The wicked shall be tamed into hell ; literally, shall be turned backwards to Sheol , or Hades ; i.e. shall be removed from earth to the place of departed spirits. There is no direct threat of retribution or punishment, beyond the poena damni , or loss of all that is pleasing and delightful in this life. And all the nations that forget God; rather, even all the people (Kay). "The wicked" and "the people that forget God" are identical. read more
The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth - By what; he does in his dealings with men, in dispensing rewards and punishments, bestowing blessings upon the righteous, and sending punishments upon the ungodly. That is, his character can be learned from his dealings with mankind; or, by studying the dispensation of his Providence, we may learn what he is. This is always a fair and proper way of estimating character, alike in regard to God and man; and it is proper, at all times, to... read more
The wicked - All the wicked; all who come properly under the denomination of wicked persons. Doubtless the writer had particularly in his eye the enemies with whom he was contending, and in reference to whom the psalm wits composed; and he meant to say that they would be certainly punished. But what was true in regard to them, was true of all others of similar character, and the statement is therefore made in a universal form - all the wicked.Shall be turned - Shall turn back, or be turned from... read more
Psalms 9:15-16. The heathen are sunk in the pit they made Fallen into that destruction which they designed to bring upon others. “Faith beholds, as already executed, that righteous judgment whereby wicked men will fall into the perdition which they had prepared for others, either openly by persecution, or more covertly by temptation: see Psalms 7:15-16.” Horne. The Lord is known Or hath made himself known, or famous, even among his enemies; by the judgment which he executeth Upon the... read more
Psalms 9:17. The wicked shall be turned into hell Either, 1st, Into the grave, which is often called שׁאול , sheol, into which persons are said to be turned, or to return, because they were made of, or taken out of, the dust, Ecclesiastes 12:7; or, 2d, Into the place of eternal perdition, which also is sometimes called sheol, as Proverbs 15:24, and elsewhere. For he seems evidently to speak here of those punishments which are peculiar to the wicked, whereas the grave is common to... read more
Psalms 9-10 God fights for the oppressedIn Psalms 9:0 and 10 we meet another kind of Hebrew verse, the acrostic. (Other acrostics are Psalms 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145.) In an acrostic the first word of each verse (or stanza) begins with a different letter of the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet, moving in order, so to speak, ‘from A to Z’. The acrostic in this case moves unbroken through Psalms 9:0 and 10, indicating that originally they probably formed one psalm. The absence of a heading to... read more
Higgaion = soliloquy, or meditation. See App-66 . Selah. Connecting the wicked one (singular) of Psalms 9:16 with the wicked ones (plural) of Psalms 9:17 . See App-66 . read more
wicked = wicked ones (plural) Hebrew. rasha' . App-44 . turned = returned. Compare Job 21:26 ; Job 34:15 .Psalms 104:29 . Ecclesiastes 3:20 ; Ecclesiastes 12:7 . hell = the grave. Hebrew Sheol. App-35 . read more
"The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol,Even all the nations that forget God.For the needy shall not always be forgotten.Nor the expectation of the poor perish forever.""Wicked be turned back unto Sheol." Kidner pointed out the true meaning here as, "The wicked shall return to Sheol, not merely depart there. Death is their native element";[19] and that surely corresponds with a statement of the Apostle Paul that, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." (1 Timothy 5:6)."The... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 9:16
The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth ; rather, the Lord hath made himself known ; he executeth judgment (see the Revised Version; and comp. Ezekiel 20:9 ). The two clauses are grammatically distinct, though no doubt closely connected in their meaning. God makes himself known—manifests his character, by the judgments which he executes, shows himself just, perhaps severe, certainly One who "will not at all acquit the wicked" ( Nahum 1:3 ). The wicked is snared in the... read more