Psalm 78:63
New International Version
Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;

New Living Translation
Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs.

English Standard Version
Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.

Berean Standard Bible
Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.

King James Bible
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

New King James Version
The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage.

New American Standard Bible
Fire devoured His young men, And His virgins had no wedding songs.

NASB 1995
Fire devoured His young men, And His virgins had no wedding songs.

NASB 1977
Fire devoured His young men; And His virgins had no wedding songs.

Legacy Standard Bible
Fire devoured His choice men, And His virgins had no wedding songs.

Amplified Bible
The fire [of war] devoured His young men, And His [bereaved] virgins had no wedding songs.

Christian Standard Bible
Fire consumed his chosen young men, and his young women had no wedding songs.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Fire consumed His chosen young men, and His young women had no wedding songs.

American Standard Version
Fire devoured their young men; And their virgins had no marriage-song.

Contemporary English Version
Fire destroyed the young men, and the young women were left with no one to marry.

English Revised Version
Fire devoured their young men; and their maidens had no marriage-song.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Fire consumed his best young men, so his virgins heard no wedding songs.

Good News Translation
Young men were killed in war, and young women had no one to marry.

International Standard Version
The young men were consumed by fire, and the virgins had no marriage celebrations.

Majority Standard Bible
Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.

NET Bible
Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins remained unmarried.

New Heart English Bible
Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.

Webster's Bible Translation
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

World English Bible
Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Fire has consumed His young men, "" And His virgins have not been praised.

Young's Literal Translation
His young men hath fire consumed, And His virgins have not been praised.

Smith's Literal Translation
The fire devoured his young men, and his virgins wailed not.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Fire consumed their young men: and their maidens were not lamented.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins were not lamented.

New American Bible
Fire consumed their young men; their young women heard no wedding songs.

New Revised Standard Version
Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were violated.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The fire consumed their boys and their virgins were abused.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Fire devoured their young men; And their virgins had no marriage-song.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Fire devoured their young men; and their virgins mourned not.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
62He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage. 63Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs. 64His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 7:34
I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”

Jeremiah 16:9
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.

Jeremiah 25:10
Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

Jeremiah 33:11
the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.

Lamentations 5:14-15
The elders have left the city gate; the young men have stopped their music. / Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.

Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.

Hosea 2:11
I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts.

Joel 1:8
Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth.

Joel 1:12
The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

Revelation 18:23
The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

Matthew 22:7
The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.

Luke 19:43-44
For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. / They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Luke 21:23-24
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. / They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

1 Thessalonians 2:16
hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.


Treasury of Scripture

The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

fire

Psalm 78:21
Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;

Deuteronomy 29:20
The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Deuteronomy 32:22
For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

maidens

Isaiah 4:1
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Jeremiah 7:34
Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

Jeremiah 16:9
For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

given to marriage.

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Burned Consumed Devoured Fire Maidens Marriage Praised Song Songs Virgins Wedding Young
Psalm 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.














Fire consumed their young men
This phrase begins with the imagery of "fire," which in the Hebrew context often symbolizes judgment, purification, or destruction. The Hebrew word for fire, "אֵשׁ" (esh), is frequently used in the Old Testament to denote God's wrath or divine judgment. In the historical context of Israel, fire consuming young men could refer to the devastating consequences of war or divine retribution. The young men, representing the strength and future of the nation, being consumed, indicates a significant loss and a divine response to the people's disobedience.

and their maidens had no wedding songs
The phrase "their maidens" refers to the young women of Israel, who traditionally would be preparing for marriage and family life. The absence of "wedding songs" signifies a profound cultural and social disruption. In ancient Israel, weddings were joyous occasions marked by music and celebration. The Hebrew word for song, "שִׁיר" (shir), often denotes joy and festivity. The lack of wedding songs suggests a time of mourning and loss, where the normal rhythms of life are interrupted by tragedy. This reflects the broader theme of Psalm 78, which recounts Israel's history of rebellion and the resulting divine judgments, urging the people to remember and return to faithfulness.

(63) Were not given.--See margin. The desolation and misery were marked by the absence of the glad nuptial song.

Verse 63. - The fire consumed their young men. The reference is not to such passages as Leviticus 10:2; Numbers 11:1; Numbers 16:35, where a literal fire seems to be spoken of, but rather to the fire of war (Numbers 21:28; Isaiah 26:11; Jeremiah 48:45), or more generally to the fire of the Divine anger (Isaiah 10:16-18; Isaiah 47:14, etc.). And their maidens were not given to marriage; literally, were not praised in song; i.e. in the bridal song. The destruction of the young men, either in battle or in any other way, caused there to be more marriageable girls in Israel than there were husbands for (comp. Isaiah 4:1).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Fire
אֵ֑שׁ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

consumed
אָֽכְלָה־ (’ā·ḵə·lāh-)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

His young men,
בַּחוּרָ֥יו (ba·ḥū·rāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 970: Selected, a youth

and their maidens
וּ֝בְתוּלֹתָ֗יו (ū·ḇə·ṯū·lō·ṯāw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1330: A virgin, sometimes, a bride

were left without
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

wedding songs.
הוּלָּֽלוּ׃ (hūl·lā·lū)
Verb - Pual - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1984: To shine


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OT Poetry: Psalm 78:63 Fire devoured their young men (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 78:62
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