Psalm 78:64
New International Version
their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.

New Living Translation
Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths.

English Standard Version
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

Berean Standard Bible
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.

King James Bible
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

New King James Version
Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.

New American Standard Bible
His priests fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.

NASB 1995
His priests fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.

NASB 1977
His priests fell by the sword; And His widows could not weep.

Legacy Standard Bible
His priests fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.

Amplified Bible
His priests [Hophni and Phinehas] fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.

Christian Standard Bible
His priests fell by the sword, and the widows could not lament.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
His priests fell by the sword, but the widows could not lament.

American Standard Version
Their priests fell by the sword; And their widows made no lamentation.

Contemporary English Version
Priests died violent deaths, but their widows were not allowed to mourn.

English Revised Version
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
His priests were cut down with swords. The widows [of his priests] could not even weep [for them].

Good News Translation
Priests died by violence, and their widows were not allowed to mourn.

International Standard Version
The priests fell by the sword, yet their widows couldn't weep.

Majority Standard Bible
His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.

NET Bible
Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.

New Heart English Bible
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn't weep.

Webster's Bible Translation
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

World English Bible
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
His priests have fallen by the sword, "" And their widows do not weep.

Young's Literal Translation
His priests by the sword have fallen, And their widows weep not.

Smith's Literal Translation
His priests fell by the sword, and his widows wept not.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Their priests fell by the sword: and their widows did not mourn.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.

New American Bible
Their priests fell by the sword; their widows made no lamentation.

New Revised Standard Version
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The priests fell by the sword and their widows did not weep.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Their priests fell by the sword; And their widows made no lamentation.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows shall not be wept for.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
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. 65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 4:17-22
The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” / As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years. / Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her. ...

1 Samuel 2:32-36
You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age. / And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, I will cause your eyes to fail and your heart to grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men. / And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day. ...

1 Samuel 22:18-19
So the king ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests himself. On that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. / He also put to the sword Nob, the city of the priests, with its men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.

1 Samuel 3:11-14
Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle. / On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end. / I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them. ...

1 Samuel 4:10-11
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. / The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

1 Samuel 2:30-31
Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained. / Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no one in it will reach old age.

1 Samuel 4:19-21
Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her. / As she was dying, the women attending to her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son!” But she did not respond or pay any heed. / And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.

1 Samuel 2:12-17
Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD / or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling / and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ...

1 Samuel 2:22-25
Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. / “Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people. / No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people. ...

1 Samuel 2:27-29
Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house? / And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites. / Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’

1 Samuel 2:34
And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.

1 Samuel 4:1-2
Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. / The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.

1 Samuel 4:3-4
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.” / So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

1 Samuel 4:5-9
When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that the ground shook. / On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp, / the Philistines were afraid. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. ...

1 Samuel 4:12-18
That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. / When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out. / Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” So the man hurried over and reported to Eli. ...


Treasury of Scripture

Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

priests

1 Samuel 2:33,34
And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age…

1 Samuel 4:11,17
And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain…

1 Samuel 22:18,19
And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod…

widows

1 Samuel 4:19,20
And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her…

Job 27:15
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

Ezekiel 24:23
And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.

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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.














Their priests fell by the sword
This phrase highlights the tragic fate of the priests, who were meant to be the spiritual leaders and mediators between God and the people of Israel. The Hebrew word for "priests" is "כֹּהֲנִים" (kohanim), which refers to those set apart for sacred duties. Historically, priests were integral to the religious life of Israel, performing sacrifices and maintaining the temple. The phrase "fell by the sword" indicates a violent death, suggesting a time of judgment and calamity. This could be reflective of periods in Israel's history when they faced divine retribution due to disobedience, such as during the Philistine invasions. The loss of priests would have been a significant spiritual and communal blow, symbolizing a breakdown in the relationship between God and His people.

and their widows could not weep
The phrase "their widows could not weep" is poignant, indicating a deep level of despair and shock. In Hebrew culture, mourning was an essential part of the grieving process, often involving loud lamentations and public displays of sorrow. The inability to weep suggests a grief so profound that it transcends expression, or perhaps a situation so dire that even the customary mourning rituals were disrupted. This could imply a time of such widespread devastation that the normal processes of life, including mourning, were interrupted. It serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of turning away from God, as the community is left in a state of numbness and desolation. This phrase underscores the theme of divine judgment and the severe impact of spiritual and moral failure on the community.

(64) And their widows . . .--Undoubtedly referring to the fact that the wife of Phinehas died in premature labour, and so could not attend the funeral of her husband with the customary lamentations, which in Oriental countries are so loud and marked. The Prayer-Book version, therefore, gives the right feeling--"there were no widows to make lamentations."

Verse 64. - Their priests fell by the sword. As Hophni and Phinehas at the taking of the ark (1 Samuel 4:11), and, no doubt, many others on other occasions. And their widows made no lamentation. The solemn funeral dirge could not take place, since the bodies remained on the battlefield.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
His priests
כֹּ֭הֲנָיו (kō·hă·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3548: Priest

fell
נָפָ֑לוּ (nā·p̄ā·lū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5307: To fall, lie

by the sword,
בַּחֶ֣רֶב (ba·ḥe·reḇ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

but His widows
וְ֝אַלְמְנֹתָ֗יו (wə·’al·mə·nō·ṯāw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 490: A widow, a desolate place

could not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

lament.
תִבְכֶּֽינָה׃ (ṯiḇ·ke·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 1058: To weep, to bemoan


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OT Poetry: Psalm 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 78:63
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