Psalms 35:2
in Psalms 35Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help.
KJV
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
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This verse in Psalms 35
Commentary
11 notes on this verse"Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help." In vivid metaphor the Lord is pictured as coming forth armed for battle, and interposing himself between his servant and his enemies. The greater and lesser protections of providence may be here intended by the two defensive weapons, find by the Lord's standing up is meant his active and zealous preservation of his servant in the perilous hour. This poetic imagery shows how the Psalmist realised the existence and power of God; and thought of him as a real and actual personage, truly working for his afflicted.
This site's exposition
Contend with my opponents
on Psalms 35:1-3
Verse 1 asks for a legal plea and a fight in one breath, contend with my opponents and fight against those who fight against me. God is handed a soldier's kit, shield, buckler and spear. Verse 3 ends with a word for the soul, I am your salvation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Judge Thou, O Lord" (saith he), "them that hurt me, and fight Thou against them that fight against me" (ver. 1). "If God be for us, who can be against us?" And whereby doth God this for us? "Take hold" (saith he) "of arms and shield, and rise up to my help" (ver. 2). A great spectacle is it, to see God armed for thee. And what is His Shield, what are His Arms? "Lord," in another place saith the man who here also speaketh, "as with the shield of Thy good-will hast Thou compassed us." But His Arms, wherewith He may not only us defend, but also strike His enemies, if we have well profited, shall we ourselves be. For as we from Him have this, that we be armed, so is He armed from us. But He is armed from those whom He hath made, we are armed with those things which we have received from Him who made us. These our arms the Apostle in a certain place calleth, "The shield of Faith, the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." He hath armed us with such arms as ye have heard, arms admirable, and unconquered, insuperable and shining; spiritual truly and invisible, because we have to fight also against invisible enemies. If thou seest thine enemy, let thine arms be seen. We are armed with faith in those things which we see not, and we overthrow enemies whom we see not. ...
Armor and shield are the very will of the Lord by which he protects someone in danger and fights back against his enemy.
The Medieval Church3 voices
Since Scripture conceals a manifold understanding beneath a single letter, the expositor ought to bring hidden things forth into the light and make manifest what has been drawn forth through another, more open passage of Scripture, as if I were to expound that verse of …
He indicates through the arms and shield and sword the chastising powers sent by God to help those who fear him.
Consequently, when he says, "Take hold of arms," he explains his petition. For he asked for two things: namely the condemnation of those who harm, and the routing of those who attack. And therefore he explains these two in particular. First, he explains the second. …
4 more voices on this verse
The Reformation1 voice
When troubles and dangers arise, when terrors assail us on every side, when even death presents itself to our view, it is difficult to realize the secret and invisible power of God, which is able to deliver us from all anxiety and fear; for our understandings, which are gross and earthly, tend downward to the earth.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Take hold of shield and buckler,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Take hold of shield and buckler - Let them be discomfited in battle who are striving to destroy my life. It is by the shield and buckler of others, not any of his own that God overthrows the enemies of his people. This is spoken merely after the manner of men.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Take hold of shield and buckler - That is, Arm thyself as if for the contest. It is a prayer, in a new form, that God would interpose, and that he would go forth as a warrior against the enemies of the psalmist. On the word “shield,” see the notes at Psa 5:12. Compare the notes at Eph 6:16. On the word “buckler,” see the notes at Psa 18:2. These terms are derived from the armor of a warrior, and the prayer here is that God would appear in that character for his defense. And stand up for my help - As a warrior stands up, or stands firm, to arrest the attack of an enemy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
O Lord, strive with those who strive against me Make a quarrel with those who make quarrels with me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַחֲזֵ֣ק | hachazek | take hold of | H2388 → | 291 times |
| מָגֵ֣ן | magen | shield | H4043 → | 63 times |
| וְצִנָּ֑ה | vetzinah | and body shield | H6793 → | 22 times |
| וְ֝ק֗וּמָה | vekumah | and arise ! | H6965 → | 628 times |
| בְּעֶזְרָתִֽי׃ | beezrati | <in> help my | H5833 → | 26 times |
הַחֲזֵ֣קtake hold of
hachazekH2388 →291 times
מָגֵ֣ןshield
magenH4043 →63 times
וְצִנָּ֑הand body shield
vetzinahH6793 →22 times
וְ֝ק֗וּמָהand arise !
vekumahH6965 →628 times
בְּעֶזְרָתִֽי׃<in> help my
beezratiH5833 →26 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 91:4He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
it leads to
- Psalms 61:4
Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
- Psalms 57:1
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
- Psalms 17:8
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Deuteronomy 32:11
As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your…
- Psalms 61:4
Through
Exodus 15:3The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is His name.
it leads to
- Psalms 24:8
Who is this King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
- Exodus 14:14
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
- Revelation 19:11–21
Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.
- Psalms 24:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 12 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); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 35; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Prologue; Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 35:2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Pseudo-Athanasius, EXPOSITION ON PSALM 35 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.