The Meaning of Psalms 64:8 Explained

Psalms 64:8

KJV: So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.

YLT: And they cause him to stumble, Against them is their own tongue, Every looker on them fleeth away.

Darby: By their own tongue they are made to fall over one another: all that see them shall flee away.

ASV: So they shall be made to stumble, their own tongue being against them: All that see them shall wag the head.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So they shall make their own tongue  to fall  upon themselves: all that see  them shall flee away. 

What does Psalms 64:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 64:1-10 - Deliverance From Powerful Foes
Another of the psalms dating from Saul's persecution. There are two stanzas.
Prayer for preservation, Psalms 64:1-6
Insult, sarcasm, and slander still fall to the lot of those who will live godly in this world. Very few of us are safe from poisoned arrows. Because the world is so full of evil men, who are disposed to put the worst construction on every act, we should be constantly on our guard to give no needless cause to the enemy to blaspheme, 2 Samuel 12:14. Daniel gives us an admirable illustration of this, since his enemies had no cause against him, save as it concerned the law of his God, Daniel 6:5.
Assurance of divine vindication, Psalms 64:7-10
David felt that God had undertaken to be his champion. His arrows were flying through the air thick and fast. Curses come home to roost, and the overthrow of wickedness by the floating mines set to wreck the righteous, is evidence of God's government of the world. Let the righteous look forward with quiet confidence to the time when the world shall be righted, and when the water-pots that are now filled to the brim with tears shall yield the wine of the wedding-feast. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 64

1  David prays for deliverance, complaining of his enemies
7  He promises himself to see such an evident destruction of his enemies,
10  as the righteous shall rejoice at it

What do the individual words in Psalms 64:8 mean?

So He will make stumble over them their own tongue shall flee away All who see them
וַיַּכְשִׁיל֣וּהוּ עָלֵ֣ימוֹ לְשׁוֹנָ֑ם יִ֝תְנֹדֲד֗וּ כָּל־ רֹ֥אֵה בָֽם

וַיַּכְשִׁיל֣וּהוּ  So  He  will  make  stumble 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּשַׁל  
Sense: to stumble, stagger, totter.
עָלֵ֣ימוֹ  over  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
לְשׁוֹנָ֑ם  their  own  tongue 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לָשֹׁון  
Sense: tongue.
יִ֝תְנֹדֲד֗וּ  shall  flee  away 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָדַד  
Sense: to retreat, flee, depart, move, wander abroad, stray, flutter.
רֹ֥אֵה  who  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.