Psalms 78:31

Psa 78:31 The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen [men] of Israel.

Ver. 31. The wrath of God came upon them] Heb. ascended, as a flame, which the bigger it groweth the higher it getteth.

And slew the fattest of them] Those that had glutted and stuffed themselves like a woolpack, being nitida et bene curata cute pingues, fat and fair-liking.

And smote down the chosen men of Israel] Or, The young men, who by a hasty testament bequeathed that new name, Kibroth-hattaavah, that is, the graves of lust, to the place they lay buried In.

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.

Ver. 31. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them. Two things are here worthy of notice. 1. One, Why he gave them abundance and sufficiency of quails, and afterward punished the murmuring and unbelieving. If he had punished them before, he would have appeared to have had greater ability to destroy them, than to give them flesh. Therefore, that he might first declare his power, and so make the unbelief of the people the more plain, and show how deserving they were of punishment, he first showed he could give, because they believed he could not, and then punished them for their unbelief... 2. The other, that he destroyed the fat and the chosen men among the people, although they all are said to have murmured. Without a doubt, they were first in the crime, and therefore they are specially mentioned in the punishment. Musculus.

Ver. 31. Slew the fattest of them. They were fed as sheep for the slaughter. The butcher takes the fattest first. We may suppose there were some pious and contented Israelites that did eat moderately of the quails, and were never the worse; for it was not the meat that poisoned them, but their own lust, Let epicures and sensualists here read their doom; they who make "a god of their belly, their end is destruction, "Php 3:19. Matthew Henry.

Ver. 31-34. The Christian has more true pleasure from the creature than the wicked, as it comes more refined to him than to the other. The unholy wretch sucks dregs and all, dregs of sin and dregs of wrath, whereas the Christian's cup is not thus spiced. First, dregs of sin; the more he hath of the creature's delights given him, the more he sins with them. Oh, it is sad to think what work they make in his naughty heart! they are but fuel for his lust to kindle upon; away they run with their enjoyments, as the prodigal with his bags, or like hogs in shaking time; no sight is to be had of them, or thought of their return as long as they can get anything abroad, among the delights of the world. None so prodigiously wicked as those who are fed high with carnal pleasures. They are to the ungodly as the dung and ordure is to the swine which grows fat by lying in it; so their hearts grow gross and fat; their consciences more stupid and senseless in sin by them; whereas the comforts and delights that God gives unto a holy soul by the creature, turn to spiritual nourishment to his graces, and draw these forth into exercise, as they do others' lusts. Secondly, dregs of wrath. The Israelites had little pleasure from their dainties, when the wrath of God fell upon them, before they could get them down their throats. The sinner's feast is no sooner served in but divine justice is preparing to send up a reckoning after it, and the fearful expectation of this cannot but spoil the taste of the other. William Gurnall.

Ver. 31-34. See Psalms on "Ps 78:31" for further information.

Ver. 31-34. See Psalms on "Ps 78:31" for further information.

Ver. 31-34. The Christian has more true pleasure from the creature than the wicked, as it comes more refined to him than to the other. The unholy wretch sucks dregs and all, dregs of sin and dregs of wrath, whereas the Christian's cup is not thus spiced. First, dregs of sin; the more he hath of the creature's delights given him, the more he sins with them. Oh, it is sad to think what work they make in his naughty heart! they are but fuel for his lust to kindle upon; away they run with their enjoyments, as the prodigal with his bags, or like hogs in shaking time; no sight is to be had of them, or thought of their return as long as they can get anything abroad, among the delights of the world. None so prodigiously wicked as those who are fed high with carnal pleasures. They are to the ungodly as the dung and ordure is to the swine which grows fat by lying in it; so their hearts grow gross and fat; their consciences more stupid and senseless in sin by them; whereas the comforts and delights that God gives unto a holy soul by the creature, turn to spiritual nourishment to his graces, and draw these forth into exercise, as they do others' lusts. Secondly, dregs of wrath. The Israelites had little pleasure from their dainties, when the wrath of God fell upon them, before they could get them down their throats. The sinner's feast is no sooner served in but divine justice is preparing to send up a reckoning after it, and the fearful expectation of this cannot but spoil the taste of the other. William Gurnall.

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

31. (Psa 78:31) And the wrath of God came up among them (or against them), and slew among their fat ones, and the chosen, (youths) of Israel brought low. The form of expression in the first clause is the same as in Psa 78:21 above. Among their fat ones, i.e. killed some or many of them. The parallel term, according to its etymology, means picked or chosen men, but its usage is applied to young men in their full strength and the flower of their age, and therefore fit for military service. Thus the youngest and strongest are de- scribed as unable to resist the exhibition of God's wrath against his people.

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

Then

while the food was still in their mouths (Psalms 78:31)

God's anger attacked them

"God was angry and attacked them." See how "his anger attacked Israel" is translated in Psalms 78:21. (See: Personification)

brought down

This is a euphemism that means he caused them to die. AT: "killed" (See: Euphemism)

did not believe his wonderful deeds

The word "deeds" is a metonym for God, who did the deeds. What they did not believe can be stated clearly. AT: "did not believe that he would take care of them even though he had done such wonderful deeds" (See: Metonymy and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

God

anger

Israel

sin

believe

works

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

Though others were not spared, yet chiefly they suffered, which trusted in their strength against God.

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

(31) Slew the fattest.—This may mean either the strongest or the noblest.

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

31. When the anger of God went up against them,

And slew of the lustiest of them,

And laid low the young men of Israel.

Even before they had been surfeited with the quails—an allusion to Num_11:20—the judgement fell upon them (Num_11:33), and the plague broke out. God punishes men by answering their prayers, a truth which even heathen moralists recognised.

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.

For all this they sinned still,.... Those that survived, not being brought to repentance by mercies, nor by judgments; not by mercies, such as before mentioned, though they were great and many, and some of them continued, and of which they were very unworthy; the goodness of God should, but it does not always, lead persons to repentance; mercies, unless they are sanctified, often prove snares and temptations to sin yet more and more; nothing short of the grace of God will bring persons to repentance for sin, or keep them from it: nor by judgments, which were last mentioned, and seem chiefly designed; these have no more effect than the other, unless the power of divine grace goes along with them; see Amo 4:6 it could not be thought, nor was it expected, that they should, after all these mercies and judgments, have lived without sin, which no man does, or can do; but then they went on in a course of sin, and were continually repeating their transgressions, and were guilty of sins of a very heinous nature, many of which are on record; as Aaron and Miriam, by speaking against Moses, the faithful servant of the Lord, which brought upon the latter the plague of leprosy; the spies which were sent to search the land, and brought an evil report of it, which set the people a murmuring, and put them on thoughts of returning to Egypt; those that were concerned in the business of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who were swallowed up in the earth, or burnt with fire from heaven; the whole congregation which murmured at Kadesh, whom Moses called rebels, and who afterwards expressed their loathing of the manna, for which fiery serpents were sent among them, Num 12:1, Num 20:2 but their prevailing sin was unbelief, as follows:

and believed not for his wondrous works: not "in" them, though the words will bear to be so rendered; for they did believe in them when they were wrought, and that they were wrought by the Lord; though they soon forgot them, and fell into distrust and unbelief; but "by" them (r), or by means of them; though such wonderful things were done for them in providence, as before related, which should have engaged their faith and trust in the Lord; yet, notwithstanding these, they called in question his providence, power, and goodness.

(r) "per miracula ejus", Schmidt; so some in Gejerus.

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

The wrath of God came upon them - See Num 11:33.

And slew the fattest of them - literally, “slew among their fat ones.” That is, The most vigorous among them were cut down; the people most eminent for rank, for influence, for strength, for valor. How far this was the natural effect of indulgence in eating, and how far it was a direct miracle, cannot now be ascertained. In either case it would equally show the divine displeasure.

And smote down - Margin, as in Hebrew, “made to bow.” That is, they were made to bow in death.

The chosen men of Israel - Margin, “Young men.” The idea is that of select men; men that would be chosen from among the others; men distinguished for vigor or influence. Not the aged or the feeble particularly, not those who might be naturally expected to fall, but men of strength who might be supposed to be capable of resisting the ordinary attacks of disease. God showed in this way that the judgment came directly from his hand.

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

The fattest of them; the most healthy and strong, who probably were most desirous of this food, and fed most eagerly upon it, and grew fatter by it, and least suspected their own danger.

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

31. The wrath of God—It does not appear that the plague and mortality which broke out were wholly a natural result of their intemperance, but a direct judgment of God, which made their feasting a loathsomeness and terror.

Fattest of them—Not only the healthiest and most robust, but the chiefs, or, as in next line, the chosen… of Israel, which shows how strong and deep had been the disaffection.

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

The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them. (comp. Num_11:33, "While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague By "the fattest of them," we are to understand the strongest and healthiest. And smote down the chosen men of Israel; rather, the young men, as in the margin, "the ripened youths" (Cheyne). Here, again, the author adds touches which he has not obtained from the Pentateuch.

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

Mightiest - The most healthy and strong, who probably were most desirous of this food, and fed most eagerly upon it.

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

and...the chosen of Israel The chosen of them and the men of the assembly, הָאסַפסוּף (Num. 11:4). They are the elders, as it is said (Num. 11:16): “Assemble (אספו) to Me, etc.”

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.