The wicked have drawn out the sword - There is an irreconcilable enmity in the souls of sinners against the godly; and there is much evidence that the idolatrous Babylonians whetted their tongue like a sword, and shot out their arrows, even bitter words, to malign the poor captives, and to insult them in every possible way.
The wicked have drawn out the sword - That is, they have prepared themselves with a full purpose to destroy the righteous.
And have bent their bow - literally, “have trodden the bow,” in allusion to the method by which the bow was bent: to wit, by placing the foot on it, and drawing the string back.
To cast down the poor and needy - To cause them to fall.
And to slay such as be of upright conversation - Margin, as in Hebrew: “the upright of way.” That is, those who are upright in their manner of life, or in their conduct.