Psalms 73:19 · Bible study
Psalms 73:19 Commentary: The Sudden End of the Wicked
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the meaning of 'consumed with terrors' in Psalm 73:19.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The wicked's prosperity is temporary; sudden, complete destruction awaits.
- Key words: ballahot (terrors), saphu/tammu (come to an end/finished), shammah (waste).
- Main debate: Are the 'terrors' external judgments (Barnes) or internal dread (Gill allows both)?
- Theological theme: Theodicy, God's justice is not seen in present circumstances but in the final outcome.
- Best use: To comfort those troubled by injustice; to warn against envying the wicked.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
WEB World English Bible 2000
How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.
KJV King James Version 1769
How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
How have they become a desolation as in a moment, They have been ended--consumed from terrors.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
How are they suddenly made desolate! they pass away, consumed with terrors.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee: and forget not to the end the souls of thy poor.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¡ Cómo han sido asolados! ¡ cuán en un punto! Acabáronse, fenecieron con turbaciones.
Como eles foram assolados tão repentinamente! Eles se acabaram, e se consumiram de medo.
Eh quoi! En un instant les voilà détruits!
Wie werden sie so plötzlich zunichte! Sie gehen unter und nehmen ein Ende mit Schrecken.
Hoe worden zij als in een ogenblik tot verwoesting, nemen een einde, worden te niet van verschrikkingen!
Come sono stati distrutti in un momento, portati via, consumati per casi spaventevoli!
Oto jakoć przychodzą na spustoszenie! niemal w okamgnieniu niszczeją i giną od strachu.
Не предай зверям душу горлицы Твоей; собрания убогих Твоих не забудь навсегда.
他們轉眼之間 成了 何等的 荒涼！他們被 驚恐 滅 盡了。
How suddenly are they wasted! fears are the cause of their destruction.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 73:19
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree this verse forms the climax of Asaph's realization in the sanctuary: the wicked, who seemed so secure, face sudden and total destruction. The two Hebrew verbs saphu ('they come to an end') and tammu ('they are finished') reinforce each other, no fragment remains. Barnes notes the emphasis is on the suddenness: 'How suddenly and unexpectedly does destruction come upon them.' The key word ballahot (terrors) occurs only here in the Psalter but frequently in Job, where it denotes dreadful events that overwhelm. Gill sees both external judgments and internal dread: 'terrible judgments inflicted on them from without; or with terrors inwardly seizing upon their minds.' Cambridge adds that the word group is typical of Job's descriptions of the wicked's end. The entire verse is an exclamation of wonder at the complete reversal of fortune.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- External judgment view: Barnes and Keil-Delitzsch argue the 'terrors' are objective calamities sent by God, consistent with Job 15:21, 18:11.
- Internal dread view: Gill allows that 'terrors' may refer to guilt-ridden fears that consume the wicked from within, as in Job 27:20.
- Combined view: Most modern commentators see both external judgments and internal terror working together, as the calamity produces dread.
What is clear: The psalmist affirms that the wicked face sudden and complete destruction, though the precise mechanism of 'terrors' is debated.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The suddenness of judgment | All traditions agree the wicked face a sudden, unexpected end, as emphasized by 'in a moment'. | Some read this as referring to temporal judgments in this life (e.g., sudden death or calamity); others see it as pointing to final judgment at death or the last day. |
| Nature of 'terrors' | There is general agreement that 'terrors' (ballahot) means dreadful events or experiences that overwhelm the wicked. | Barnes argues these are objective external calamities sent by God; Gill allows they may also be internal fears and terrors of conscience. Most modern commentators see both aspects. |
| Role of the sanctuary | Christians agree that corporate worship and Scripture provide perspective on life's injustices. | Traditions differ on whether the 'sanctuary' refers to the physical temple (as a place of oracle and instruction) or more broadly to the presence of God encountered in prayer and Scripture. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 73 belongs to the wisdom tradition, wrestling with the same problem as Job and Psalm 37: why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? Asaph, the attributed author, was a Levitical musician appointed by David (1 Chronicles 16:5). The psalm follows a dramatic arc. Verses 2, 14 describe Asaph's near-shipwreck: he envied the wicked's health, wealth, and arrogance. The turning point comes in verse 17, when he 'entered God's sanctuary', probably the temple precincts, where the priests taught from the law and the oracle was consulted (Poole notes this was the practice 'in dark and difficult cases'). There he 'considered their latter end.'
In the ancient Near East, the temple was seen as the place where divine wisdom was accessible. For Israel, it was where God's covenant promises and warnings were proclaimed. The language of 'sudden destruction' echoes earlier traditions: Numbers 16:21 (Korah's rebellion consumed 'in a moment'), Job 20:5 (the wicked's joy 'but for a moment'), and Proverbs 29:1 ('He who is often rebuked... will suddenly be destroyed'). The word ballahot (terrors) is a favourite in Eliphaz's speeches (Job 15:21, 18:11, 20:23), where it describes the divinely sent calamities that pursue the wicked. Asaph's own temptation had been to think God was indifferent; now he sees that judgment is certain, though often deferred.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 73:19. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, with the reading ballahot (terrors) well-attested. The Masoretic pointing is consistent, and the early versions (Septuagint, Vulgate) support the same sense.
Reception History
This verse has been cited throughout church history as a key text on the temporary prosperity of the wicked. Early Christian writers like Athanasius used it to affirm that God's justice, though delayed, is certain. In the medieval period, it appeared in penitential contexts, reminding believers not to envy sinners. Reformers such as Calvin and Luther drew on the psalm to teach that faith must look beyond present circumstances to God's ultimate judgment. The verse also shaped the tradition of meditating on the 'four last things' (death, judgment, heaven, hell). More broadly, Psalm 73 has been a source of comfort for Christians struggling with theodicy, finding resolution not in abstract argument but in the sanctuary of worship.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The deception of apparent prosperity. Asaph nearly lost his faith because he only saw the present success of the wicked (vv.2, 14). This verse exposes the lie: prosperity is not permanent.
- The revelation in the sanctuary. The turning point was not reasoning but worship. In God's presence, Asaph received perspective, he saw the end.
- The certainty of sudden reversal. Two Hebrew verbs (saphu, tammu) declare total destruction. The 'terrors' may be external judgments (Barnes) or internal dread (Gill); both confirm that God's justice will not fail.
Five-point outline
- The psalmist's crisis: envying the wicked.
- The solution: entering the sanctuary.
- The revelation: their 'latter end' is destruction.
- The means: 'terrors' that consume suddenly.
- The result: the psalmist's faith restored (vv.21, 28).
Illustration hooks
- A company scandal. A firm appears successful for years, then a sudden investigation collapses everything. Employees whisper: 'How are they suddenly destroyed?'
- A health crisis. Someone who mocked God lives carelessly, then receives a terminal diagnosis. The 'terrors' come not from the diagnosis alone but from the dread behind it.
- A financial crash. A boastful investor loses everything overnight. The community is stunned at the speed of the fall.
Questions your congregation is asking
- 'If God is just, why do bad people seem to get away with it for so long?'
- 'Does the Bible promise that every wicked person will be punished in this life, or is the judgment after death?'
- 'What is the difference between a healthy fear of God and the consuming terror of the wicked?'
Leading a Discussion
This passage records a turning point in Asaph's faith journey. He moved from envy and bitterness to trust, because he saw the end of the matter. As you discuss, consider that even a psalmist, a worship leader, wrestled with this question. No one is immune.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 73:1, 20. What problem did Asaph face in verses 2, 14? How did he respond to it?
- What changed when he 'entered the sanctuary of God' (v.17)? What does this teach us about where to bring our hardest questions?
- Look at verse 19. The Hebrew uses two verbs for being finished (saphu and tammu). Why do you think the poet doubled the language?
- What does the word 'terrors' (ballahot) suggest about the nature of the wicked's end? Is it primarily external disaster, internal dread, or both? Why?
- Compare cross-references: Job 15:21, 18:11, 20:5. How does the book of Job use similar language? What do we learn about God's justice from these verses?
- In your own life, have you ever envied someone who seemed to succeed without regard for God? How did you work through that?
- Verse 20 compares the wicked to a dream that vanishes at waking. How does that image change your perspective on the temporary success of evil?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Numbers 16:21 | “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!” |
| Numbers 17:12 | The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we perish! We are undone! We are all undone! |
| Numbers 17:13 | Everyone who keeps approaching Yahweh’s tabernacle, dies! Will we all perish?” |
| I Samuel 28:20 | Then Saul fell immediately his full length on the earth, and was terrified, because of Samuel’s words. There was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day long or all night long. |
| Job 15:21 | A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer will come on him. |
| Job 18:11 | Terrors will make him afraid on every side, and will chase him at his heels. |
| Job 20:5 | that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment? |
| Job 20:23 | When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke insists the verse describes a literal, observable reality. He reports personally knowing several very wealthy people who lost everything in an instant, and the terror of that sudden ruin utterly destroyed them.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that a person's apparent prosperity proves nothing about their security, since destruction can strike suddenly and without warning. The true measure of divine justice lies not in temporary success but in the end, which may bring overwhelming terrors from outside the mind.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that the psalmist nearly abandoned faith by judging only from present circumstances. The remedy is patience: we must let God's providence work in the hidden way He has determined, trusting that in the end the righteous will not lose their reward and the wicked will not escape judgment.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary highlights that the word "terrors" appears only once in the Psalms yet is a favourite term in Job for similar scenes of sudden destruction. The wicked's awful end, consumed by terrors, becomes the negative answer to life's hard questions, while faith rests on the certainty of final judgment and the supreme happiness of fellowship with God.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
How suddenly are they destroyed, perished and horribly consumed,
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the wicked are destroyed both suddenly and completely, leaving no hope of recovery. He notes this destruction comes with terrors, either from external judgments or from inner panic seizing their minds at death or judgment.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlights the poet's resolve: after receiving divine insight into the fate of the wicked, he considers any return to doubt as beneath human dignity. To doubt again would make him as stupid as the hippopotamus, a plump, unthinking colossus, rather than a man who stands before God with understanding.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that the Psalmist solved the problem of the wicked's prosperity not by intellectual effort but by entering God's sanctuary. There, he gained a divine perspective that revealed their ultimate end. The sanctuary functions as the seat of God's government, offering the only authentic viewpoint for understanding life's mysteries.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that the psalmist's victory over envy began with a simple act of restraint: he refused to voice his doubt. Henry draws a sharp line between thinking ill and speaking it, arguing that uttering such thoughts would offend God's people and spread corruption. Suppressing the evil thought, even while still wrestling with it, is itself a sign of repentance.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Terrors - With God's dreadful judgements unexpectedly seizing upon them.