Psalms 21:10

You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God concerning the defeat of the king’s enemies, immediately following a description of divine wrath engulfing them in a fiery furnace. This declaration occurs within a royal psalm celebrating the Davidic king’s victory and Yahweh’s deliverance.

The words — The Hebrew verb תְּאַבֵּ֑ד (te.'a.Bed) means "you will destroy," paired with פִּ֭רְיָ/מוֹ (pir.ya./mo) for "their descendants" and מֵ/אֶ֣רֶץ (me./'E.retz) for "from the earth." The phrase מִ/בְּנֵ֥י אָדָֽם (mi./be.Nei 'a.Dam) literally translates to "from the children of man."

The thread — This theme of eradicated wicked lineage appears in Psalms 37:28, where the offspring of the wicked are preserved no longer, and in 1 Kings 13:34, which records the house of Jeroboam’s extermination from the face of the earth. Job 20:28 also links God’s wrath to the removal of a wicked person’s household possessions.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine judgment extends beyond immediate defeat to the complete removal of an enemy’s future influence. It requires the reader to acknowledge that opposing God’s anointed king results in irreversible historical consequences.

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The Hebrew words

פִּ֭רְיָמוֹpir.ya./modescendant[s]/ their מֵאֶ֣רֶץme./'E.retzfrom/ [the] earth תְּאַבֵּ֑דte.'a.Bedyou will destroy וְ֝זַרְעָ֗םve./zar.'A/mand/ offspring/ their מִבְּנֵ֥יmi./be.Neifrom/ [the] children of אָדָֽם׃'a.Damhumankind

King James Version

Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.

Cross-references

Psalms 37:28 For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
1 Kings 13:34 And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth.
Job 20:28 The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
Psalms 109:13 May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
Isaiah 14:20 You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned.
Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
Job 18:16 The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.