Psalm 78:50
New International Version
He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.

New Living Translation
He turned his anger against them; he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives but ravaged them with the plague.

English Standard Version
He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.

Berean Standard Bible
He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.

King James Bible
He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

New King James Version
He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,

New American Standard Bible
He leveled a path for His anger; He did not spare their souls from death, But turned their lives over to the plague,

NASB 1995
He leveled a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave over their life to the plague,

NASB 1977
He leveled a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave over their life to the plague,

Legacy Standard Bible
He leveled a path for His anger; He did not hold back their soul from death, But gave over their life to the plague,

Amplified Bible
He leveled a path for His anger [to give it free run]; He did not spare their souls from death, But turned over their lives to the plague.

Christian Standard Bible
He cleared a path for his anger. He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He cleared a path for His anger. He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.

American Standard Version
He made a path for his anger; He spared not their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence,

Contemporary English Version
God released his anger and slaughtered them in a terrible way.

English Revised Version
He made a path for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He cleared a path for his anger. He did not spare them. He let the plague take their lives.

Good News Translation
He did not restrain his anger or spare their lives, but killed them with a plague.

International Standard Version
He blazed a path for his anger; he did not stop short from killing them, but handed them over to pestilence.

Majority Standard Bible
He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.

NET Bible
He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction.

New Heart English Bible
He made a path for his anger. He did not spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence,

Webster's Bible Translation
He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

World English Bible
He made a path for his anger. He didn’t spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
He ponders a path for His anger, "" He did not keep back their soul from death, "" Indeed, He delivered up their life to the pestilence.

Young's Literal Translation
He pondereth a path for His anger, He kept not back their soul from death, Yea, their life to the pestilence He delivered up.

Smith's Literal Translation
He will prepare a beaten path for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, and their life he delivered to the word;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
He made a way for a path to his anger: he spared not their souls from death, and their cattle he shut up in death.

Catholic Public Domain Version
He made way for the path of his anger. He did not spare their souls from death. And he enclosed their beasts of burden in death.

New American Bible
He cleared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but delivered their animals to the plague.

New Revised Standard Version
He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
He resorted to strong measures; he spared not their souls from death, and gave their cattle over to the pestilence;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he breached the evil path and did not spare their souls from death and delivered their animals to death.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
He levelled a path for His anger; He spared not their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
He made a way for his wrath; he spared not their souls from death, but consigned their cattle to death;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
49He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity—a band of destroying angels. 50He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague. 51He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.…

Cross References
Exodus 12:29
Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.

Numbers 16:46-49
Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” / So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people. / He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted. ...

2 Samuel 24:15-16
So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. / But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

Isaiah 10:25-26
For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.” / And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.

Jeremiah 21:5-6
And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, with anger, fury, and great wrath. / I will strike down the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a terrible plague.’

Ezekiel 7:8-9
Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and vent My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations. / I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes the blow.

Hosea 13:14
I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.

Amos 4:10
“I sent plagues among you like those of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

Habakkuk 3:5
Plague went before Him, and fever followed in His steps.

Revelation 6:8
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

Revelation 9:15
So the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.

Revelation 15:1
Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.

Revelation 16:1
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”

Matthew 24:7
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Luke 21:11
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.


Treasury of Scripture

He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

made away.

Job 27:22
For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

Ezekiel 5:11
Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

Ezekiel 7:4,9
And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD…

life over to the pestilence.

Exodus 9:3-6
Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain…

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Anger Death Delivered Kept Life Path Pestilence Plague Pondereth Prepared Soul Spare Spared Way Wrath
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Anger Death Delivered Kept Life Path Pestilence Plague Pondereth Prepared Soul Spare Spared Way Wrath
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.














He cleared a path for His anger
This phrase indicates a deliberate and purposeful action by God. The Hebrew root for "cleared" is "patar," which means to open or free. This suggests that God actively removed obstacles to allow His righteous anger to proceed. In the historical context of Israel's disobedience, this demonstrates God's sovereignty and justice. His anger is not capricious but is a response to persistent rebellion. The imagery of a "path" underscores the inevitability and directness of divine judgment when His people stray from His commandments.

He did not spare them from death
The phrase "did not spare" comes from the Hebrew "chasak," meaning to withhold or restrain. This highlights the severity of God's judgment when His patience has been exhausted. The historical context here refers to the plagues in Egypt, where God did not withhold the finality of death from those who opposed His will. This serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of sin and the seriousness with which God views rebellion against His divine order.

but delivered their lives to the plague
The word "delivered" is translated from the Hebrew "nathan," which means to give or hand over. This indicates a transfer of control, where God allows the natural consequences of sin to take their course. The "plague" refers to the specific judgments God used to demonstrate His power and authority, particularly in the context of the Exodus narrative. This serves as a historical testament to God's ability to use even the forces of nature to fulfill His purposes. It is a call to recognize His ultimate authority and the importance of aligning with His will to avoid such dire consequences.

(50) Made a way.--Literally, levelled a path. So Symmachus.

Verse 50. - He made a way to his anger; literally, he levelled a way for his anger; i.e. made a smooth path for it (Cheyne). He spared not their soul from death; rather, held not back their soul. But gave their life over to the pestilence. This is, undoubtedly, the true meaning, and not "he gave their beasts over to the murrain." Though no "pestilence" is expressly mentioned in Exodus 12. as having caused the death of the firstborn, yet pestilence may assuredly have been the means employed.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
He cleared
יְפַלֵּ֥ס (yə·p̄al·lês)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6424: To roll flat, prepare, to revolve, weigh

a path
נָתִ֗יב (nā·ṯîḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5410: Path, pathway

for His anger;
לְאַ֫פּ֥וֹ (lə·’ap·pōw)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 639: The nose, nostril, the face, a person, ire

He did not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

spare
חָשַׂ֣ךְ (ḥā·śaḵ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2820: To restrain, refrain, to refuse, spare, preserve, to observe

them
נַפְשָׁ֑ם (nap̄·šām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

from death
מִמָּ֣וֶת (mim·mā·weṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4194: Death, the dead, their place, state, pestilence, ruin

but delivered
הִסְגִּֽיר׃ (his·gîr)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5462: To shut up, to surrender

their lives
וְ֝חַיָּתָ֗ם (wə·ḥay·yā·ṯām)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life

to the plague.
לַדֶּ֥בֶר (lad·de·ḇer)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1698: A pestilence


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OT Poetry: Psalm 78:50 He made a path for his anger (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 78:49
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