Psalms 48:4
in Psalms 48For behold, the kings assembled; they all advanced together.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together.
KJV
For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
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This verse in Psalms 48
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe kings were assembled, they passed by together. They came and they went. No sooner together than scattered. They came one way and fled twenty ways. Boastful the gathering hosts with their royal leaders, despairing the fugitive bands with their astonished captains. They came like foam on the angry sea, like foam they melted away. This was so remarkable that the psalmist puts in a note of exclamation, Lo! What! have they so suddenly fled! Even thus shall the haters of the church vanish from the field.
This site's exposition
For behold, the kings assembled
on Psalms 48:4-6
For behold, the kings assembled names a deliverance the psalm never dates or locates. They saw the city, were astounded, and fled in terror. What took hold of them there was anguish like a woman in labor.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"For, lo, the kings of the earth are gathered together" [Psalm 48:4]. Behold now those sides of the North, see how they come, see how they say, "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord: and He will teach us His way, and we will walk in it." [Isaiah 2:3] "And have come together in one." In what one, but that "corner-stone"? [Ephesians 2:20]
At this point he is describing a harsh war concerted from every direction and a famous victory. You see, after he said that God comes to [the city's] aid and gives evidence of great care, he then shows also how he came to its aid. When countless nations made an attack (this he suggests, note, in mentioning the great number of kings), and not simply an attack but concerted and combined, such extraordinary developments occurred that they departed, marveling at the surprising turn of events.… Thus it is clear that instead of the war being conducted in terms of human logic, it was God whose tactics directed the fighting, who not only depressed the enemies' spirits but also shook their resolve by causing distress in their ranks and prompting an unspeakable fear in them. It was the same as if a great fleet had assembled and an unfavorable wind came on them and smashed the ships, sank the triremes and instilled instant disorder.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"For behold." Here he proves the dignity of the city through testimony. And first he introduces the witnesses. Second, their integrity. Third, their confession. For testimony to be credible, three things are necessary: namely, the dignity of the witnesses, that they be witnesses of authority, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The kings - Either those kings confederate against Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx, 1, or the Assyrian princes; whom they vain- gloriously called kings, Isaiah x, 8.
For, lo, the kings were assembled,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The neighbouring princes were confederate against Jerusalem; their heads and horns, their policies and powers, were combined for its ruin; they were assembled with all their forces; they passed, advanced, and marched on together, not doubting but they should soon make themselves masters of that city which should have been the joy, but was the envy of the whole earth.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
For--The reason is given. Though the kings (perhaps of Moab and Ammon, compare Ps 83:3-5) combined, a conviction of God's presence with His people, evinced by the unusual courage with which the prophets (compare 2Ch 20:12-20) had inspired them, seized on their minds, and smitten with sudden and intense alarm, they fled astonished.
For, lo, the kings were assembled - Many of the neighboring potentates, at different times, envied the prosperity of the Jewish nation, and coveted the riches of the temple; but they had no power against it till the cup of Jewish transgression was full. In vain did they assemble - confederate, and invade the land. Saw it - reconnoitered the place; marvelled at its excellence and strength, for they were troubled - struck with fear; hasted away for fear of destruction, for fear took hold on them as pains seize on a woman to travail. Those who came to destroy were glad to make their own escape.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For, lo, the kings were assembled - There is evidently allusion here to some fact that had occurred; some gathering together of kings and their armies, with a view to besiege or attack Jerusalem. The kings referred to, if the allusion here is, as is supposed, to the time of Jehoshaphat, were the kings of Ammon and of Moab, and of Mount Seir, and perhaps others, not particularly mentioned, who came up against Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 20:1, 2Ch 20:10. They passed by together - That is, they were smitten with consternation; they were so impressed with the beauty, the majesty, the strength of the city, that they passed along without venturing to attack it. Or, perhaps, the meaning may be, that they were discomfited and overthrown as suddenly “as if” the mere sight of the city had filled their minds with dread, and had made them desist from their intended assault. Compare 2Ch 20:22-25.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַ֭מְּלָכִים | hamelakhim | the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| נֽוֹעֲד֑וּ | noadu | they assembled | H3259 → | |
| עָבְר֥וּ | ʾaveru | they passed on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| יַחְדָּֽו׃ | yachdav | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִנֵּ֣הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הַ֭מְּלָכִיםthe kings
hamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
נֽוֹעֲד֑וּthey assembled
noaduH3259 →
עָבְר֥וּthey passed on
ʾaveruH5674 →556 times
יַחְדָּֽו׃together
yachdavH3162 →141 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Revelation 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
it leads to
- Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day…
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:8–11
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Revelation 20:14–15
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
- Daniel 7:7–14
After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot…
- Revelation 20:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 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 48; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 48:2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.