They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And prowl around the city.
Parallel translations
- WEB At evening let them return. Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city.
- KJV And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
- BSB They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.
- NKJV And at evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city.
- NLT My enemies come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.
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 again pictures his enemies returning at evening, howling like dogs around the city. The repeated image reinforces their persistent menace.
Overview
This verse echoes verse 6, framing the psalm with the recurring picture of scavenging dogs. The repetition stresses how relentless the threat feels. Yet the very repetition sets the stage for the contrast that follows, where the wandering wicked are unsatisfied while David sings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 59:14 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.