Limitless Word
He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity—a band of destroying angels.
Psalms 78:49 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of angels of evil.
  • KJV He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
  • NKJV He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them.
  • NASB He sent His burning anger upon them, Fury and indignation and trouble, A band of destroying angels.
  • NLT He loosed on them his fierce anger— all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels.

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

God unleashed the fierceness of His anger through agents of judgment. His wrath fell heavily upon Egypt.

Overview

The verse piles up terms, 'wrath, indignation, and trouble,' to convey the intensity of God's anger, dispatched by 'a band of angels of evil' (messengers of judgment). It underscores the seriousness of divine wrath against persistent oppression and sin. Such wrath makes the mercy of the gospel, which delivers from coming judgment, all the more precious.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • 1 Kgs 22:21–22Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.
  • Ps 11:6On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
  • Exod 15:7You overthrew Your adversaries by Your great majesty. You unleashed Your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
  • Exod 12:13The blood on the houses where you are staying will distinguish them; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
  • Lam 4:11The LORD has exhausted His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.
  • 2 Sam 24:16But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
  • Job 20:23When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
  • Isa 42:25So He poured out on them His furious anger and the fierceness of battle. It enveloped them in flames, but they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
  • Rom 2:8–9But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
  • Job 2:6–7“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”
  • Zeph 3:8Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day I rise to testify. For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation—all My burning anger. For all the earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.
  • Job 1:12“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 78:49YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 78:49 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.