Psalms 55:15 - Exposition

Let death seize upon them . As this strophe begins ( Psalms 55:9 ), 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 , 2 Samuel 18:15 ), and of so many of Absalom's followers ( 2 Samuel 18:7 , 2 Samuel 18:8 ), were quite a sufficient fulfilment. For wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. (comp. Psalms 55:3 , Psalms 55:9-11 ).