May death destroy them! ¹  May they go down alive into Sheol! ²  For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

biblegateway Psa 55:15

Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

Let death take them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, because evil is in their homes and within them.

Let death suddenly take wicked people! Let them go into the grave while they are still alive, because evil lives in their homes as well as in their hearts.

biblegateway Psa 55:15

Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them.

Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

bibleoremus Psa 55:15

Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

May death strike them, may they go down alive into Sheol; for their homes are haunts of evil!

biblegateway Psa 55:15

Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

Let death seize upon them, [and] let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness [is] in their dwellings, [and] among them.

biblegateway Psa 55:15

May death destroy them! ¹  May they go down alive into Sheol! ²  For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

¹ tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.

² sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.