Psalms 59:15

Psa 59:15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.

Ver. 15. Let them wander up and down for meat] Sicut mendici de ostio ad ostium faciunt, as beggars do from door to door, saith Kimchi.

And grudge if they be not satisfied] Murmur against God and men, howling against heaven, as hungry wolves, Isa 8:21. Others understand it thus, Let them run to and fro for meat, that is, to devour me, as Psa 27:2; but surely they shall not be satisfied, but miss their design, though they tarry all night, watching for me.

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.

16. (Psa 59:15). They shall wander (in quest of something) to eat, (and) if they are not satisfied, remain all night. This sentence is obscure, whether it be understood as a defiance or a threatening, though the latter construction is recommended by the emphatic pronoun at the beginning. They themselves, the very persons who now threaten me, shall roam about in search of food, etc. The most probable meaning of the last clause is: and not being satisfied, not finding what they seek, they must continue seeking it by night as well as by day. The conversive particle before the last word seems be here equivalent to then or still after a conditional clause—"if they are not satisfied, then they shall remain all night"—or "though they be not satisfied, yet must they remain all night."

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

grudge if, &c.--literally, "they shall stay all night," that is, obtain nothing.

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

(15) Let them wander.—This verse is variously understood. The margin gives the rendering of most modern scholars; but what does it mean by “They will pass the night”? To say they will not go away unsatisfied seems poor. Ewald’s conjecture, “They will satisfy themselves forsooth, and remain,” i.e., die, seems strained. The slightest change in the vowel-points gives the interpretation adopted by the LXX., Vulg., Jerome, Luther, &c: “If not satisfied they will growl,” which admirably suits the context.

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

But I will sing of thy power,.... In creating all things out of nothing; in upholding all things in being; in the redemption of his people; in their conversion and calling; in the preservation of them to eternal happiness; in the performance of his promises to them; in the destruction of their enemies; and in their protection:

yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning; of providential mercies, which are new every morning; and of special mercy in the heart of God, in the covenant of his grace, in redemption, in regeneration, in the pardon of sin, and in eternal life and salvation;

for thou hast been my defence; See Gill on Psa 59:9;

and refuge in the day of my trouble; whither he fled, and found protection and safety; See Gill on Psa 9:9.

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

Let them wander up and down for meat - Let them be like dogs that wander about for food, and find none. The idea is, that they would not find him, and would be then as dogs that had sought in vain for food.

And grudge if they be not satisfied - Margin, If they be not satisfied, then they will stay all night. The marginal reading is most in accordance with the Hebrew. The sentence is obscure, but the idea seems to be that they would not be satisfied - that is, they would not obtain that which they had sought; and, like hungry and disappointed dogs, they would be compelled to pass the night in this miserable and wretched condition. The word which our translators have rendered “grudge” - from לוּן lûn - means properly to pass the night; then, to abide, to remain, to dwell; and then, in Hiphil, to show oneself obstinate and stubborn - from the idea of remaining or persisting in a bad cause; and hence, the word sometimes means to complain: Num 14:29; Exo 17:3. It has not, however, the signification of grudging, though it might mean here to murmur or complain because they were disappointed. But the most natural meaning is that which the word properly bears - that of passing the night, as referring to their wandering about, disappointed in their object, and yet still hoping that they might possibly obtain it. The anticipated feeling in the mind of the psalmist is that which he would have in the consciousness of his own safety, and in the pleasure of knowing that they must sooner or later find out that their victim had escaped.

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

Wander up and down for meat, to get a livelihood. And grudge if they be not satisfied: when their bodies are hungry, let their minds be discontented. Or, as others render the words, and lodge, or be forced to lodge, all night, when they are not satisfied. Let them go to their rest with an empty stomach.

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

15. Let them wander—Or, they shall wander. The metaphor of hungry dogs prowling about the city for some offal to alleviate their hunger, but finding nothing, is here carried out to illustrate that God would punish these conspirators through their own bloodthirsty passions, by withholding the object of their desire and defeating their deadly schemes. Thus sin becomes an instrument of its own punishment.

Grudge—The Hebrew word should here take its more usual sense of to tarry, lodge, continue. The sense is: “If these hungry dogs, prowling for food, be not satisfied, they will continue all night, even to exhaustion, in their fruitless search.” This completes the metaphor, and finishes the picture of their wretchedness.

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

Let them wander up and down for meat; rather, they wander up and down for meat. David himself was the prey which they desired. They kept guard around his house, wandering, no doubt, up and down. And grudge if they be not satisfied; rather, as in the margin and in the Revised Version, and if they be not satisfied, they will stay all night. This they appear to have done from 1Sa_19:11-15.

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

And they will return in the evening This is attached to the preceding verse. The sin of their mouth they speak by day, and in the evening, they return to ambush those whom they slandered.

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.