Psalms 79:2

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

נָֽתְנ֡וּ אֶת־נִבְלַ֬ת עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ מַ֭אֲכָל לְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם בְּשַׂ֥ר חֲ֝סִידֶ֗יךָ לְחַיְתוֹ־אָֽרֶץ׃

Transliteration

nāṯnû ʾeṯ-niḇlaṯ ʿăḇāḏeḵā maʾăḵāl to-ʿôp̄ haššāmāyim bəśar ḥăsîḏeḵā to-ḥayṯô-ʾāreṣ

Grammar Details

*nāṯnû*: qal perfect 3rd person plural - they gave
*ʾeṯ*: direct object marker
*niḇlaṯ*: feminine singular construct - corpse/carcass of
*ʿăḇāḏeḵā*: masculine plural noun with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your servants
*maʾăḵāl*: masculine singular noun - food/meal
*lĕ*: preposition - to/for
*ʿôp̄*: masculine singular construct - birds/fowl of
*ha*: definite article - the
*šāmāyim*: masculine plural noun - heavens/sky
*bəśar*: masculine singular construct - flesh of
*ḥăsîḏeḵā*: masculine plural noun with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your faithful ones/saints
*ḥayṯô*: feminine singular construct with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - beasts of
*ʾāreṣ*: feminine singular noun - earth/land

Word Meanings

*niḇlaṯ*: corpses/dead bodies/carcasses
*ʿăḇāḏeḵā*: your servants/your slaves
*maʾăḵāl*: food/meal/something to be eaten
*ʿôp̄*: birds/flying creatures
*šāmāyim*: heavens/sky
*bəśar*: flesh/meat/body
*ḥăsîḏeḵā*: your faithful ones/your godly ones/your saints
*ḥayṯô*: beasts/animals/living creatures
*ʾāreṣ*: earth/land/ground

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Jer 7:33 : 33 And the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.
Jer 16:4 : 4 They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
Jer 34:20 : 20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.
Deut 28:26 : 26 And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.
Jer 19:7 : 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies will I give to be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
Jer 15:3 : 3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Jer 34:20
82%
20I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.
Deut 28:26
80%
26And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.
Jer 7:33
80%
33And the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.
Ps 79:1
80%
1A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
Ps 79:3
79%
3Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them.
Jer 19:7
76%
7And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies will I give to be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
Jer 16:4
75%
4They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
Ezek 39:4
73%
4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Isa 18:6
73%
6They shall be left together unto the ravenous birds of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth; and the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
Ezek 39:17-19
3 verses
72%
17And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.
18Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
Jer 8:2
71%
2and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
Ps 79:10
71%
10Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight.
1 Sam 17:44
71%
44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.
Ps 63:10
71%
10They shall be given over to the power of the sword: They shall be a portion for foxes.
Isa 34:3
71%
3Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
Isa 26:14
71%
14[They are] dead, they shall not live; [they are] deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish.
Mic 3:3
71%
3who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
Ezek 32:4-5
2 verses
70%
4And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
Ps 148:10
70%
10Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying birds;
Jer 12:4
70%
4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our latter end.
Rev 11:8-9
2 verses
70%
8And their dead bodies [lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
9And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do [men] look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and {G863} suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
Ps 79:7
70%
7For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his habitation.
Ps 74:7
70%
7They have set thy sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name [by casting it] to the ground.
Jer 18:21
70%
21Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows; and let their men be slain of death, [and] their young men smitten of the sword in battle.
Isa 5:17
70%
17Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat.
Ps 49:14
70%
14They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.
Isa 56:9
69%
9All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, [yea], all ye beasts in the forest.
Ezek 44:31
69%
31The priests shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast.
Ps 147:9
69%
9He giveth to the beast his food, [And] to the young ravens which cry.
Lam 4:19
69%
19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens: They chased us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
Ps 78:27
69%
27He rained flesh also upon them as the dust, And winged birds as the sand of the seas:
Jer 12:9
69%
9Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her round about? go ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour.
Ps 27:2
69%
2When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh, [Even] mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
Deut 32:24
69%
24[ They shall be] wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
Jer 15:3
69%
3And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.
1 Kgs 14:11
69%
11Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
Lam 2:20
69%
20See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
Hos 4:3
69%
3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
1 Kgs 21:24
69%
24Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat.
Zech 11:4
69%
4Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;
Isa 65:4
69%
4that sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; that eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
Ezek 34:19
69%
19And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
Jer 25:33
69%
33And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.