New English Translation
Psalms 78:57
57They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning 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 drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 56Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands. They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 58They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols. 59God heard and was angry; 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 78:41They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.
- Judges 3:5The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Ezekiel 20:27“Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me.
- Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God.
- Hosea 7:16They turn to Baal; they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt.
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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