Psalms 72:9 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Bible Comments

They that dwell in the wilderness.... — The Hebrew word in other places is used of “wild animals” (Psalms 74:14; Isaiah 23:13). Here apparently it refers to the nomad tribes wandering over the desert. The LXX. and ancient versions generally have “Æthiopians.”

Lick the dust. — The allusion is to the Eastern etiquette of prostration before a sovereign.

Psalms 72:9

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.