Psalm 58 9

Psalm 58:9 kjv

Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.

Psalm 58:9 nkjv

Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, As in His living and burning wrath.

Psalm 58:9 niv

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns? whether they be green or dry?the wicked will be swept away.

Psalm 58:9 esv

Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

Psalm 58:9 nlt

God will sweep them away, both young and old,
faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.

Psalm 58 verses

Psalm 58 9 Meaning

Psalm 58:9 powerfully declares God's swift and absolute judgment upon the wicked. Through vivid imagery, it portrays that before the wicked can even establish their plans or achieve their malicious goals—symbolized by pots warming slowly over quick-burning thorn branches—God will suddenly and completely sweep them away with a whirlwind. This judgment consumes all, whether just beginning to ignite or already intensely burning, ensuring no wicked endeavor or individual escapes divine justice.

Psalm 58 9 Context

Psalm 58 is a fervent prayer for justice against wicked rulers or judges who actively pervert justice and operate with innate depravity. The psalmist, David, begins by challenging these corrupt leaders for their unjust judgments (v.1-2) and then vividly describes their inherent sinfulness and malice, comparing them to venomous snakes that are deaf to wisdom and poison those around them (v.3-5). Having exposed their nature, David calls for their power to be broken and their influence neutralized (v.6-8). Verse 9 stands as the climax of this appeal for justice, asserting God's immediate and complete judgment on these wicked ones, ensuring their swift removal before their harmful intentions can fully mature or inflict further damage. The psalmist then concludes by affirming the certainty of divine justice for the righteous (v.10-11).

Psalm 58 9 Word analysis

• Before (בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙, beṭerem): This adverb conveys a sense of immediacy and pre-emption. It emphasizes that divine judgment occurs suddenly, before something can happen. It highlights swiftness, not delay.
• your pots (סִירֽוֹתֵיכֶ֜ם, sîrôṯêḵem): Referring to cooking pots. This common household item represents a process that typically requires sustained, gentle heat for completion. Here, it symbolizes the slow and deliberate nature of the wicked's schemes, or their life routines.
• can feel (יָבִינ֜וּ, yāḇînū): From the root בִּין (bin), meaning "to understand," "discern," or "perceive." In this anthropomorphic usage for pots, it means before the pots even register the heat. It reinforces the extreme suddenness—judgment arrives before the "heat" even takes effect.
• the heat (חֹ֙רֶן֙, ḥōren): Intense, burning heat. Associated with fierce temperatures.
• of thorns (אֲטָדִ֗ים, ʾăṭādîm): Thorny scrub, brambles. Known for igniting quickly and burning fiercely but briefly, providing unsustainable heat. This contrasts with durable wood. The image implies an unstable or superficial basis for the wicked's "fire" of malice or power.
• He will sweep them away (יִשָּׂאֵ֤נּוּ, yiśśāʾēnnū): The verb literally means "to lift up," but in context of wind/whirlwind, it means "to sweep away" or "carry off." The subject "He" unmistakably refers to God, the active agent of judgment.
• with a whirlwind (בַּֽסְעָרָ֔ה, bassaʿarâ): A tempest or storm wind. A frequent biblical motif for God's overwhelming power and swift, destructive judgment (e.g., Job 38:1, Jer 23:19). It indicates unstoppable, sudden force.
• the living (חַ֧י, chay): Literally "alive," but often also means "green," "fresh," or "raw" when referring to vegetation (e.g., green wood). In the context of fire, it refers to brushwood that hasn't yet caught fire. This signifies judgment consuming even that which has not yet fully ripened into wickedness or destruction.
• and the burning one (כּמוֹ־חָרֽוֹן, kəmō-chārōn): "As fierce anger" or "like burning." The Hebrew term charon (חָרוֹן) commonly means "fierce anger" (often God's). However, in a poetic parallelism with "green/raw" wood, many interpret charon here as referring to parched, dry wood that burns fiercely and quickly, or even the smoldering ashes. Thus, judgment sweeps away both that which has not fully ignited ("living"/green wood) and that which burns quickly ("burning"/dry wood/embers), signifying total destruction of both the wicked's developing plans and their immediate actions. The alternative interpretation also understands it as sweeping away the wicked (the "living") as if by God's "fierce anger" ("burning one"), reinforcing the severity of the judgment.

• "Before your pots can feel the heat of thorns": This phrase emphasizes the pre-emptive and immediate nature of God's intervention. The imagery suggests the brief, insufficient heat from thorn branches and the slow pace required for a pot to warm, illustrating that judgment comes even before their malevolent plans can fully materialize or their influence take effect. Their fleeting, destructive power is utterly ineffective against God's swift justice.
• "He will sweep them away with a whirlwind": This phrase introduces the divine agent and method of judgment. "He" is God, acting decisively. The "whirlwind" signifies God's overwhelming power, speed, and irresistible force, capable of utterly annihilating what it encounters without resistance.
• "the living and the burning one": This concluding phrase further elaborates on the comprehensiveness of the judgment. As interpreted from the "green" (living) wood and "dry/burning" wood, it means God's judgment sweeps away every aspect of the wicked, regardless of their stage—whether they are still fresh in their plans, not fully formed in their malice, or already intensely engaged in their evil. Nothing escapes, signifying absolute destruction of the wicked and their endeavors.

Psalm 58 9 Bonus section

The suddenness described in this verse mirrors similar pronouncements of judgment found elsewhere in scripture, emphasizing God's timing and power over human schedules. The rapid ignition and burnout of thorn branches contrasts starkly with the patience of God, but when His judgment comes, it is decisive. This verse highlights a theological principle: the seeming prosperity or slow work of the wicked is ultimately inconsequential against the divine will. The psalmist expresses confidence in God's active involvement in human affairs, directly countering any belief that God is distant or indifferent to injustice.

Psalm 58 9 Commentary

Psalm 58:9 assures that God’s justice is not delayed but swift and complete against those who enact injustice. Using the metaphor of a meager, short-lived thorn fire struggling to heat a pot, the verse declares that before the wicked's insidious plans or power can gain any real momentum or yield their destructive fruit, God will intervene with sudden and irresistible force, like a devastating whirlwind. This judgment eradicates everything—from their nascent malicious thoughts ("the living" or "green" wood that has not yet caught fire) to their already established evil deeds ("the burning one" or "scorched" wood). The verse underscores divine sovereignty over evil, promising comfort to the oppressed by highlighting the certainty and immediacy of God's decisive retribution against the unrighteous.