Psalm 9:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

NIV: The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.

NASB: The wicked will return to Sheol, All the nations who forget God.

CSB: The wicked will return to Sheol -- all the nations that forget God.

NLT: The wicked will go down to the grave. This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.

KJV: The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

NKJV: The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.

As is explained throughout the Bible, those who reject God and pursue evil will end up in Sheol. As used in the Old Testament, Sheol means the grave, or the realm of the dead. Those who have opposed God will be left there, in some state of death and misery, as opposed to those who honor God and will be rescued from Sheol (Psalm 16:10; Hosea 13:14).

Later Scriptures provide more detail about the nature of death for those who defy the Lord. The realm of the dead is neither silent nor a place of unconscious existence. It is a place of painful memory and conscious suffering. Jesus told a story about a rich man who died and went to Hades, the New Testament designation of the place appointed for departed unbelievers. The rich man was fully conscious. He was suffering in anguish (Luke 16:24). He was separated from Paradise (Luke 16:23, 26). He had remorseful memory of his life on earth. Abraham told him to remember the disparity that existed on earth between him and the poor man Lazarus (Luke 16:25).

In hell, the wicked cannot look forward to a second chance. Their eternal fate is sealed, and they must suffer forever apart from God. When Jesus judges the nations at His second coming, He consigns them to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).

Psalm 9:9–20 turns David's attention to various groups of people of Israel. He mentions the oppressed, those who trust in the Lord, the afflicted, the needy, and the poor. He sees the Lord as a safe, secure place, a God who is mindful of His people, and the supplier of hope to the poor.

David praises God in a song which follows an acrostic pattern: the psalm is divided into phrases which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The pattern continues through Psalm 10, leading some to suggest they were intended as a single work, or as closely related halves. In this psalm, David promises to praise God for His great deeds, including awesome victory over evil. The Lord's eternal justice is also praised, as David asks for further rescue from those who seek to kill him. The passage ends with a prayer for God to remind mankind of His authority.

This is a thanksgiving song, where David shows appreciation for the Lord's rescue. This shares similar themes to Psalm 10, though from a very different tone. Some scholars think Psalms 9 and 10 were originally a single work. This is part of the first section of the book of Psalms, including Psalms 1 through 41.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.