Psalms 79:3

3. like water] Freely, and as though it were of little worth. Contrast Psa_116:15.

none to bury them] Cp. Jer_14:16. This passage is quoted freely in 1Ma_7:17 with reference to the murder of certain Assideans by the high priest Alcimus, “He took of them threescore men and slew them in one day, according to the words which one wrote, The flesh of thy saints and their blood did they shed round about Jerusalem, and they had none to bury them.” Clearly the meaning cannot be that the Psalm was written with reference to that event, for by that time (b.c. 162) the situation of affairs was wholly different from that described in the Psalm. Judas had won many victories, and the Temple had been re-dedicated. Moreover the Psalm implies a much more extensive slaughter of Israelites, and that by heathen, not by a treacherous Israelite. There is probably another reminiscence of Psa_79:3 in 1Ma_1:37, “They shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it.”

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.

Psa 79:3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and [there was] none to bury [them].

Ver. 3. Their blood have they shed like water] Contemptim vel abiecte. They made no more reckoning of it than of ditch water; and were ready to say, as Hannibal did when he saw a ditch full of men’s blood, O formosum spectaculum! O beautiful sight!

And there was none to bury them] Either none to bury them at all, which the Jews accounted worse than death, Ecc 6:3, and the Romans extreme cruelty, Immanitatis est Scythicae non sepelire mortuos (Sen. ad Martiam); or none to bury them cum ritibus, with the accustomed rites and ceremonies, as Jacob was buried, Gen 50:1-13, but not Jeconiah, Jer 22:18.

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.

3. (Psa 79:3) They have shed their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there is none burying, or none to bury them. There is no period in the history of ancient Israel to which these terms can be applied without extravagance, except that of the Babylonian conquest.

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

Their friends and kinsfolks durst not bury them for fear of the enemies.

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

Verse 3. There was none to bury them.] The Chaldeans would not; and the Jews who were not slain were carried into captivity.

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

(3) Their blood.—In 1Ma_7:17, we read “The flesh of thy saints and their blood have they shed round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them,” introduced by “according to the word which he wrote.” This is evidently a free quotation from this psalm, and seems to imply a reference to a contemporary.

None to bury.—For this aggravation of the evil comp. Jer_14:16; Jer_22:18-19.

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

Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem,.... Without any concern of mind, or remorse of conscience; without any fear of God or man; as if it had been so much water only; and this they shed in great abundance: from the Apocrypha:

"And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.'' (1 Maccabees 1:24)

"And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel.'' (1 Maccabees 1:30)

"Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it:'' (1 Maccabees 1:37)

"So they rose up against them in battle on the sabbath, and they slew them, with their wives and children and their cattle, to the number of a thousand people.'' (1 Maccabees 2:38)

in like manner the blood of the saints has been shed by the antichristian beast of Rome, for which he and his followers will be righteously retaliated, Rev 17:6.

and there was none to bury them: either the number of the slain was so great, that there were not left enough to bury the dead, or they that did remain were not suffered to do it; this will be the case of the two witnesses, when slain, Rev 11:7.

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

Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem - They have poured it out in such quantities that it seems to flow like water - not an uncommon occurrence in war. There was no event in the history of the Hebrews to which this description would be more applicable than to the Babylonian invasion. The language might indeed be applicable to the desolation of the city by Antiochus Epiphanes, and also to its destruction by the Romans; but, of course, it cannot refer to the latter, and there is no necessity for supposing that it refers to the former. All the conditions of a proper interpretation are fulfilled by supposing that it refers to the time of the Chaldean invasion.

And there was none to bury them - The Chaldeans would not do it, and they would not suffer the Hebrew people to do it.

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

Like water; plentifully and contemptuously, valuing it no more than common water.

None to bury them, because their friends, who should have done it, were either slain or fled, or were not permitted, or durst not undertake, to perform that office to them.

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

Ver. 3. "Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem." The invaders slew men as if their blood was of no more value than so much water; they poured it forth as lavishly as when the floods deluge the plains. The city of holy peace became a field of blood.

"And there was none to bury them." The few who survived were afraid to engage in the task. This was a serious trial and grievous horror to the Jews, who evinced much care concerning their burials. Has it come to this, that there are none to bury the dead of thy family, O Lord? Can none be found to grant a shovelful of earth with which to cover up the poor bodies of thy murdered saints? What woe is here! How glad should we be that we live in so quiet an age, when the blast of the trumpet is no more heard in our streets.

Whole Psalm. See Psalms on "Ps 79:1" for further information.

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

Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem. During the long siege (eighteen months) the number slain in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem would be very large. And there was none to bury them. (compare the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer_14:16) The population being for the most part carried into captivity, and but few left in the land, (Jer_52:15, Jer_52:16) the bodies of the slain lay unburied, the few left not being able to bury them. Compare the preceding verse.

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