Psalm 78:64 kjv
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
Psalm 78:64 nkjv
Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.
Psalm 78:64 niv
their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.
Psalm 78:64 esv
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
Psalm 78:64 nlt
Their priests were slaughtered,
and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
Psalm 78 64 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:10-11 | So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated... Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, died. | The direct historical event where Eli's sons die. |
| 1 Sam 4:17-22 | ...when he heard the mention of the ark of God, he fell off the seat... his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas... | Describes Eli's and Phinehas's wife's death, naming Ichabod. |
| 1 Sam 2:12-17, 27-36 | Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord... "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest..." | God's judgment prophesied against Eli's house due to unfaithfulness. |
| Lev 10:6 | And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads or tear your clothes..." | Command for priests not to mourn outwardly, highlighting suppressed mourning. |
| Deut 28:25 | “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies..." | Consequences of disobedience: defeat in battle. |
| Deut 28:53-57 | "You shall eat the fruit of your womb..." | Prophecies of extreme duress, leading to unnatural behaviors. |
| Isa 3:25-26 | "Your men shall fall by the sword... Her gates shall lament and mourn..." | Cities left in desolation with pervasive mourning. |
| Jer 7:34 | "I will make to cease from the cities of Judah... the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride..." | Cessation of normal life and celebration due to judgment. |
| Jer 9:17-18, 20-21 | "Call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come..." "Death has come up into our windows..." | Mourning women cannot keep up with widespread death. |
| Jer 14:15-16, 18 | "Those who prophesy peace to them... they shall be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem, with none to bury them." | Widespread death, so severe there's no one left to mourn or bury. |
| Jer 16:4 | "They shall die of deadly diseases... they shall not be lamented or buried..." | People will die without proper burial or mourning. |
| Lam 1:4-5, 2:10 | "Her priests groan... Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her." | Extreme national sorrow where even customary expressions of grief are overwhelmed. |
| Lam 4:11-12, 19 | "The Lord has poured out his wrath... None believed that foe... would enter the gates of Jerusalem." | God's intense judgment surprising even those who saw it. |
| Ezek 7:26-27 | "Distress will come upon distress... Priests will lack counsel... everyone's hands will be slack..." | A scene of national despair and powerlessness, including religious leaders. |
| Amos 8:3 | "The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," declares the Lord GOD. "Many dead bodies; in every place." | Temple songs turn to wailing, abundant dead bodies without proper attention. |
| Mic 3:11 | "Its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money..." | Unfaithful religious leaders deserving of judgment. |
| Job 2:13 | And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. | Example of profound, silent grief when suffering is overwhelming. |
| 2 Chron 15:5-6 | "In those times there was no peace... nation was shattered by nation, city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress." | An era of extreme distress and widespread conflict. |
| Rev 18:7-8 | "Therefore in one day her plagues will come... and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her." | Sudden, overwhelming judgment leaving no time for mourning for Babylon. |
| Rev 18:19 | "And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned..." | In contrast to Ps 78:64, some instances still allow for lamentation despite great loss. |
Psalm 78 verses
Psalm 78 64 Meaning
Psalm 78:64 describes a profound and devastating calamity where the religious leaders, the priests, are violently slain in battle, and the horror of the situation is so immense that their widows are rendered incapable of performing the traditional and expected rituals of lamentation. It portrays a scene of overwhelming national and spiritual crisis, where the usual expressions of grief are utterly suppressed by the sheer scale of catastrophe, reflecting an unparalleled state of despair, shock, and national disgrace due to divine judgment.
Psalm 78 64 Context
Psalm 78 is a "Maschil" or an instructional psalm, serving as a comprehensive historical review of God's dealings with Israel from the Exodus to the establishment of the Davidic covenant. Its primary purpose is to teach subsequent generations about God's steadfast love despite Israel's persistent rebellion, disobedience, and forgetfulness of His mighty works. The psalm highlights recurring cycles of sin, suffering, repentance, and restoration, ultimately vindicating God's just choice of Judah and David as His chosen leadership. Verse 64 specifically recounts a particularly dire moment of judgment within this historical narrative. It points to the Philistine defeat of Israel described in 1 Samuel chapter 4, where the Ark of the Covenant was captured, and Eli's wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who were priests, were killed. This event signified not just a military defeat but a profound spiritual crisis for Israel, demonstrating God's strong displeasure with their idolatry and particularly with the corruption within the priesthood.
Psalm 78 64 Word analysis
- Their priests (כֹּהֲנֵיהֶם - kohaneihem): This refers to the Levites, specifically those serving in the Tabernacle. They were the religious functionaries, mediators, and teachers of the law. The phrase implies a spiritual leadership in direct opposition to God's will due to their wickedness (as seen in the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas). Their falling signifies not only a military defeat but also a spiritual catastrophe and a severe judgment upon the very ones tasked with drawing people to God.
- fell (נָפַל - nafal): The verb 'fell' here indicates a violent death, specifically in battle. It is not a natural passing but a direct consequence of conflict, signifying slaughter and divine wrath visited upon them.
- by the sword (בַּחֶרֶב - bacherev): This specifies the means of death – warfare and armed conflict. It emphasizes the violent and devastating nature of the judgment, leaving no doubt about the severity of the defeat Israel suffered at the hand of its enemies, the Philistines.
- and their widows (וְאַלְמְנֹתָיו - ve'alm'notav): These are the wives of the deceased priests, left bereft. Widows in ancient Israel were a highly vulnerable and often pitiable group, frequently dependent on family or communal support. Their plight here underscores the widespread nature of the tragedy.
- made no lamentation (לֹא תִבְכֶּינָה - lo tivkeynah): This is the most striking and chilling detail. Lamentation (weeping, mourning rituals, professional mourners) was a crucial and expected part of ancient Near Eastern burial and grief practices. The absence of it suggests several horrific possibilities:
- Overwhelming Shock/Despair: The disaster was so immense, the death toll so high, or the accompanying shame so great that the surviving women were simply paralyzed by grief, beyond tears or customary mourning. The death of Hophni and Phinehas's wife shortly after hearing the news (1 Sam 4:20-22) is illustrative; her death and naming her child "Ichabod" (`glory has departed`) demonstrate a profound, silent, and fatal grief beyond conventional lamentation.
- No One Left to Lament: Perhaps those who would have lamented were also killed, captured, or scattered.
- Fear/Shame: The shame of the Ark's capture and God's apparent abandonment of His people might have stifled any public outpouring of grief.
- Divine Judgment's Severity: The judgment was so absolute that it silenced even the most fundamental human expressions of sorrow, highlighting the depths of national humiliation and God's severe discipline.
Words-Group Analysis: