Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo
Read

Psalm 78:63

Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.

61and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary’s hand.
62He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance.
63Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.
64Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep.
65Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →
← Psalm 78:62Psalm 78:64 →
Notice

Fire consumes young men, and wedding songs fall silent: the account of God's anger reaches into the lives and celebrations of a whole community.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What does the missing wedding song add to your understanding of the deaths in the first sentence?

Write on this

What is hard for you to face in this account of God's anger toward his own people?

Write on this
Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Jeremiah 7:34Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom …Both passages describe wedding celebration falling silent within an account of God's judgment against his people.
Psalm 89:46How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?Both connect fire with divine anger, though Psalm 89 asks how long that anger will last.
Jeremiah 16:9For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the …The absent wedding song and the silenced voices of bride and bridegroom show judgment reaching communal joy.
Numbers 11:1The people were complaining in the ears of the LORD. When the LORD heard it, his anger burned; and the LORD’s fire burned among them, and consumed some of the …Both describe consuming fire in the setting of the LORD's anger against his people.
1 Corinthians 7:25Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.Both mention virgins; the psalm records lost wedding songs, while Paul introduces his judgment concerning them.
Jeremiah 25:10Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the …Both portray the loss of wedding celebration, while Jeremiah also names the loss of household work and light.
Isaiah 4:1Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothing. Just let us be called by your name. Take …Both concern women and marriage amid distress, though Isaiah records a plea for marriage rather than the absence of wedding songs.
Deuteronomy 32:22For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.Both describe fire that devours in connection with God's anger, with Deuteronomy extending the destruction across the earth.
Deuteronomy 29:20The LORD will not pardon him, but then the LORD’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book will fall …Both portray destruction under God's anger, though Deuteronomy addresses one man and the psalm describes communal loss.
Psalm 78:21Therefore the LORD heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel,Both passages within this psalm link consuming fire with God's anger toward Israel.
Where this verse fits

Grief. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about grief →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 61–64 and write down the losses

scriptureoncelight
Encouragement

The psalm records God's judgment in Israel's history; it does not declare every bereavement a punishment. These young lives and lost celebrations remain part of Scripture's witness.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 78:63. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 78 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).