New Living Translation
Psalms 124:3
3They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.
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
1What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat: 2What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. 4The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.
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 people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
- Psalms 35:25Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!”
- Psalms 56:1O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long.
- Psalms 57:3He will send help from heaven to rescue me, disgracing those who hound me. Interlude My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.
- Psalms 74:8Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.
- Psalms 83:4“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”
- Esther 3:6He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.
- Numbers 16:30But if the Lord does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the Lord.”
- Proverbs 1:12Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
- Jeremiah 51:34“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has eaten and crushed us and drained us of strength. He has swallowed us like a great monster and filled his belly with our riches. He has thrown us out of our own country.
- Jonah 1:17Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
- Psalms 76:10Human defiance only enhances your glory, for you use it as a weapon.
- 1 Samuel 20:30Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!” he swore at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother?
- Daniel 3:19Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
- Matthew 2:16Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.
- Acts 9:2He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries