Psalm 91:7

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) It shall not come nigh thee.—It, i.e., no one of the dangers enumerated. The pious Israelite bears a charmed life. Safe under Divine protection, he only sees the effect of perils that pass by him harmless.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 91:7. A thousand shall fall at thy side — At thy left side, this being opposed to the right hand, immediately mentioned; but it shall not come nigh thee — This and such like promises are not to be understood absolutely and universally, as if no truly good man could be cut off by the plague, or by other common calamities, which is confuted both by other plain texts of Scripture, and by unquestionable experience; but with due limitations and conditions; either on man’s part, as, if there be a defect in his faith or obedience; or on God’s part, when God sees death is more for his good than life, as it apparently is, when righteous men are taken away from the evil to come, as is said Isaiah 57:1. In which case, though God doth not give the thing promised, yet he giveth a far greater mercy instead of it, and so fulfils his promise in the best sense, and with most advantage.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

91:1-8 He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the snares of the fowler, and from the contagion of sin, which is a noisome pestilence. Great security is promised to believers in the midst of danger. Wisdom shall keep them from being afraid without cause, and faith shall keep them from being unduly afraid. Whatever is done, our heavenly Father's will is done; and we have no reason to fear. God's people shall see, not only God's promises fulfilled, but his threatenings. Then let sinners come unto the Lord upon his mercy-seat, through the Redeemer's name; and encourage others to trust in him also.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A thousand shall fall at thy side - Though a thousand should fall at thy side, or close to thee. This alludes to the manner in which the pestilence often moves among people.

And ten thousand at thy right hand - Compare Psalm 3:6. The word "myriad" would better represent the exact idea in the original, as the Hebrew word is different from that which is translated "a thousand." It is put here for any large number. No matter how many fall around thee, on the right hand and the left, you will have nothing to fear.

But it shall not come nigh thee - You will be safe. You may feel assured of the divine protection. Your mind may be calm through a sense of such guardianship, and your very calmness will conduce to your safety. This refers, as remarked above, to a "general" law in regard to the judgments of God. It is true that others, beside the dissipated, vicious, and debased, may be the victims; but the great law is that temperance, soberness, virtue, cleanliness, and that regard to comfort and health to which religion and virtue prompt, constitute a marked security - so marked as to illustrate the "general" law referred to in the psalm before us.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7, 8. The security is more valuable, as being special, and, therefore, evidently of God; and while ten thousands of the wicked fall, the righteous are in such safety that they only see the calamity.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

At thy side; at thy left side, because this is opposed to the right side here following. See the like ellipsis Numbers 9:16 Psalm 84:11.

It shall not come nigh thee: this and such-like promises are not to be understood absolutely and universally, as if no truly good man could be cut off by the plague or other common calamities, which is confitted both by other plain texts of Scripture, and by unquestionable experience; but with due limitations and conditions, either on man’s part, as if there be a defect in his faith or obedience; or on God’s part, when God sees that death is more for his good than life, as it apparently is when righteous men axe taken away from the evil to come, as is said, Isaiah 57:1; in which case, though God doth not give the thing promised, yet he giveth a far greater mercy instead of it, and so fulfils his promise in the best sense, and with most advantage. As, if one man should solemnly promise to another to give him his daily food every day, he not only might, but ought, notwithstanding this promise, to deny and withdraw this food, when his body is so distempered, that in the judgment of the wisest physicians the taking of his food would evidently endanger his life.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

A thousand shall fall at thy side,.... The left side, as the Targum; so the Arabic version, and Jarchi and Kimchi; which sense the opposition and distinction in the next clause direct unto: this is not to be understood of falling in battle, as some interpret it, but by the pestilence before spoken of:

and ten thousand at thy right hand; which shows both the great devastation made by the plague where it comes, and the special care and providence of God in preserving his people from it; of which David had an experience, when vast numbers of his people were destroyed by it on the right and left:

but it shall not come nigh thee; it may come near the place where good men are, or else it could not be said that a thousand should fall on their side, and ten thousand at their right hand: the plague that killed the firstborn in Egypt was near the dwellings of the Israelites, though it entered not into them; and that in David's time was near him, though he was not infected with it: but the meaning is, that it should not come so near such as to seize their bodies and they fall by the distemper; there being a particular providence oftentimes concerned for their safety, which guards them from it; see Ezekiel 9:4, not but that good men may fall in a common calamity, and by an epidemical distemper; but then it is for their good, and not their hurt; they are taken away from the evil to come, and are delivered from a worse plague than that by which they fall, the plague of their own hearts, the evil of sin; and so the Targum adds, "shall not come near to hurt", though it understands it of devils.

Geneva Study Bible

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7, 8. Though a thousand fall … it shall not come nigh thee] The emphasis is on thee. Thou shalt be as safe as Israel when the firstborn of the Egyptians were smitten (Exodus 12:23): unharmed thyself thou shalt be a spectator of the punishment of the wicked, as Israel was at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:30-31). That punishment is the indispensable counterpart of the deliverance of the righteous, Psalm 91:14-16. Cp. Psalm 92:11, and notes there.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand. The meaning is, "Though a thousand, or even ten thousand, should fall beside thee, in battle, or through pestilence, or sunstroke," yet - It shall not come nigh thee - the danger, whatever it be, shall not touch thy person; thou shalt be protected from it. Psalm 91:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

יקושׁ, as in Proverbs 6:5; Jeremiah 5:26, is the dullest toned from for יקושׁ or יוקשׁ, Psalm 124:7. What is meant is death, or "he who has the power of death," Hebrews 2:14, cf. 2 Timothy 2:26. "The snare of the fowler" is a figure for the peril of one's life, Ecclesiastes 9:12. In connection with Psalm 91:4 we have to call to mind Deuteronomy 32:11 : God protects His own as an eagle with its large strong wing. אברה is nom. unitatis, a pinion, to אבר, Isaiah 40:31; and the Hiph. הסך, from סכך, with the dative of the object, like the Kal in Psalm 140:8, signifies to afford covering, protection. The ἅπαξ λεγ. סחרה, according to its stem-word, is that which encompasses anything round about, and here beside צנּה, a weapon of defence surrounding the body on all sides; therefore not corresponding to the Syriac sḥārtā', a stronghold (סהר, מסגּרת), but to Syriac sabrā', a shield. The Targum translates צנּה with תּריסא, θυρεός, and סחרה with עגילא, which points to the round parma. אמתּו is the truth of the divine promises. This is an impregnable defence (a) in war-times, Psalm 91:5, against nightly surprises, and in the battle by day; (b) in times of pestilence, Psalm 91:6, when the destroying angel, who passes through and destroys the people (Exodus 11:4), can do no harm to him who has taken refuge in God, either in the midnight or the noontide hours. The future יהלך is a more rhythmical and, in the signification to rage (as of disease) and to vanish away, a more usual form instead of ילך. The lxx, Aquila, and Symmachus erroneously associate the demon name שׁד with ישׁוּד. It is a metaplastic (as if formed from שׁוּד morf de) future for ישׁד, cf. Proverbs 29:6, ירוּן, and Isaiah 42:4, ירוּץ, frangetur. Psalm 91:7 a hypothetical protasis: si cadant; the preterite would signify cediderint, Ew. 357, b. With רק that which will solely and exclusively take place is introduced. Burk correctly renders: nullam cum peste rem habebis, nisi ut videas. Only a spectator shalt thou be, and that with thine own eyes, being they self inaccessible and left to survive, conscious that thou thyself art a living one in contrast with those who are dying. And thou shalt behold, like Israel on the night of the Passover, the just retribution to which the evil-doers fall a prey. שׁלּמה, recompense, retribution, is a hapaxlegomenon, cf. שׁלּמים, Isaiah 34:8. Ascribing the glory to God, the second voice confirms or ratifies these promises.