Psalms 140:10

Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
coals	גֶּֽחָ֫לִ֥ים ge.Cha.Lim	H1513	an ember · noun, common masculine plural absolute
fall	יִמּ֥וֹטוּ ya.mi.tu	H4131	to waver · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
cast	יַפִּלֵ֑ם ya.pi.Lem	H5307	to fall · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
fire	בָּאֵ֥שׁ ba.'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
pits	בְּ֝מַהֲמֹר֗וֹת be.ma.ha.mo.Rot	H4113	perhaps an abyss · preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
again	יָקֽוּמוּ ya.Ku.mu	H6965	to rise (in various applications · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
Psalms 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them…
Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall ha…
Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Exodus 9:23-24 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD ra…
Psalms 18:13-14 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Psalms 55:23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 140:8–end

Here is the believing foresight David had, I. Of the shame and confusion of persecutors. 1. Their disappointment. This he prays for (Psa 140:8), that their lusts might not be gratified, their lust of ambition, envy, and revenge: "Grant not, O Lord! the desires of the wicked, but frustrate them; let them not see the ruin of my interest, which they so earnestly wish to see; but hear the voice of my supplications." He prays that their projects might not take effect, but be blasted: "O further not his wicked device; let not Providence favour any of his designs, but cross them; suffer not his wicked device to proceed, but chain his wheels, and stop him in the career of his pursuits." Thus we are…

Read the whole note in the console

John Gill on Psalms 140:10

Let burning coals fall upon them,.... From heaven, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, by way of explanation; alluding to the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from thence: and may design both the terrible judgments of God in this life, and everlasting burnings in hell; so Jarchi interprets it of the coals of hell; see Psalm 11:6; let them be cast into the fire; into the fire of divine wrath, and have severe punishment inflicted on them in this world; and into the fire of hell hereafter, as the Targum, which is unquenchable and everlasting; and into which all wicked men, carnal professors, the followers of antichrist, the devil and his angels, will be cast: of the phrase of casting…

Read the whole note in the console

John Calvin on Psalms 140:6-10

Psalm 140:6-10 6. I said to Jehovah thou art my God; hear the voice of my supplication. 7. O, Jehovah, my Lord! the strength of my salvation, thou hast set a covering upon my head in the day of arms. [226] 8. Grant not, O Jehovah! the desires of the wicked; they have devised, do not though consummate, they shall be exalted. Selah. 9. As for the head of those compassing me about, let the mischief of his lips cover him. 10. Let coals with fire fall upon them; he shall cast them into deeps, [227] they shall not rise again. 6. I said to Jehovah. In these words he shows that his prayers were not merely those of the lips, as hypocrites will make loud appeals to God for mere appearance sake, but…

The Church Fathers

"Coals of fire shall fall upon them upon earth, and Thou shalt cast them down" [Psalm 140:10]. What is, "upon earth"? Here, even in this life, here "coals of fire shall fall upon them." What are, "coals of fire"? We know these coals. Are they different from those of which we are about to speak? For these I see avail for punishment, those that I am about to speak of, for salvation. For we have spoken of certain coals, when man was seeking aid against a treacherous tongue. ...The examples of the "coals" are added to the wound of the arrows (for I need not fear to say "the wound," when the Spouse herself saith, "I am wounded with love" ), and then the hay is consumed, and so they are called "devouring coals." The hay is devoured, but the gold is purified, and the man exchanges death for life, and begins to be himself too a burning coal; such a coal as was the Apostle, "who before was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious," a coal black and extinguished; but when he had obtained mercy, he was set on fire from heaven, the voice of Christ set him on fire, all the blackness in him perished, he began to be fervent in spirit, to set others on fire with that wherewith he was set on fire himself. ...
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 140

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Coal — It is by no means certain that the Hebrews were acquainted with mineral coal, although it is found in Syria. Their common fuel was dried dung of animals and wood charcoal. Two different words are…
Psalms, Book Of — The present Hebrew name of the book is Tehill’im, “Praises;” but in the actual superscriptions of the psalms the word Tehillah is applied only to one, (Psalms 145:1) ... which is indeed emphatically…

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 140:10

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 140:8–end

John Gill on Psalms 140:10

John Calvin on Psalms 140:6-10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 140:10

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 140:8–end

John Gill on Psalms 140:10

John Calvin on Psalms 140:6-10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 140:9-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 140:10

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 140:10