Psalms 18:38
in Psalms 18I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise: They shall fall under my feet.
KJV
I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI have wounded them, that they were not able to rise,.... Which was not only true of the Amalekites, but of all with whom David engaged in war; they are fallen under my feet; either dead, or become subject and tributaries to him; as the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites; see 2Sa 8:1. This, with Psa 18:37, may very well be accommodated to David's antitype, and be expressive of the entire victory he has obtained over all his and his people's enemies; he wounded the heads over many countries, Psa 110:
This site's exposition
I pursued my enemies and overtook them
on Psalms 18:37-42
The psalm reports the battle in a king's own words. He pursued and overtook them, crushed them, ground them as dust in the wind, and trampled them like mud in the streets. They cried to the LORD for help, and He did not answer.
This site's exposition
so they could not rise
The pursuit of verse 37 ends here. Albert Barnes applied the verse to the whole enemy army, crushed so that it could never rise again in battle array. John Gill named the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians and Edomites as fallen under David's feet, some dead and some made to serve him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand" [Psalm 18:38]: and they shall not hold out against me. "They shall fall under my feet." When they are cast down, I will place before me the loves whereby I walk for evermore.
"I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand" [Psalm 18:38]: and they shall not hold out against me. "They shall fall under my feet." When they are cast down, I will place before me the loves whereby I walk for evermore.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"I will break them." Here he excludes their power of resisting; as if to say: they will not resist me, because "I will break them," that is, I will so diminish their forces that "they shall not be able to stand." Ps. 35: "All the …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I have wounded them ... - I have so weakened them - so entirely prostrated them - that they were not able to rally again. This does not refer so much to wounds inflicted on individuals in the hostile ranks as to the entire host or army. It was so weakened that it could not again be put in battle array. The idea is that of successful pursuit and conquest.
The destruction of our spiritual enemies is complete. We may exult over sin, death, and hell, as disarmed and disabled for us by our conquering Lord; may he graciously give them a like defeat within us.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶ֭מְחָצֵם | ʾemchatzem | I shattered them | H4272 → | 14 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֻ֣כְלוּ | yukhlu | they were able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| ק֑וּם | kum | [surely] to rise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| יִ֝פְּל֗וּ | yipelu | they fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| רַגְלָֽי׃ | raglai | feet my | H7272 → | 247 times |
אֶ֭מְחָצֵםI shattered them
ʾemchatzemH4272 →14 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֻ֣כְלוּthey were able
yukhluH3201 →194 times
ק֑וּם[surely] to rise
kumH6965 →628 times
יִ֝פְּל֗וּthey fell
yipeluH5307 →435 times
תַּ֣חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
רַגְלָֽי׃feet my
raglaiH7272 →247 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 47:3He subdues nations beneath us, and peoples under our feet.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:47
the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,
- 1 Corinthians 15:25
For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
- Psalms 81:14
how soon I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes!
- Psalms 110:1
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
- Psalms 18:47
Through
Psalms 36:12There the evildoers lie fallen, thrown down and unable to rise.
it leads to
- Psalms 1:5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Revelation 19:1–6
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Psalms 9:16
The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Psalms 1:5
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.