Psalms 18:47
in Psalms 18the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Even the God that executeth vengeance for me, And subdueth peoples under me.
KJV
It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
It is God that avengeth me - Margin, giveth avengements for me. The marginal reading is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The meaning is, that God had punished the enemies of the author of the psalm for all the wrongs which they had done to him. Compare Rom 12:19. And subdueth the people under me - Margin, destroyeth. The idea is that he had subdued the nations so that they became obedient to him.
This site's exposition
The LORD lives
on Psalms 18:46-48
The praise returns to the title the psalm opened with, the Rock. The LORD lives, and the God of salvation is exalted, the one who avenges him and subdues nations beneath him. He rescues him from violent men.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"O God, who givest Me vengeance, and subduest the people under Me" (ver. 47). O God, who avengest Me by subduing the people under Me. "My Deliverer from My angry enemies:" the Jews crying out, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him."
"O God, who givest Me vengeance, and subduest the people under Me" (ver. 47). O God, who avengest Me by subduing the people under Me. "My Deliverer from My angry enemies:" the Jews crying out, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him."
The Medieval Church1 voice
"God." Here the subject matter of thanksgiving is set forth, both for the benefit of deliverance from evil and for the benefit of promotion to good; hence he says, "God," etc. And this can be said in the person of the Church, because those who …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And David is here called the servant of the Lord, as Moses was, not only as every good man is God's servant, but because, with his sceptre, with his sword, and with his pen, he greatly promoted the interests of God's kingdom in Israel. It was more his honour that he was a servant of the Lord than that he was king of a great kingdom; and so he himself accounted it ( Ps. cxvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
It is God that avengeth me,.... Or "gives vengeance unto me", or "for me" (t): vengeance only belongs to God, and he repays it for and in behalf of his people.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me." To rejoice in personal revenge is unhallowed and evil, but David viewed himself as the instrument of vengeance upon the enemies of God and his people, and had he not rejoiced in the success accorded to him he would have been worthy of censure. That sinners perish is in itself a painful consideration, but that the Lord's law is avenged upon those who break it is to the devout mind a theme for thankfulness.
"It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me." To rejoice in personal revenge is unhallowed and evil, but David viewed himself as the instrument of vengeance upon the enemies of God and his people, and had he not rejoiced in the success accorded to him he would have been worthy of censure. That sinners perish is in itself a painful consideration, but that the Lord's law is avenged upon those who break it is to the devout mind a theme for thankfulness. We must, however, always remember that vengeance is never ours, vengeance belongeth unto the Lord, and he is so just and withal so longsuffering in the exercise of it, that we may safely leave its administration in his hands.
God that avengeth me - The way that I took was after his own heart; therefore he sustained me in it, and did me justice over my enemies. Subdueth the people under me - He keeps down the spirits of the disaffected, and weakens their hands. They are subdued, and they continue under me; and this is the Lord’s doing.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָאֵ֗ל | hael | <the> God | H410 → | 241 times |
| הַנּוֹתֵ֣ן | hanoten | [is] the [one who] has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| נְקָמ֣וֹת | nekamot | vengeance<s> | H5360 → | 27 times |
| לִ֑י | li | to me | ||
| וַיַּדְבֵּ֖ר | vaiyadber | and he has subdued | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עַמִּ֣ים | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| תַּחְתָּֽי׃ | tachtai | under me | H8478 → | 505 times |
הָאֵ֗ל<the> God
haelH410 →241 times
הַנּוֹתֵ֣ן[is] the [one who] has given
hanotenH5414 →2011 times
נְקָמ֣וֹתvengeance<s>
nekamotH5360 →27 times
לִ֑יto me
li
וַיַּדְבֵּ֖רand he has subdued
vaiyadberH1696 →1141 times
עַמִּ֣יםpeoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
תַּחְתָּֽי׃under me
tachtaiH8478 →505 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
Romans 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Hebrews 10:30
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
- Proverbs 24:29
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
- Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
- Romans 12:17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Through
Nahum 1:2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
it leads to
- Psalms 94:1
O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Psalms 94:1
Through
Psalms 144:2He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 22:2–3
He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
- 2 Samuel 22:2–3
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 18; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.