Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 9:17

"The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol, Even all the nations that forget God." — Psalms 9:17 (ASV)

The wicked. —This is a most unfortunate rendering. The true translation is, the wicked shall return, as in the Septuagint and Vulgate (not “be turned”), to the grave, i.e., to dust, according to the doom in Genesis 3:19, or to the unseen world, as in Job 30:23 and Psalms 90:1-3. Alternatively, the verbs may be imperative, as in the Septuagint and Vulgate: let them return.

This verse is closely connected with the previous one. The wicked are bringing about their own destruction and, in doing so, are witnessing to the righteous judgment of Jehovah. There is an intensity to the original word, lisheôlah, with its double sign of direction: “right down to the world of death.”

“And all.”—A better rendering is the heathen all, forgetters of God.