Deuteronomy 32:42
in Deuteronomy 32I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, And my sword shall devour flesh; With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the head of the leaders of the enemy.
KJV
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 32
Commentary
2 notes on this verseFrom the beginning of revenges - The word פרעות paroth, rendered revenges, a sense in which it never appears to be taken, has rendered this place very perplexed and obscure. Mr. Parkhurst has rendered the whole passage thus: - I will make my arrows drunk with blood; And my sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and captive From the hairy head of the enemy.
This site's exposition
If I whet my glittering sword
on Deuteronomy 32:41-42
The last clause of verse 42 is hard in Hebrew, and the King James reads from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy where other translators give the long haired heads of the enemy, taking the word for the hair of a man under a vow. Isaiah 34:5-6 and 63:1-6 work the same picture of a sword and a stained garment, and Revelation 19:11-15 hands it to the rider on the white horse. The judgment in these two verses falls on the adversaries rather than on Israel, which is the hinge into verse 43.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַשְׁכִּ֤יר | ʾashkir | I will make drunk | H7937 → | |
| חִצַּי֙ | chitzai | arrows my | H2671 → | |
| מִדָּ֔ם | midam | from blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| וְחַרְבִּ֖י | vecharbi | and sword my | H2719 → | 413 times |
| תֹּאכַ֣ל | tokhal | it will devour | H398 → | 810 times |
| בָּשָׂ֑ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| מִדַּ֤ם | midam | from [the] blood of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| חָלָל֙ | chalal | [the] slain | H2491 → | 94 times |
| וְשִׁבְיָ֔ה | veshivyah | and [the] captive | H7633 → | |
| מֵרֹ֖אשׁ | merosh | from [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| פַּרְע֥וֹת | parot | [the] leaders of | H6546 → | |
| אוֹיֵֽב׃ | ʾoyev | [the] enemy | H341 → | 282 times |
אַשְׁכִּ֤ירI will make drunk
ʾashkirH7937 →
חִצַּי֙arrows my
chitzaiH2671 →
מִדָּ֔םfrom blood
midamH1818 →360 times
וְחַרְבִּ֖יand sword my
vecharbiH2719 →413 times
תֹּאכַ֣לit will devour
tokhalH398 →810 times
בָּשָׂ֑רflesh
basarH1320 →270 times
מִדַּ֤םfrom [the] blood of
midamH1818 →360 times
חָלָל֙[the] slain
chalalH2491 →94 times
וְשִׁבְיָ֔הand [the] captive
veshivyahH7633 →
מֵרֹ֖אשׁfrom [the] head of
meroshH7218 →599 times
פַּרְע֥וֹת[the] leaders of
parotH6546 →
אוֹיֵֽב׃[the] enemy
ʾoyevH341 →282 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 68:23that your foot may be dipped in the blood of your foes— the tongues of your dogs in the same.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:19
Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where…
- Psalms 58:10
The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- 1 Kings 22:38
And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.
- Revelation 19:17–21
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
- 1 Kings 21:19
Through
Lamentations 2:5The Lord is like an enemy; He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation for the Daughter of Judah.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:2
Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In His wrath He has demolished the fortified cities of the Daughter of Judah. He brought to the ground and defiled her…
- Lamentations 2:2
Through
Deuteronomy 32:23I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:16
When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.
- Psalms 7:12–13
If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Ezekiel 5:16
Through
Jeremiah 46:10For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:2
concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of…
- Jeremiah 46:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.
