Psalms 105:31

Psa 105:31 He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, [and] lice in all their coasts.

Ver. 31. He stake, and there came divers sorts of flies] Heb. a mixture, sc. of wasps, hornets, dog flies (the most troublesome of all other κυνομυιαι), all sorts of insects.

And lice in all their coasts] This the magicians could not do, Quid ciniphe vilius, &c.? saith Philo, What is baser than a louse? yet hereby God can tame the sturdiest of his rebels. Some kings and other nobles have died of the lousy disease; as Herod, Philip of Spain, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31. (Psa 105:31) He said, and the fly came and gnats (or lice) in all their border. See above, on Psa 78:45, where the gnats or lice are omitted, and the flies precede the frogs. So here, the flies, precede the lice, a.slight departure from the order of the history. See Exo 8:5; Exo 8:16. He said, i.e. he said so, which is tantamount to saying, he commanded. In all their border, i.e. every where within it, throughout the land. This expression. is borrowed from the history. See Exo 8:2.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So that this vermin came not by fortune, but as God had appointed, and his prophet Moses spake.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

31. He spake, and there came a swarm of flies By the word spake the Psalmist intimates that the flies and lice came not forth by chance. The command, we know, was uttered by the mouth of Moses; for although God could have given the command himself, he interposed Moses as his herald. God, however, gave no less efficacy to his word, when he commanded it to be uttered by a man, than if he himself had thundered from heaven. When the minister executes his commission faithfully, by speaking only what God puts into his mouth, the inward power of the Holy Spirit is joined with his outward voice. Here again it is to be observed, that the Egyptians were afflicted with the plague of the flies and lice, that God, with the greater ignominy, might subdue their rebellion and obstinacy. When it is said, that he gave them hail for rain, it denotes a hail of such appalling violence, that it could not be attributed to natural causes. It is probable that Egypt is not so subject to this annoyance as other countries, and it is very seldom visited even with rain, being watered with the Nile. This made it appear to the Egyptians the more wonderful that their country was stricken with hail. To render this calamity the more dreadful, God also mingled with it fire. The hail, then, was accompanied with a tempestuous whirlwind, that the Egyptians who had hardened themselves against the other miracles, inspired with terror, might know that they had to deal with God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

31. He spake, and there came swarms of flies (R.V.): the fourth plague, Exo_8:20 ff., cp. Psa_78:45 : and lice (or sand-flies or fleas) in all their borders: the third plague, Exo_8:16 ff., not mentioned in Psalms 78.

their coasts] I.e. their borders.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies,.... Or a "mixture" (z) of various insects, and, as some interpret it, of wild beasts; and so Kimchi says evil beasts are meant, which were raised up to go into all their borders; the Arabic version renders it "dogflies", after the Septuagint; See Gill on Psa 78:45, this was the fourth plague, Exo 8:24.

And lice in all their coasts; this is the third plague, and what the magicians could not imitate, but were obliged to own the finger of God was in it, Exo 8:16. God can make use of mean and despicable instruments to do his work; the weakness of God is stronger than men.

(z) "mixtura insectarum", Pagninus, Montanus; "colluvies insectarum", Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis; "mista bestiarum", Vatablus; "colluvies animalium", Junius & Tremellius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, borders, i.e. in all their land, even to the utmost ends or borders of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 31. He spake. See the power of the divine word. He had only to say it and it was done:

and there came divers sorts of flies. Insects of various annoying kinds came up in infinite hordes, a mixture of biting, stinging, buzzing gnats, mosquitos, files, beetles, and other vermin such as make men's flesh their prey, the place of deposit for their eggs, and the seat of peculiar torments.

And lice in all their coasts. These unutterably loathsome forms of life were as the dust of the ground, and covered their persons, their garments, and all they ate. Nothing is too small to master man when God commands it to assail him. The sons of Ham had despised the Israelites and now they were made to loathe themselves. The meanest beggars were more approachable than the proud Egyptians; they were reduced to the meanest condition of filthiness, and the most painful state of irritation. What armies the Lord can send forth when once his right arm is bared for war! And what scorn he pours on proud nations when he fights them, not with angels, but with lice! Pharaoh had little left to be proud of when his own person was invaded by filthy parasites. It was a slap in the face which ought to have humbled his heart, but, alas, man, when he is altogether polluted, still maintains his self conceit, and when he is the most disgusting object in the universe he still vaunts himself. Surely pride is moral madness.

Ver. 31. Flies. This term serves to denote a kind of insect that alights on the skin or leaves of plants, by its bite inflicting pain in tfe one case, and causing destruction in the other. The swarms of flies in Egypt are usually numerous, and excessively annoying. They alight on the moist part of the eyelids and nostrils, and inflict wounds that produce great pain, swelling and inflammation. They are also ruinous to the plants in which they lay their eggs. Philo (vit. Mos. 2 pg 110) describes the dog fly or gad fly as a grievous pest of Egypt. Gnats and mosquitoes are also abundant and virulent. A plague of such creatures would cause immense suffering and desolation. James G. Murphy.

Ver. 31. As an illustration of the power of flies we give an extract from Charles Marshall's "Canadian Dominion." "I have been told by men of unquestioned veracity, that at midday the clouds of mosquitoes on the plains would sometimes hide the leaders in a team of four horses from the sight of the driver. Cattle could only be recognised by their shape; all alike becoming black with an impenetrable crust of mosquitoes. The line of the route over the Red River plains would be marked by the carcases of oxen stung to death by this insignificant foe."

Ver. 31. Lice in all their coasts. The priests, being polluted by this horrible infection, could not stand to minister before their deities. The people could not, in their uncleanness, be admitted within the precincts of their temples. If they would offer sacrifice, there were no victims fit for the purpose. Even the gods, the oxen, and goats, and cats, were defiled with the vermin. The Egyptians not only writhed under the loathsome scourge, but felt themselves humbled and disgraced by it. Josephus notices this: "Pharaoh, "he says, "was so confounded at this new plague, that, what with the danger, the scandal, and the nastiness of it, he was half sorry for what he had done" (b. it. c. 14). The plague assumed the form of a disease, being "in the people." Ex 8:17. As Josephus says again, "The bodies of the people bred them, and they were all covered over with them, gnawing and tearing intolerably, and no remedy, for baths and ointments did no good." But, however distressing to their bodies, the foul and disgraceful character of the plague, and the offence brought upon their religion by the defilement of their deities and the interruption of all their religious ceremonies, was its most offensive feature. Thomas S. Millington.

Ver. 31. Lice. Vermin of the kind is one of the common annoyances of Egypt. Herodotus tells us (Ps 2:37) that the priests shave their whole body every other day, that no lice or other impure thing may adhere to them when they are engaged in the service of the gods. It is manifest that this species of vermin was particularly disgusting to the Egyptians. James G. Murphy.

Psalms 105:32*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies. The arob is now generally thought to be either the dog fly (kunomuia , LXX) or some sort of beetle. (see the comment on Exo_8:21) And lice in all their coasts; rather, gnats. (see on Exo_8:17)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Coasts - In all their land, even to the utmost borders of it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Connecting Statement:

The psalmist continues to describe Yahweh's judgment on Egypt.

swarms

large flying groups

gnats

small flying insects like flies but smaller

hail

ice that falls from the sky like rain

He destroyed ... he broke

God caused the hail, rain, and lightning to ruin the vines and trees. AT: "He caused it to destroy ... and to break" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

send

vine

fig

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.