Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, God.
- BSB In spite of such sin, will they escape? In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.
- NKJV Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
- NASB Because of their wickedness, will there be an escape for them? In anger make the peoples fall down, God!
- NLT Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David asks whether the wicked should escape and prays God to cast them down. It appeals to God's justice against the guilty.
Overview
David rejects the idea that iniquity should go unpunished and calls on God to bring the peoples low in righteous anger. He entrusts justice to God rather than seizing it himself. The prayer reflects confidence that God will not let evil triumph unchecked.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Jer 7:10And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
- Jer 18:19–23Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
- Isa 28:15Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
- Eccl 8:8There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
- Hab 1:13Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
- Ps 55:15Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
- Ps 36:12There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.
- Ps 55:9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
- Jer 10:25Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
- Ps 94:20–21Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 56:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.