Psalms 5:6

Psa 5:6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

Ver. 6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing] Whether in jest or earnest, those that lie in jest will, without repentance, go to hell in earnest. And for the officious lie some think it no fault; whereas, Gal 1:10, we must not speak truth to please men, much less may we lie. The truth is, all lies are pernicious, all liars will be destroyed, but especially those that have taught their tongues to speak lies, Jer 9:5, that take fast hold of deceit, Jer 8:5, so that they cannot be got off without striving: such a one was Doeg, Saul, &c.

The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man] Heb. the man of blood; for blood hath so many tongues as drops to cry for vengeance, Gen 4:10, and God makes inquisition, Psa 9:12, commanding that murderers should be drawn from the altar to the slaughter, Exo 21:14. This made King James say, that if God did leave him to kill a man he would think God did not love him. And for deceitful persons, the Lord is the avenger of all such, 1Th 4:6.

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.

leasing--a lie.

the bloody . . . man--literally, "man of blood"--murderer.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. That speak leasing] Falsity, from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.] leasunge, a lie, falsity, deceit; from [A.S.] leas, lie, which is from the verb [A.S.] leasian, to lie. See on Ps 4:2.

The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.] איש דמים ish damim, the man of bloods; for he who has the spirit of a murderer, will rarely end with one bloodshedding. So the Jews, who clamoured for the blood of our Lord, added to that, as far and as long as they could, the blood of his disciples.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(6) Leasing.—See Psa_4:2.

Bloody.—Margin, literally, of bloods and deceit. So LXX. and Vulg.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shall destroy them that speak leasing,.... Or "a lie" (i); whether in matters of religion; as false doctrines, errors, and heresies, are lies; and so all that deny the deity, sonship, and Messiahship of Christ, are liars; and the followers of the man of sin speak lies in hypocrisy: or in common conversation; such are like to Satan, and are abominable in the sight of God; and he will destroy them, either with a temporal destruction, with bodily diseases, as Gehazi was smitten with a leprosy; and with corporeal death, as Ananias and Sapphira; or with eternal destruction, the destruction of body and soul in hell; for all liars have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone;

the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man; or "the man of blood and deceit" (k); that thirsts after blood; who sheds innocent blood, as the Targum paraphrases it. He showed his resentment against Cain, the first of this sort, in a way that was intolerable to him. He very early established a law, requiring that he who shed man's blood, by man should his blood be shed; and he will give the whore of Rome, who has been drunk with the blood of his saints, blood to drink, because she is worthy. And all such who flatter with their tongue, and speak with a double heart, and lie in wait to deceive their neighbour, whether in things temporal or spiritual, are the objects of his abhorrence and indignation; see Psa 55:23. Now David's enemies being such sort of persons, foolish wicked men, proud and haughty, workers of iniquity, liars, bloody and deceitful men, men that God had an abhorrence of, he therefore hoped and was confident that God would hear his prayers against them, and for himself.

(i) "mendacium", V. L. (k) "vir sanguinum et doli, vel fraudis", Montanus, Cocceius, Gejerus; so Ainsworth.

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

Thou shalt destroy - Thou wilt bring to ruin; thou wilt cause to perish; that is, cause to perish as the wicked are caused to perish, by being punished. The idea is that God could not approve their cause; could not favor them; could not give them prosperity, and that they must be overthrown and punished. As in the previous verses, so here, David refers to this as a general characteristic of God, but with an implied reference to his enemies.

Them that speak leasing - Lies; the word “leasing” being the old Saxon word to denote falsehood. See Psa 4:2. It is not found elsewhere in our common version. The allusion here is to his enemies, and the idea is that they were false and treacherous; a description which will well apply to them on the supposition that this refers to the rebellion of Absalom. See the introduction to the psalm.

The Lord will abhor - Will hate; will hold in abomination. That is, he will show his abhorrence by punishing such as are here referred to.

The bloody and deceitful man - The man of blood and fraud; the man who sheds blood, and is guilty of treachery and fraud. Margin, “man of bloods and deceit.” The “man of bloods,” - “the plural form being commonly used where there is reference to blood-guiltiness or murder.” - “Prof. Alexander.” See Gen 4:10; Psa 51:14. The idea seems to be that of shedding “much” blood. The reference here, as before, is to a general characteristic of the Divine Mind, with a special reference to the character of David’s enemies, as being distinguished for fraud and blood-guiltiness. On the supposition (see introduction) that this refers to the rebellion of Absalom, there can be no difficulty in seeing the propriety of the application. It was on these grounds that the psalmist directed his prayer to God. He was confident that his was a righteous cause; he was as sure that his enemies were engaged in a wicked cause; and he felt, therefore, that “he” might go before God and seek his interposition, with the assurance that all his attributes, as a righteous and holy God, would be enlisted in his favor. God has “no” attribute which can take part with a sinner, or on which a sinner can rely; the righteous can appeal to “every” attribute in the divine nature as a ground of confidence and hope.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Leasing; or, lies; that make it their business to raise and scatter calumnies and reproaches concerning me; as many did.

The bloody and deceitful man; those who design mischief against me or my friends raider a pretence of kindness; of whom he oft speaks.

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

Ver. 6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing, whether in jest or earnest. Those that lie in jest will (without repentance) go to hell in earnest. John Trapp.

Ver. 6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing, etc. In the same field where Absalom raised battle against his father, stood the oak that was his gibbet. The mule whereon he rode was his hangman, for the mule carried him to the tree, and the hair wherein he gloried served for a rope to hang. Little know the wicked how everything which now they have shall be a snare to trap them when God begins to punish them. William Cowper, 1612.

None.

Ver. 7. With this verse the first part of the Psalm ends. The Psalmist has bent his knee in prayer; he has described before God, as an argument for his deliverance, the character and the fate of the wicked; and now he contrasts this with the condition of the righteous.

But as for me, I will come into thy house. I will not stand at a distance, I will come into thy sanctuary, just as a child comes into his father's house. But I will not come there by my own merits; no, I have a multitude of sins, and therefore I will come in the multitude of thy mercy. I will approach thee with confidence because of thy immeasurable grace. God's judgments are all numbered, but his mercies are innumerable; he gives his wrath by weight, but without weight his mercy.

And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple,towards the temple of thy holiness. The temple was not built on earth at that time; it was but a tabernacle; but David was wont to turn his eyes spiritually to that temple of God's holiness where between the wings of the Cherubim Jehovah dwells in light ineffable. Daniel opened his window toward Jerusalem, but we open our hearts toward heaven.

Ver. 7. In thy fear will I worship. As natural fear makes the spirits retire from the outward parts of the body to the heart, so a holy fear of miscarrying in so solemn a duty would be a means to call thy thoughts from all exterior carnal objects, and fix them upon the duty in hand. As the sculpture is on the seal, so will the print on the wax be; if the fear of God be deeply engraven on thy heart, there is no doubt but it will make a suitable impression on the duty thou performest. William Gurnall.

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

6. Leasing—Lying, falsehood. Here applying to speech.

Bloody and deceitful—Deceit here specially applies to treachery, bad faith, treason, as 2Ki_9:23; Psa_55:11; Jer_9:6. Whether the lying and deceit consist in words or acts, such as practice them God will destroy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing. (comp. Psa_4:2) David"s adversaries were cunning, treacherous, and quite regardless of truth. (see 2Sa_3:27 2Sa_13:28 2Sa_15:7-9 2Sa_20:10, etc.) God"s vengeance was sure to fall upon them, either in this world or in the next. The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. An individual seems to be pointed at, who is probably Ahithophel.

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

6. What was said in the preceding verse of sin is here, to prevent misapprehension, said of sinners. They shall not stand, the proud, or insolent, here put for wicked men in general and for the Psalmist's enemies in particular, before thine eyes. Thou canst not bear the presence of thy moral opposites. Sin is not only opposed to God's will, but repugnant to his nature. By ceasing to hate it, he would cease to be holy, cease to be perfect, cease to be God. This idea is expressed more directly in the other clause. Thou hast hated, and must still hate, all doers of iniquity. This last word is originally a negative, meaning inanity or nonentity, but like several other negatives in Hebrew, is employed as a strong term to denote moral deficiency and worthlessness.

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

Confused people who make themselves mad, and in the language of the Mishnah, מערבבין, confused.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

(Mad) fools (הוללים) shall not stand before Thine eyes: – The significance of הוללים is sometimes that of folly, as (in the passages) “And he played the fool in their hands” (1 Sam. 21:14); “I said it is foolish” (Eccles. 2:2); and sometimes it is used with the significance of wickedness, as (in the passage) “mischievous madness” (הוללות) (ibid. 10:13), and similar instances. And in this sense (is the clause to be taken here)-(Mad) fools shall not stand before Thine eyes, as he proceeds to say

Thou hatest all workers of iniquity: – nevertheless a single class contains them all, for wickedness is not of the way of knowledge and wisdom. And the interpretation of before Thine eyes (is): like a man who hates another and is unwilling to look him in the face.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Shall not stand (לֹא יִתְיַצְּבוּ - lo yityatzvu): The meaning of stand (yityatzvu) is in the manner of servants (ha-avadim) standing [in attendance] upon their king (nitzavim al malkam).

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.