Psalms 21:10
in Psalms 21You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Their fruit wilt thou destroy from the earth, And their seed from among the children of men.
KJV
Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
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This verse in Psalms 21
Commentary
11 notes on this verseBut the seed of the godless and the fruit of the wicked are their words, teachings and unrighteous writings, which they have disseminated through people after they are forgotten. God, being good, scatters each one and destroys them from the midst so that neither the fruit nor the seed of the wicked remains.
This site's exposition
wipe their descendants from the earth
on Psalms 21:10-12
The sentence reaches the enemies' descendants and their offspring, a whole line wiped from the earth. Verse 11 gives the ground for it, that they intended harm against God Himself and their schemes failed. They turn and run when the bow is trained on them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Their fruit shall You destroy out of the earth." Their fruit, because it is earthly, shall You destroy out of the earth. "And their seed from the sons of men" [Psalm 21:10]. And their works; or, whomsoever they have seduced, You shall not reckon among the sons of men, whom You have called into the everlasting inheritance.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Their fruit." Here the deprivation of goods is set forth. The goods that men have in this world are of two kinds: some by which men desire to enjoy themselves in this life, and some they wish to leave behind them: and they shall lose …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The enemies of God's kingdom, in every age, shall fall under the same doom, and the whole generation of them will at last be rooted out, and all opposing rule, principality, and power, shall be put down.
Their fruit shall thou destroy from the earth,....
In this there is an eye to Messiah the Prince, and the glory of his kingdom; for to him divers passages in this psalm are more applicable than to David himself. The Subject's Thanksgiving. 1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O L ORD ; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth." Their life's work shall be a failure, and the result of their toil shall be disappointment. That in which they prided themselves shall be forgotten; their very names shall be wiped out as abominable, "and their seed from among the children of men." Their posterity following in their footsteps shall meet with a similar overthrow, till at last the race shall come to an end.
"Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth." Their life's work shall be a failure, and the result of their toil shall be disappointment. That in which they prided themselves shall be forgotten; their very names shall be wiped out as abominable, "and their seed from among the children of men." Their posterity following in their footsteps shall meet with a similar overthrow, till at last the race shall come to an end. Doubtless the blessing of God is often handed down by the righteous to their sons, as almost a heirloom in the family, while the dying sinner bequeaths a curse to his descendants. If men will hate the Son of God, they must not wonder if their own sons meet with no favour.
Their fruit shalt thou destroy - Even their posterity shall be cut off, and thus their memorial shall perish.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Their fruit - Their offspring; their children; their posterity, for so the parallelism demands. The “fruit” is that which the tree produces; and hence, the word comes to be applied to children as the production of the parent. See this use of the word in Gen 30:2; Exo 21:22; Deu 28:4, Deu 28:11, Deu 28:18; Psa 127:3; Hos 9:16; Mic 6:7. Shalt thou destroy from the earth - Thou shalt utterly destroy them. This is in accordance with the statement so often made in the Scriptures, and with what so often occurs in fact, that the consequences of the sins of parents pass over to their posterity, and that they suffer in consequence of those sins. Compare Exo 20:5; Exo 34:7; Lev 20:5; Lev 26:39; compare the notes at Rom 5:12-21. And their seed - Their posterity. From among the children of men - From among men, or the human family. That is, they would be entirely cut off from the earth. The truth taught here is, that the wicked will ultimately be destroyed, and that God will obtain a complete triumph over them, or that the kingdom of righteousness shall be at length completely established. A time will come when truth and justice shall be triumphant, when all the wicked shall be removed out of the way; when all that oppose God and his cause shall be destroyed, and when God shall show, by thus removing and punishing the wicked, that he is the Friend of all that is true, and good, and right. The “idea” of the psalmist probably was that this would yet occur on the earth; the “language” is such, also, as may be applied to that ultimate state, in the future world, when all the wicked shall be destroyed, and the righteous shall be no more troubled with them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
at the time of Your anger Heb. פניך, at the time of Your fury.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
You shall destroy their fruit from the earth He prays to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He destroy the descendants of the wicked Esau.
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. 3 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פִּ֭רְיָמוֹ | piryamo | descendant[s] their | H6529 → | 119 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| תְּאַבֵּ֑ד | teabed | you will destroy | H6 → | 184 times |
| וְ֝זַרְעָ֗ם | vezaram | and offspring their | H2233 → | 229 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֥י | mibenei | from [the] children of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָֽם׃ | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
פִּ֭רְיָמוֹdescendant[s] their
piryamoH6529 →119 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] earth
meeretzH776 →2504 times
תְּאַבֵּ֑דyou will destroy
teabedH6 →184 times
וְ֝זַרְעָ֗םand offspring their
vezaramH2233 →229 times
מִבְּנֵ֥יfrom [the] children of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
אָדָֽם׃humankind
ʾadamH120 →551 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 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Psalms 11:7
For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
- Isaiah 59:21
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your…
- 1 Peter 1:5
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Isaiah 14:20–21
You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned.
- Proverbs 2:22
Through
Isaiah 14:20You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned.
it leads to
- Job 18:19
He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 18:19
Through
Psalms 109:13May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Psalms 37:28
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
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 21; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 21:11; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.