Psalms 56:2

Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
enemies	שׁ֭וֹרְרַי Shor.rai	H8324	to be hostile (only active participle an opponent) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
daily	הַיּ֑וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
swallow	שָׁאֲפ֣וּ sha.'a.Fu	H7602	to inhale eagerly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
many	רַבִּ֨ים ra.Bim	H7227	abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine plural absolute
fight	לֹחֲמִ֖ים lo.cha.Mim	H3898	to feed on · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
High	מָרֽוֹם ma.Rom	H4791	altitude · noun, common masculine singular absolute

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 118:10-12 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
Psalms 57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his trut…
Psalms 3:1 LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
Psalms 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Psalms 35:1 Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Psalms 54:5 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalms 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 56:1-7

David, in this psalm, by his faith throws himself into the hands of God, even when he had by his fear and folly thrown himself into the hands of the Philistines; it was when they took him in Gath, whither he fled for fear of Saul, forgetting the quarrel they had with him for killing Goliath; but they soon put him in mid of it, Sa1 21:10, Sa1 21:11. Upon that occasion he changed his behaviour, but with so little ruffle to his temper that then he penned both this psalm and the 34th. This is called Michtam - a golden psalm. So some other psalms are entitled, but this has something peculiar in the title; it is upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, which signifies the silent dove afar off. Some apply this t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 56:2

enemies--watchers (Psa 54:5). most High--As it is not elsewhere used absolutely for God, some render the word here, arrogantly, or proudly, as qualifying "those who fight," &c.

John Gill on Psalms 56:2

Mine enemies would daily swallow me up,.... For not one man only, but many, were his enemies; who observed and watched him, and were eagerly desirous of his ruin. The believer has many enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, seeking to devour and destroy him, though they cannot; for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High; he appeals to God, who dwells on high, and sees all things, for the truth of this, that he had many enemies both at Gath and in Israel; as well as applies to him for help, he being higher than they. Some render the words, "for they be many that fight against me from on high" (q), or "highly" (r), proudly and haughtily. Aben Ezra gives a very different sense, "I…

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John Calvin on Psalms 56:1-4

Psalm 56:1-4 1. Be merciful unto me, O God! for man swallows me up [327] he fighting against me, daily oppresseth me. 2. Mine enemies daily swallow me up: surely they be many [328] that fight against me, O Most High! [329] 3. In the day that I was afraid, I did put my trust in thee. 4. In God I will praise his word; in God I have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 1 Be merciful unto me, O God! for man swallows me up [330] It would be difficult to determine whether he speaks here of foreign or domestic enemies. When brought to King Achish he was as a sheep between two bands of wolves, an object of deadly hatred to the Philistines on the one hand, and exposed to equal p…

The Church Fathers

"Mine enemies have trodden me down all day long" [Psalm 56:2]. They that have been put afar off from holy men, these are mine enemies. All day long: already it hath been said, "From the height of the day." What meaneth, "from the height of the day"? Perchance it is a high thing to understand. And no wonder, because the height of the day it is. For perchance they for this reason have been put afar off from holy men, because they were not able to penetrate the height of the day, whereof the Apostles are twelve shining hours. Therefore they that crucified Him, as if man, in the day have erred. But why have they suffered darkness, so that they should be put afar off from holy men? Because on high the day was shining, Him in the height hidden they knew not. "For if they had known, never the Lord of Glory would they have crucified." ...
— Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 56

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

Gath — A wine-vat, one of the five royal cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3) on which the ark brought calamity (1 Sam. 5:8, 9; 6:17). It was famous also as being the birthplace or residence of Goliath (1…
Jonath-elem-rechokim — Dove of the dumbness of the distance; i.e., “the silent dove in distant places”, title of Ps. 56. This was probably the name of some well known tune or melody to which the psalm was to be sung.
Warfare Of Saints · Is against: Enemies — Is against: Enemies

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 56:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 56:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 56:2

John Gill on Psalms 56:2

John Calvin on Psalms 56:1-4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 56:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 56:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 56:2

John Gill on Psalms 56:2

John Calvin on Psalms 56:1-4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 56:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 56:1-3

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 56:2