The Meaning of Psalms 78:31 Explained

Psalms 78:31

KJV: The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

YLT: And the anger of God hath gone up against them, And He slayeth among their fat ones, And youths of Israel He caused to bend.

Darby: When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

ASV: When the anger of God went up against them, And slew of the fattest of them, And smote down the young men of Israel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Psalms 78:31 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 78:25-37 - Blessed Yet Ungrateful
God our Father is prepared to do "exceeding abundantly" for His children; but too often we become so engrossed with His gifts as to forget and neglect the Giver. We allow ourselves enjoyment to point of satiety; and then, by an inevitable revulsion, we begin to suffer. Always acknowledge God while enjoying His gifts. Do not separate the gifts of His grace and those of His providence. All good and perfect gifts are from Him, and are to be received with equal thanksgiving. Do not use them in excess, but in moderation; and let not the enjoyment of their sweetness be your main object, but that you may be fitted to play your part and do your work in the world.
It must greatly wound the love of God that we need to be placed on short rations in order to bring us back to Himself. But how true is Psalms 78:34 of us all! We sadly require to have the stedfast heart, and to be faithful to our side of the Covenant, for we must all confess to the sin of fickleness and changeableness in our religious life. Our constant prayer should be that of Psalms 51:10, Renew a stedfast spirit within me. But how can this be ours, except by the dwelling and uprising within us of the life of God? [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 78

1  An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9  The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67  The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David

What do the individual words in Psalms 78:31 mean?

and the wrath of God came against them and slew the stoutest of them and the choice [men] of Israel struck down
וְאַ֤ף אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀ עָ֘לָ֤ה בָהֶ֗ם וַֽ֭יַּהֲרֹג בְּמִשְׁמַנֵּיהֶ֑ם וּבַחוּרֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל הִכְרִֽיעַ

וְאַ֤ף  and  the  wrath 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀  of  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
עָ֘לָ֤ה  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
בָהֶ֗ם  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
וַֽ֭יַּהֲרֹג  and  slew 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
בְּמִשְׁמַנֵּיהֶ֑ם  the  stoutest  of  them 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מִשְׁמָן 
Sense: fatness, fat piece, fertile place, richly prepared food.
וּבַחוּרֵ֖י  and  the  choice  [men] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: youth, young man.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
הִכְרִֽיעַ  struck  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַע  
Sense: to bend, kneel, bow, bow down, sink down to one’s knees, kneel down to rest (of animals), kneel in reverence.

What are the major concepts related to Psalms 78:31?

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