God’s Word Translation
Psalms 78:57
57They were disloyal and treacherous like their ancestors. They were like arrows shot from a defective bow.
Psalms 78:57 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
- New International Version (NIV)Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
Context of Psalms 78:57
55He forced nations out of their way and gave them the land of the nations as their inheritance. He settled the tribes of Israel in their own tents. 56They tested God Most High and rebelled against him. They did not obey his written instructions. They were disloyal and treacherous like their ancestors. They were like arrows shot from a defective bow. 58They made him angry because of their illegal worship sites. They made him furious because they worshiped idols. 59When God heard, he became furious. He completely rejected Israel.
Read all of Psalms 78Psalms 78:57 word by word
וַיִּסֹּ֣גוּ וַֽ֭יִּבְגְּדוּ כַּאֲבוֹתָ֑ם נֶ֝הְפְּכ֗וּ כְּקֶ֣שֶׁת רְמִיָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 78:57
- Psalms 78:41Again and again they tested God, and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit.
- Judges 3:5So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Ezekiel 20:27“Speak to the nation of Israel, son of man. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: Your ancestors insulted me again because they were unfaithful to me.
- Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation. Their hearts were not loyal. Their spirits were not faithful to God.
- Hosea 7:16They don’t return to the Most High. They are like a defective bow. Their officials will die in battle because they curse. The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.
Commentaries on Psalms 78:57
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 57They were turned aside like a deceitful bow - The eastern bow, which when at rest is in the form of a [curved figure], must be recurved, or turned the contrary way, in order to be what is called bent and strung. If a person who is unskilful or weak attempt to recurve and string one of these bows, if he take not great heed it will spring back and regain its quiescent position, and perhaps break his arm. And sometimes I have known it, when bent, to start…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 57But turned back - See the notes at Psalm 78:41. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow - literally, a bow of deceit. That is, a bow that could not be depended on; a bow, one of whose arms was longer or more elastic than the other, so that the arrow would turn aside from the mark. The marksman would attempt to hit an object, and would fail. So it was with the people of Israel. They could not be depended on. No reliance could be put on their…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 56-72Verses 56-72 After the Israelites were settled in Canaan, the children were like their fathers. God gave them his testimonies, but they turned back. Presumptuous sins render even Israelites hateful to God's holiness, and exposed to his justice. Those whom the Lord forsakes become an easy prey to the destroyer. And sooner or later, God will disgrace his enemies. He set a good government over his people; a monarch after his own heart. With good reason does…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 56-64Israel’s rebellion defiled the promised land. During the time of the judges, the people built shrines to false gods and worshiped idols (Psalm 78:58; see also Judges 2:11; 3:7, 17–18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 56-5756-57. a deceitful bow--which turns back, and so fails to project the arrow (2Sa 1:22; Ho 7:16). They relapsed.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 78:57
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 78
- 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
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