Psalms 18:40
in Psalms 18You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me.
KJV
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies,.... Either to slay them, or to trample or put a yoke upon them; or rather the sense is, thou hast made them to fly before me, to turn their necks or backs unto me, as the word is used in Jos 7:8; and it is expressive of an utter rout and vanquishing of them; that I might destroy them that hate me; they not being able to face him and stand against him.
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
made my enemies retreat before me
The Hebrew here speaks of the necks of the enemies. John Gill read it as enemies who turn their backs in retreat, as in Joshua 7:8. Adam Clarke read it as the conqueror putting his feet on the neck of the fallen, and the Berean text takes the first sense.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
We will see the backs of our enemies fleeing, not the faces of ones pursuing us.
"And you have given mine enemies the back to me" [Psalm 18:40]. And you have turned mine enemies, and hast made them to be a back to me, that is, to follow me. "And You have destroyed them that hate me." But such other of them as have persisted in hatred, You have destroyed.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And all this is because "you have girded me." Here he treats of their total abandonment, and he commemorates two things. First, the divine benefit; second, their final destruction, at "and I will grind them," etc. And because the things he has said seem to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
How could they expect he should when it was he whom they fought against? And, when he disowned them (as he will all those that act against his people), no other succours could stand them in stead: There was none to save them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The necks of mine enemies - Thou hast made me a complete conqueror. Treading on the neck of an enemy was the triumph of the conqueror, and the utmost disgrace of the vanquished.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
It is impossible to be too frequent in the duty of ascribing all our victories to the God of our salvation. It is true that we have to wrestle with our spiritual antagonists, but the triumph is far more the Lord's than ours. We must not boast like the ambitious votaries of vainglory, but we may exult as the willing and believing instruments in the Lord's hand of accomplishing his great designs.
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies - Their necks to tread upon, as the result of victory; or their necks to be subject to me, as the neck of the ox is to his owner. The phrase is sometimes used in this latter sense to denote subjection (compare Jer 27:12); but it is more commonly, when applied to war, used in the former sense, as denoting complete triumph or conquest. It was not uncommon to trample on the necks of those who were overcome in battle. See Jos 10:24; Eze 21:2; Gen 49:8. The word used here - ערף ‛ôreph - means properly neck, nape, the back of the neck; and hence, to give the neck means sometimes to turn the back, as in flight; and the phrase would admit of that meaning here. So Gesenius (Lexicon) understands it. So also DeWette: “Thou turnest my enemies to flight.” It seems to me, however, that the more probable interpretation is that of complete subjection - as when the conqueror places his foot on the necks of his foes. This is confirmed by the next member of the sentence, where the psalmist speaks of the complete destruction of those who hated him. That I might destroy them that hate me - That have pursued and persecuted me in this manner. The idea is that of utterly overcoming them; of putting an end to their power, and to their ability to injure him.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽאֹיְבַ֗י | veoyevai | and enemies my | H341 → | 282 times |
| נָתַ֣תָּה | natatah | you gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִּ֣י | li | to me | ||
| עֹ֑רֶף | ʾoref | [the] neck | H6203 → | |
| וּ֝מְשַׂנְאַ֗י | umesanai | and [those who] hated me | H8130 → | 146 times |
| אַצְמִיתֵֽם׃ | ʾatzmitem | I destroyed them | H6789 → | 15 times |
וְֽאֹיְבַ֗יand enemies my
veoyevaiH341 →282 times
נָתַ֣תָּהyou gave
natatahH5414 →2011 times
לִּ֣יto me
li
עֹ֑רֶף[the] neck
ʾorefH6203 →
וּ֝מְשַׂנְאַ֗יand [those who] hated me
umesanaiH8130 →146 times
אַצְמִיתֵֽם׃I destroyed them
ʾatzmitemH6789 →15 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 94:23He will bring upon them their own iniquity and destroy them for their wickedness. The LORD our God will destroy them.
it leads to
- Psalms 7:16
His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Proverbs 14:32
The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- Psalms 55:23
But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Proverbs 5:22
The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
- Psalms 7:16
Through
Psalms 21:12For You will put them to flight when Your bow is trained upon them.
it leads to
- Psalms 7:12–13
If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Lamentations 3:12
He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
- Psalms 64:7
But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded.
- Psalms 7:12–13
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 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); Arnobius the Younger, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 18; 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.