Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep.
- BSB His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.
- NKJV Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.
- NASB His priests fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.
- NLT Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
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
The priests fell by the sword and their widows could not even mourn. Calamity overwhelmed even grief itself.
Overview
The deaths of the priests recall the fall of Eli's sons (1 Samuel 4), and the widows 'couldn't weep,' overcome by catastrophe. The judgment reached the very leaders of worship. This bleak scene sets the stage for God's surprising mercy as He rises to act for His people's good.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Sam 4:17And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
- Job 27:15Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
- 1 Sam 22:18–19And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
- Ezek 24:23And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
- 1 Sam 4:11And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
- 1 Sam 2:33–34And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
- 1 Sam 4:19–20And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
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 78:64 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.