Psalm 55:15
New International Version
Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.

New Living Translation
Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.

English Standard Version
Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

Berean Standard Bible
Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

King James Bible
Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

New King James Version
Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

New American Standard Bible
May death come deceitfully upon them; May they go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

NASB 1995
Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

NASB 1977
Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

Legacy Standard Bible
Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

Amplified Bible
Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), For evil [of every kind] is in their dwelling and in their hearts, in their midst.

Christian Standard Bible
Let death take them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, because evil is in their homes and within them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Let death take them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, because evil is in their homes and within them.

American Standard Version
Let death come suddenly upon them, Let them go down alive into Sheol; For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.

Contemporary English Version
All who hate me are controlled by the power of evil. Sentence them to death and send them down alive to the world of the dead.

English Revised Version
Let death come suddenly upon them, let them go down alive into the pit: for wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Let death suddenly take [wicked people]! Let them go into the grave while they are still alive, because evil lives in their homes as well as in their hearts.

Good News Translation
May my enemies die before their time; may they go down alive into the world of the dead! Evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

International Standard Version
Let death seize them! May they be plunged alive into the afterlife, for wicked things are in their homes and among them.

Majority Standard Bible
Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

NET Bible
May death destroy them! May they go down alive into Sheol! For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

New Heart English Bible
Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.

Webster's Bible Translation
Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

World English Bible
Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is among them, in their dwelling.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Desolations [are] on them, "" They go down [to] Sheol—alive, "" For wickedness [is] in their dwelling, in their midst.

Young's Literal Translation
Desolations are upon them, They go down to Sheol -- alive, For wickedness is in their dwelling, in their midst.

Smith's Literal Translation
Death shall lay waste upon them; they shall go down living to hades, for evils in their sojournings in the midst of them.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell. For there is wickedness in their dwellings: in the midst of them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Let death come upon them, and let them descend alive into Hellfire. For there is wickedness in their dwellings, in their midst.

New American Bible
Let death take them; let them go down alive to Sheol, for evil is in their homes and bellies.

New Revised Standard Version
Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Bring death upon them; bury them alive in the grave, because there is evil among them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Bring the plague upon them and they shall descend alive to Sheol because evil is within them.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
May He incite death against them, Let them go down alive into the nether-world; For evil is in their dwelling, and within them.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into Hades, for iniquity is in their dwellings, in the midst of them.
Audio Bible



Context
Cast Your Burden upon the LORD
14We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God. 15Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes. 16But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.…

Cross References
Proverbs 11:21
Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

Proverbs 24:16-17
For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times. / Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

Jeremiah 18:21-23
Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle. / Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet. / But You, O LORD, know all their deadly plots against me. Do not wipe out their guilt or blot out their sin from Your sight. Let them be overthrown before You; deal with them in the time of Your anger.

Ezekiel 18:30
Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.

Isaiah 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.

Isaiah 48:22
“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

Isaiah 57:21
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Numbers 16:30-33
But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” / As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, / and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. ...

1 Samuel 28:19
Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the LORD will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

2 Samuel 17:14
Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

Matthew 23:33
You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

Matthew 26:24
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Luke 13:3
No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Luke 13:5
No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

John 8:24
That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”


Treasury of Scripture

Let death seize on them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

Let death.

Psalm 59:13
Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.

Psalm 69:22-28
Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap…

Psalm 109:6-20
Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand…

them

Numbers 16:30-34
But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD…

Matthew 26:24
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

Acts 1:25
That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

hell, or the grave

Psalm 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

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Alive Death Deceitfully Desolations Dwelling Dwellings Enemies Evil Finds Grave Graves Hand Hell Houses Incite Lodging Midst Nether-World Quick Seize Sheol Suddenly Surprise Terror Underworld Wickedness Within
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Alive Death Deceitfully Desolations Dwelling Dwellings Enemies Evil Finds Grave Graves Hand Hell Houses Incite Lodging Midst Nether-World Quick Seize Sheol Suddenly Surprise Terror Underworld Wickedness Within
Psalm 55
1. David in his prayer complains of his fearful case
9. He prays against his enemies, of whose wickedness and treachery he complains
16. He comforts himself in God's preservation oh him, and confusion of his enemies














Let death seize them by surprise
The phrase "Let death seize them by surprise" reflects a sudden and unexpected judgment. The Hebrew word for "death" here is "māwet," which often signifies not just physical death but a state of separation from God. The idea of being "seized by surprise" suggests an abrupt divine intervention, reminiscent of the sudden judgments seen in the Old Testament, such as the flood in Noah's time or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This phrase underscores the belief in God's sovereign justice, where the wicked cannot escape divine retribution.

let them go down to Sheol alive
"Sheol" in Hebrew culture is the realm of the dead, a shadowy place where the departed spirits reside. The phrase "go down to Sheol alive" is particularly striking, as it suggests a living descent into the grave, akin to the fate of Korah and his followers in Numbers 16:30-33, who were swallowed by the earth. This imagery conveys the severity of the psalmist's plea for justice, emphasizing the depth of corruption and the need for divine intervention against those who perpetuate evil.

for evil is with them in their homes
The word "evil" here is translated from the Hebrew "ra‘," which encompasses wickedness, harm, and moral corruption. The phrase "is with them in their homes" indicates that this evil is not just a public display but is deeply ingrained in their private lives, affecting their families and personal spaces. This highlights the pervasive nature of sin and its ability to corrupt every aspect of life. The home, traditionally a place of safety and refuge, becomes a den of iniquity, illustrating the totality of their moral decay. This serves as a warning to believers about the dangers of allowing sin to take root in their lives and the importance of maintaining holiness in all areas.

(15) Let death.--According to the written text we should render desolations upon them. Here we have another sudden outburst of overmastering feeling.

Quick--i.e., alive, perhaps with reminiscence of the fate of Korah. (Comp. Proverbs 1:12.)

Hell.--Sheol. (See Note Psalm 6:5.)

And among them.--The conjunction is unnecessary. Render, in their dwellings, in their very midst.

Verse 15. - Let death seize upon them. As this strophe begins (ver. 9), so it ends, with an imprecation. The psalmist calls on God to bring destruction upon the whole mass of his enemies. Of the two readings in the original, the one adopted by our translators seems the best, "Let death come suddenly upon them." Let them go down quick (i.e. alive) into hell. There is an allusion to the fate of Korah and his company (Numbers 16:30-33), who "went down quick into the pit;" but probably the psalmist neither expected nor desired a literal fulfilment of his imprecation. The deaths of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23) and Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14, 15), and of so many of Absalom's followers (2 Samuel 18:7, 8), were quite a sufficient fulfilment. For wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. (comp. vers. 3, 9-11).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Let death
מָ֨וֶת ׀ (mā·weṯ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3451: Let death seize

seize them by surprise;
עָלֵ֗ימוֹ (‘ā·lê·mōw)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

let them go down
יֵרְד֣וּ (yê·rə·ḏū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

to Sheol
שְׁא֣וֹל (šə·’ō·wl)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 7585: Underworld (place to which people descend at death)

alive,
חַיִּ֑ים (ḥay·yîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life

for
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

evil
רָע֖וֹת (rā·‘ō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

is with them
בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃ (bə·qir·bām)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 7130: The nearest part, the center

in their homes.
בִּמְגוּרָ֣ם (bim·ḡū·rām)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4033: A sojourning place, dwelling place, a sojourning


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OT Poetry: Psalm 55:15 Let death come suddenly on them (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 55:14
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