Bible Strands
Psalms 79:6
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the kingdoms that refuse to call on Your name,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the LORD directly, pleading for intervention against hostile nations that have destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. This plea occurs immediately after questioning how long God’s anger will burn and just before detailing the enemies’ desecration of Jacob’s land.
The words — The Hebrew imperative שְׁפֹךְ (shephokh) commands God to "pour out" His חֲמָתְךָ (chematekha), literally "your anger," against specific targets. The verb establishes a direct, forceful appeal for judgment to be directed at those who reject divine authority.
The thread — This petition for poured-out wrath against unacknowledging nations appears in Jeremiah 10:25 and echoes in Paul’s description of divine vengeance in 2 Thessalonians 1:8. The psalmist’s phrasing also recalls the recurring motif in Psalm 14:4 of oppressors who refuse to call upon the LORD.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader recognize that divine wrath is directed specifically at those who actively reject knowledge of God and refuse to invoke His name. It calls for alignment with God’s justice against persistent rebellion rather than offering comfort to the oppressors.
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
Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 10:25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8 in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Psalms 14:4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
- Psalms 53:4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.
- Psalms 69:24 Pour out Your wrath upon them, and let Your burning anger overtake them.
- Isaiah 45:4 For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me.
- Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Psalms 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Isaiah 13:1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received: