The Meaning of Psalms 79:3 Explained

Psalms 79:3

KJV: Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.

YLT: They have shed their blood As water round about Jerusalem, And there is none burying.

Darby: Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.

ASV: Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Their blood  have they shed  like water  round about  Jerusalem;  and [there was] none to bury  [them]. 

What does Psalms 79:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 79:1-13 - "help Us, O God Of Our Salvation"
It was the period of the Chaldean invasion. This cry of horror went forth from the heart of the Chosen People, who had looked upon the sacred shrine as inviolable. They could not believe that the tide of invasion could break in upon Jerusalem, or that the Holy City should be defiled by the profane feet of the heathen. This psalm should be compared with the book of Lamentations. We there find the same horror, the same anguish, the same sense of surprise, the same hatred of the foe, the same cry to God.
Does it seem as if God were angry with you? Have the heathen forced their way into the inner shrine and city of your heart? Are you brought very low and near unto death? Then begin to inquire whether some sin may not have alienated God from you. Confess it and put it away. Turn to God with a free and glad faith. Ask that His mercies may prevent (literally, "go before") and His help succor you, for His Name's sake. The sighing of the captive and the greatness of God power, Psalms 79:11, are in close affinity; and when you are delivered, remember your vows, and show forth His praise to all within your reach. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 79

1  The psalmist complains of the desolation of Jerusalem
8  He prays for deliverance
13  and promises thankfulness

What do the individual words in Psalms 79:3 mean?

They have shed their blood like water all around Jerusalem and [there was] no one to bury [them]
שָׁפְכ֬וּ דָמָ֨ם ׀ כַּמַּ֗יִם סְֽבִ֘יב֤וֹת יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם וְאֵ֣ין קוֹבֵֽר

שָׁפְכ֬וּ  They  have  shed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שֶׂפֶק 
Sense: to pour, pour out, spill.
דָמָ֨ם ׀  their  blood 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
כַּמַּ֗יִם  like  water 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
סְֽבִ֘יב֤וֹת  all  around 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מוּסָב 
Sense: places round about, circuit, round about adv.
יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וְאֵ֣ין  and  [there  was]  no  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
קוֹבֵֽר  to  bury  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָבַר  
Sense: to bury.