Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 55:15

"Let death come suddenly upon them, Let them go down alive into Sheol; For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them." — Psalms 55:15 (ASV)

Let death seize upon them—This would be more correctly rendered, “Desolations (are) upon them!” This means that desolation, or destruction, will certainly come upon them.

In the original, there is no necessary expression of a wish or prayer that this might be. Instead, it is the language of certain assurance—the expression of a fact—that such base conduct, such wickedness, would make their destruction certain. As God is just, they must be overwhelmed with ruin.

Harm is sometimes done in the translation of the Scriptures by inserting a wish or prayer where all that is necessarily implied in the original is the statement of a fact. This has occurred here due to the somewhat uncertain meaning of the original word used. That phrase is ישׁימות yaśimâveth. It occurs nowhere else. Our translators understood it (as the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and Luther do) as made up of two words.

More correctly, however, it is to be regarded as one word, meaning “desolations,” or “destructions.” So Gesenius (Lexicon), Rosenmuller, and Prof. Alexander understand it.

And let them go down quick into hell—“Alive,” or “living,” is the meaning of the word “quick” here—חיים chayiym—as it commonly is in the Scriptures. Compare Leviticus 13:10; Numbers 16:30; Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 4:5.

The word “hell” is rendered in the margin as “the grave.” The original word is “Sheol,” and here it means either the grave or the abode of departed spirits. (See the notes on Isaiah 14:9 and Job 10:21-22.) The translation of the term here has an unnecessary harshness, as the word “hell” in modern usage uniformly refers to the place of punishment for the wicked after death.

The meaning here, however, is not that they would be consigned to wrath, but that they would be cut off from the land of the living. The idea is that their destruction might be as sudden as if the earth were to open, and they were to descend alive into the chasm. Probably there is an implied allusion here to the manner in which the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram was destroyed (Numbers 16:31–33). Compare Psalm 106:17.

For wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them—Wickedness abounds in all their transactions; it is in their houses and in their hearts. This is mentioned as a reason why they should be cut off and consigned to the grave.

It is the reason why people are cut down at all. It is often a fact that wicked people are very clearly cut down for their sins. Furthermore, because it will be better for the community if the wicked are punished rather than escape, there is no evidence that David cherished malice or ill-will in his heart. See General Introduction, Section 6 (5).