Psalms Chapter 32 verse 9 Holy Bible

ASV Psalms 32:9

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in, `Else' they will not come near unto thee.
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BBE Psalms 32:9

Do not be like the horse or the ass, without sense; ...
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DARBY Psalms 32:9

Be ye not as a horse, as a mule, which have no understanding: whose trappings must be bit and bridle, for restraint, or they will not come unto thee.
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KJV Psalms 32:9

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
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WBT Psalms 32:9

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near to thee.
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WEB Psalms 32:9

Don't be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, Who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.
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YLT Psalms 32:9

Be ye not as a horse -- as a mule, Without understanding, With bridle and bit, its ornaments, to curb, Not to come near unto thee.
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding. The singular is exchanged for the plural, since the "instruction" is now intended, not for the godly man only, but for all. Israel had been always stiff-necked (Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3, 5; Exodus 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:6, 13; Deuteronomy 10:16; 2 Chronicles 30:8; Acts 7:51), like a restive horse or mule. David exhorts them to be so no more. The horse and mule are excusable, since they "have no understanding " - or, "no discernment" - Israel would be inexcusable, since it had the gift of reason. Whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle; rather, whose adornings are with bit and bridle to hold them in (compare the Revised Version). Lest they come near unto thee. This clause is obscure. It may mean, "Lest they come too near to thee," so as to do thee damage, as when a riding horse tosses his head and strikes the rider in the face, or when a chariot horse rears and falls back upon the driver; or it may mean, "Else they will not come near to thee," i.e. until they are trapped with bit and bridle, they will refuse to come near to thee.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) Whose mouth.--Here the text has evidently suffered, and the exact meaning is lost. There are also verbal difficulties. The word translated "mouth" elsewhere (except Psalm 103:5, where see Note) means "ornament," and the literal rendering of the text as it stands is, with bit and bridle his ornament to hold, not approaching to thee. This may mean that the animal is harnessed, either "that it may not approach," or "because without harness it will not approach." In either case the general application is the same. Horses and mules can only be rendered obedient by restraints that are unworthy of a rational creature. The LXX. and Vulg. have "jaws" instead of "mouth," and Ewald follows them, and renders the last clause, "of those who approach thee unfriendly."