Psalms 91:6

"You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,"

Key Reflection

In first-century Israel, the psalm's imagery would have resonated deeply with the daily fears and anxieties of its listeners. The phrase "terror by night" likely referred to bandits and robbers who often targeted travelers and residents in rural areas during the dark hours, while "the arrow that flies by day" evoked the constant threat of warfare and conflict, symbolized by the rapid and deadly nature of archery. This verse promised security and protection from such immediate dangers, assuring believers that God's care would shield them both in times of darkness and light.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Nor for the pestilence -The plague or pestilence was common in Oriental countries. That walketh in darkness -Not that it particularly comes in the night, but that it seems to creep along as if in the night; that is, where one cannot mark its progress, or anticipate when or whom it will strike. The laws of its movements are unknown, and it comes upon people as an enemy that suddenly attacks us in the night. Nor for the destruction -The word used here -קטבqeṭeb- means properly a cutting off, a destruction, as a destroying storm,Isaiah 28:2; and then, contagious pestilence,Deuteronomy 32:24.

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