravH970 →44 times
אָֽכְלָה־it consumed
ʾakhelah-H398 →810 times
אֵ֑שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
וּ֝בְתוּלֹתָ֗יוand young women its
uvetulotavH1330 →50 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הוּלָּֽלוּ׃they were praised
hulaluH1984 →165 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
Isaiah 4:1In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothes. Just let us be called by your name. Take away…
it leads to
- Genesis 30:23
and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.
- Isaiah 2:17
So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
- Isaiah 13:12
I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.
- Luke 1:25
“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
- Luke 21:22
For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
- Genesis 30:23
Through
Jeremiah 7:34I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 26:13
Through
Jeremiah 16:9For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and…
it leads to
- Hosea 2:11
I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 2:11
Through
Numbers 11:1Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed…
it leads to
- Numbers 21:5
and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
- Numbers 21:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 78; 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).