Bible Strands
Psalms 79:2
They have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, recounting a recent national invasion where hostile forces have defiled the temple and left Jerusalem's dead exposed.
The words — The Hebrew verb נָֽתְנ֡וּ (na.te.Nu) literally means "they have given," and נִבְלַ֬ת (niv.lat) specifically denotes "corpses" or "carcasses." These terms describe the active transfer of the dead to scavengers rather than a natural decay.
The thread — The motif of unburied corpses feeding birds and beasts appears in Jeremiah 7:33, Jeremiah 34:20, and Jeremiah 16:4 as a consistent prophetic marker of covenant judgment.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge the complete breakdown of burial customs and sacred order, establishing the baseline of desecration before any petition for divine intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 7:33 The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
- Jeremiah 34:20 I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 16:4 “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”
- Deuteronomy 28:26 Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
- Jeremiah 19:7 And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 15:3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.