Psalms 18:31
in Psalms 18For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, besides our God,
KJV
For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
⋯
This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHaving mentioned his God, the psalmist's heart burns, and his words sparkle; he challenges heaven and earth to find another being worthy of adoration or trust in comparison with Jehovah. His God, as Matthew Henry says, is a None-such. The idols of the heathen he scorns to mention, snuffing them all out as mere nothings when Deity is spoken of. "Who is God save the Lord?"Who else creates, sustains, foresees, and overrules? Who but he is perfect in every attribute, and glorious in every act? To whom but Jehovah should creatures bow?
This site's exposition
who is God besides the LORD
on Psalms 18:31-34
Verse 31 leaves one God and one Rock, the LORD. God arms him with strength, makes his way clear, makes his feet like a deer's and stations him on the heights. The hands trained for battle are trained by God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"For who is God, but the Lord?" [Psalm 18:31] whom we serve. "And who God, but our God?" And who is God, but the Lord? Whom after good service we sons shall possess as the hoped-for inheritance.
The Medieval Church1 voice
There follows, "God." Above he commemorated in general the benefits he expects from God in the future, namely "in you I shall be delivered," etc.; here he pursues them in particular. And it should be noted that he speaks in the manner of one who …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There is a God, and who is God save Jehovah? That God is a rock, for the support and shelter of his faithful worshippers; and who is a rock save our God? Thus he not only gives glory to God, but encourages his own faith in him.
For who is God save the Lord?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other. tried--"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Ps 12:6). Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Having mentioned his God, the psalmist's heart burns, and his words sparkle; he challenges heaven and earth to find another being worthy of adoration or trust in comparison with Jehovah. His God, as Matthew Henry says, is a None-such. The idols of the heathen he scorns to mention, snuffing them all out as mere nothings when Deity is spoken of. "Who is God save the Lord?"Who else creates, sustains, foresees, and overrules? Who but he is perfect in every attribute, and glorious in every act? To whom but Jehovah should creatures bow? Who else can claim their service and their love? "Who is a rock save our God?" Where can lasting hopes be fixed? Where can the soul find rest? Where is stability to be found? Where is strength to be discovered? Surely in the Lord Jehovah alone can we find rest and refuge.
Some repetitions are not vain repetitions. Second thoughts upon God's mercy should be and often are the best. Like wines on the lees our gratitude grows stronger and sweeter as we meditate upon divine goodness. The verses which we have now to consider are the ripe fruit of a thankful spirit; they are apples of gold as to matter, and they are placed in baskets of silver as to their language. They describe the believer's victorious career and his enemies' confusion.
For who is God save the Lord? - “For who is Eloah, except Jehovah?” None is worthy of adoration but the self-existent, eternal, infinitely perfect, and all-merciful Being. Or who is a rock - A fountain emitting continual supplies of grace and goodness.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For who is God save the Lord? - Who is God except Yahweh? The idea is, that no other being has evinced the power, the wisdom, and the goodness which properly belong to the true God; or, that the things which are implied in the true nature of God are found in no other being. Or who is a rock save our God? - See Psa 18:2. There is no one who can furnish such safety or defense; no one under whose protection we can be secure in danger. Compare Deu 32:31.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֱ֭לוֹהַּ | ʾeloah | [is] God | H433 → | 57 times |
| מִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י | mibaladei | <from> except | H1107 → | |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| צ֝֗וּר | tzur | [is] a rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| זוּלָתִ֥י | zulati | except | H2108 → | |
| אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
אֱ֭לוֹהַּ[is] God
ʾeloahH433 →57 times
מִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י<from> except
mibaladeiH1107 →
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →423 times
צ֝֗וּר[is] a rock
tzurH6697 →78 times
זוּלָתִ֥יexcept
zulatiH2108 →
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 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
Isaiah 45:5I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 44:8
Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 46:9
Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.
- Isaiah 44:6
Through
Deuteronomy 32:39See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- Hosea 6:1
Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
- Job 5:18
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Isaiah 45:5
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- 1 Samuel 2:6
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 18; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.