God’s Word Translation
Psalms 124:3
3then they would have swallowed us alive when their anger exploded against us.
Psalms 124:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
- New International Version (NIV)they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us;
- English Standard Version (ESV)then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;
Context of Psalms 124:3
1“If the Lord had not been on our side …” (Israel should repeat this.) 2“If the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, then they would have swallowed us alive when their anger exploded against us. 4Then the floodwaters would have swept us away. An ⌞overflowing⌟ stream would have washed us away. 5Then raging water would have washed us away.”
Read all of Psalms 124Psalms 124:3 word by word
אֲ֭זַי חַיִּ֣ים בְּלָע֑וּנוּ בַּחֲר֖וֹת אַפָּ֣ם בָּֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 124:3
- Psalms 27:2Evildoers closed in on me to tear me to pieces. My opponents and enemies stumbled and fell.
- Psalms 35:25or think, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up.”
- Psalms 56:1Have pity on me, O God, because people are harassing me. All day long warriors oppress me.
- Psalms 57:3He sends his help from heaven and saves me. He disgraces the one who is harassing me. Selah God sends his mercy and his truth!
- Psalms 74:8They said to themselves, “We will crush them.” They burned every meeting place of God in the land.
- Psalms 83:4They say, “Let’s wipe out their nation so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”
- Esther 3:6Because the king’s advisers had informed him about Mordecai’s nationality, he thought it beneath himself to kill only Mordecai. So Haman planned to wipe out Mordecai’s people—all the Jews in the entire kingdom of Xerxes.
- Numbers 16:30But if the Lord does something totally new—if the ground opens up, swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive to their graves—then you’ll know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”
- Proverbs 1:12We’ll swallow them alive like the grave, like those in good health who go into the pit.
- Jeremiah 51:34King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured us. He has thrown us into confusion. He has turned us into empty jars. He has swallowed us like a monster. He has filled his belly with our delicacies. Then he spit us out.
- Jonah 1:17The Lord sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
- Psalms 76:10Even angry mortals will praise you. You will wear the remainder of ⌞their⌟ anger.
- 1 Samuel 20:30Then Saul got angry with Jonathan. “Son of a crooked and rebellious woman!” he called Jonathan. “I know you’ve sided with Jesse’s son. You have no shame. ⌞You act⌟ as if you are your mother’s son but not mine.
- Daniel 3:19Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with anger toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face turned red. He ordered that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than normal.
- Matthew 2:16When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he became furious. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys two years old and younger in or near Bethlehem. This matched the exact time he had learned from the wise men.
- Acts 9:2and asked him to write letters of authorization to the synagogue leaders in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted to arrest any man or woman who followed the way ⌞of Christ⌟ and imprison them in Jerusalem.
Commentaries on Psalms 124:3
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Then they had swallowed us up quick - There was no other help, and ruin - utter ruin - would have soon come upon us. The word quick here means alive; and the idea is derived from persons swallowed up in an earthquake, or by the opening of the earth, as in the case of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Numbers 16:32-33. Compare Psalm 106:17. The meaning here is, that they would have been destroyed as if they were swallowed up by the opening of the earth; that is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-8This thanksgiving song describes what might happen if the Lord were not present with his people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Then--that is, the time of our danger. quick--literally, "living" (Nu 16:32, 33), description of ferocity.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 124
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries