Psalms 78:64
in Psalms 78His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Their priests fell by the sword; And their widows made no lamentation.
KJV
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
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This verse in Psalms 78
Commentary
9 notes on this verseTheir priests fell by the sword - Hophni and Phinehas, who were slain in that unfortunate battle against the Philistines in which the ark of the Lord was taken, 1Sa 4:11. A Chaldee Targum on this passage says, “In the time in which the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines, Hophni and Phinehas, the two priests, fell by the sword at Shiloh; and when the news was brought, their wives made no lamentation, for they both died the same day.”
This 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 priests fell by the sword, and their widows were not lamented" [Psalm 78:64]. For there fell by the sword the sons of Heli, of one of whom the wife being widowed, and presently dying in child-birth, [1 Samuel 4:19] because of the same confusion could not be mourned with the distinction of a funeral.
"Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows were not lamented" [Psalm 78:64]. For there fell by the sword the sons of Heli, of one of whom the wife being widowed, and presently dying in child-birth, [1 Samuel 4:19] because of the same confusion could not be mourned with the distinction of a funeral.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Priests - Hophni and Phinehas. No lamentation - No funeral solemnities; either because they were prevented by their own death, as the wife of Phinehas was, or disturbed by the invasion of the enemy.
Their priests fell by the sword,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Their priests fell by the sword. Hophni and Phineas were slain; they were among the chief in sin, and, therefore, they perished with the rest. Priesthood is no shelter for transgressors; the jewelled breastplate cannot turn aside the arrows of judgment. And their widows made no lamentation. Their private griefs were swallowed up in the greater national agony, because the ark of God was taken. As the maidens had no heart for the marriage song, so the widows had no spirit, even to utter the funeral wail. The dead were buried too often and too hurriedly to allow of the usual rites of lamentation. This was the lowest depth; from this point things will take a gracious turn.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Their priests fell by the sword. Hophni and Phineas were slain; they were among the chief in sin, and, therefore, they perished with the rest. Priesthood is no shelter for transgressors; the jewelled breastplate cannot turn aside the arrows of judgment. And their widows made no lamentation. Their private griefs were swallowed up in the greater national agony, because the ark of God was taken. As the maidens had no heart for the marriage song, so the widows had no spirit, even to utter the funeral wail.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Their priests fell by the sword - Compare 1Sa 4:11. It was considered a special calamity that the ministers of religion were cut down in war. And their widows made no lamentation - That is, the public troubles were so great, the danger was still so imminent, the calamities thickened so fast, that there was no opportunity for public mourning by formal processions of women, and loud lamentations, such as were usual on these occasions. See the notes at Job 27:15. The meaning is not that there was a want of affection or attachment on the part of the friends of the slain, or that there was no real grief, but that there was no opportunity for displaying it in the customary manner.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֭הֲנָיו | kohanav | priests its | H3548 → | 750 times |
| בַּחֶ֣רֶב | bacherev | by the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| נָפָ֑לוּ | nafalu | they fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| וְ֝אַלְמְנֹתָ֗יו | vealmenotav | and widows its | H490 → | 56 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִבְכֶּֽינָה׃ | tivkeinah | they wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
כֹּ֭הֲנָיוpriests its
kohanavH3548 →750 times
בַּחֶ֣רֶבby the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
נָפָ֑לוּthey fell
nafaluH5307 →435 times
וְ֝אַלְמְנֹתָ֗יוand widows its
vealmenotavH490 →56 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִבְכֶּֽינָה׃they wept
tivkeinahH1058 →114 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
1 Samuel 4:11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:34
And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
- Isaiah 3:11
Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- 1 Samuel 2:32
You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age.
- 1 Samuel 2:34
Through
Ezekiel 24:23Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:39
Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers.
- Ezekiel 33:10
Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because…
- Ezekiel 4:17
So they will lack food and water; they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.
- Leviticus 26:39
Through
Job 27:15His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:3–4
So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:
- 1 Kings 16:3–4
Through
1 Samuel 4:17The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:11
Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle.
- 1 Samuel 3:11
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.