New English Translation
Psalms 124:3
3they would have swallowed us alive, when their anger raged 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” – let Israel say this! – 2if the Lord had not been on our side, when men attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive, when their anger raged against us. 4The water would have overpowered us; the current would have overwhelmed us. 5The raging water would have overwhelmed us.
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 27:2When evil men attack me to devour my flesh, when my adversaries and enemies attack me, they stumble and fall.
- Psalms 35:25Do not let them say to themselves, “Aha! We have what we wanted!” Do not let them say, “We have devoured him!”
- Psalms 56:1Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! All day long hostile enemies are tormenting me.
- Psalms 57:3May he send help from heaven and deliver me from my enemies who hurl insults! (Selah) May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!
- Psalms 74:8They say to themselves, “We will oppress all of them.” They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land.
- Psalms 83:4They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
- Esther 3:6But the thought of striking out against Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed of the identity of Mordecai’s people. So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
- Numbers 16:30But if the Lord does something entirely new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up along with all that they have, and they go down alive to the grave, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord!”
- Proverbs 1:12We will swallow them alive like Sheol, those full of vigor like those going down to the Pit.
- Jeremiah 51:34“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon devoured me and drove my people out. Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me. He filled his belly with my riches. He made me an empty dish. He completely cleaned me out.”
- Psalms 76:10Certainly your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise; you reveal your anger in full measure.
- 1 Samuel 20:30Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, “You stupid traitor! Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse?
- Daniel 3:19Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.
- Matthew 2:16When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.
- Acts 9:2and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to 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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries