Psalms 59:14
in Psalms 59They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog, And go round about the city.
KJV
And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
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This verse in Psalms 59
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHere verse six is repeated, as if the songster defied his foes and revelled in the thought of their futile search, their malice, their disappointment, their rage, their defeated vigilance, their wasted energy. He laughs to think that all the city would know how they were deceived, and all Israel would ring with the story of the image and the goats' hair in the bed.
This site's exposition
snarling like dogs and prowling around the city
on Psalms 59:14-15
Verse 14 repeats verse 6 word for word, the dogs back at the city in the evening. Verse 15 leaves them scavenging for food and growling when they are not satisfied. They end the psalm hungry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"They shall be converted at evening" [Psalm 59:14]: that is, even if late, that is, after the slaying of our Lord Jesus Christ: "They shall be converted at evening: and hereafter they shall suffer hunger as dogs." But "as dogs," not as sheep or calves: "as dogs," as Gentiles, as sinners; because they too have known their sin that thought themselves righteous....It is a good thing therefore for a sinner to be humbled; and no one is more incurable than he that thinks himself whole. "And they shall go around the city." Already we have explained "city;" it is the "city of standing round;" all nations.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v1-3
And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Here verse six is repeated, as if the songster defied his foes and revelled in the thought of their futile search, their malice, their disappointment, their rage, their defeated vigilance, their wasted energy. He laughs to think that all the city would know how they were deceived, and all Israel would ring with the story of the image and the goats' hair in the bed. Nothing was more a subject of Oriental merriment than a case in which the crafty are deceived, and nothing more makes a man the object of derision than to be outwitted by a woman, as in this instance Saul and his base minions were by Michal. The warrior poet hears in fancy the howl of rage in the council of his foes when they found their victim clean escaped from their hands.
At evening let them return - He had mentioned before, Psa 59:6 that these persons came like beasts of prey round the city striving to get in, that they might take possession. Now, being fully assured of God’s protection and that they shall soon be made a public example, he says, Let them return and make a noise like a dog, etc., like dogs, jackals, and other famished creatures, who come howling about the city-walls for something to eat, and wander up and down for meat, grumbling because they are not satisfied, Psa 59:15. Nehemiah had made up all the breaches; and had the city guarded so well day and night, by watches who continually relieved each other, that there was no longer any fear of being taken by surprise: and now they must feel like the hungry beasts who were disappointed of their prey.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And at evening let them return - See the notes at Psa 59:6. The original here is the same as in Psa 59:6, with the exception of the word “and” at the beginning. This qualifies the sentence, and makes the construction in our version proper. The language is that of confident triumph. They came around the city to take David; they shouted and shrieked as dogs bark and howl when they come upon their prey. David asked God to interpose and save him; and then, says he, let them come if they will, and howl around the city; they will find no prey; they will be like hungry dogs from whom their anticipated victim has escaped. Let them come, and howl and rage. They can do no harm. They will meet with disappointment; and such disappointment will be a proper punishment for their sins.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Destroy [them] with wrath Destroy them with Your wrath, O King Who judges, and let them know that You rule over Jacob.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips, and the poor who are pursued by them because of the curse and the lies that they tell, are seized through their haughtiness.
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. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָשׁ֣וּבוּ | veyashuvu | so they may return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לָ֭עֶרֶב | laerev | to <the> evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| יֶהֱמ֥וּ | yehemu | they growl | H1993 → | 34 times |
| כַכָּ֗לֶב | khakalev | like <the> dog | H3611 → | 32 times |
| וִיס֥וֹבְבוּ | visovu | so they may go around | H5437 → | 161 times |
| עִֽיר׃ | ʾir | [the] city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וְיָשׁ֣וּבוּso they may return
veyashuvuH7725 →1056 times
לָ֭עֶרֶבto <the> evening
laerevH6153 →134 times
יֶהֱמ֥וּthey growl
yehemuH1993 →34 times
כַכָּ֗לֶבlike <the> dog
khakalevH3611 →32 times
וִיס֥וֹבְבוּso they may go around
visovuH5437 →161 times
עִֽיר׃[the] city
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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 22:16For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
it leads to
- John 19:37
And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
- Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
- Matthew 27:35
When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.
- John 20:25
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put…
- John 19:23
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
- John 19:37
Through
Psalms 59:6They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.
it leads to
- Psalms 22:16
For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
- 1 Samuel 19:11
Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will…
- Psalms 22:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 59; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.