Psalms 18:42
in Psalms 18I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.
KJV
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThen did I beat them - God was with him, and they had only an arm of flesh. No wonder then that his enemies were destroyed. Small as the dust before the wind - This well expresses the manner in which he treated the Moabites, Ammonites, and the people of Rabbah: “He put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron; and made them pass through the brick-kiln,” etc. See 2Sa 12:31 (note), and the notes there.
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And I will beat them as small as dust before the face of the wind" [Psalm 18:42]. And I will beat them small; for dry they are, receiving not the shower of God's mercy; that borne aloft and puffed up with pride they may be hurried along from firm and unshaken hope, and as it were from the earth's solidity and stability. "As the clay of the streets I will destroy them." In their wanton and loose course along the broad ways of perdition, which many walk, will I destroy them.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Next he shows their total destruction; hence he says, "and I will grind them." When dust is thrown, no trace remains, because the wind scatters it; so when the wicked are destroyed, they remain in no way. Therefore he says, "and I will grind them …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then did I beat them small, as the dust before the wind,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The defeat of the nations who fought with King David was so utter and complete that they were like powders pounded in a mortar; their power was broken into fragments and they became as weak as dust before the wind, and as mean as the mire of the roads. Thus powerless and base are the enemies of God now become through the victory of the Son of David upon the cross. Arise, O my soul, and meet thine enemies, for they have sustained a deadly blow, and will fall before thy bold advance.
The defeat of the nations who fought with King David was so utter and complete that they were like powders pounded in a mortar; their power was broken into fragments and they became as weak as dust before the wind, and as mean as the mire of the roads. Thus powerless and base are the enemies of God now become through the victory of the Son of David upon the cross. Arise, O my soul, and meet thine enemies, for they have sustained a deadly blow, and will fall before thy bold advance. Hell and my sins resist my course, But hell and sin are vanquish'd foes My Jesus nail'd them to his cross, And sung the triumph when he rose."
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind - As the fine dust is driven by the wind, so they fled before me. There could be no more striking illustration of a defeated army flying before a conqueror. DeWette says correctly that the idea is, “I beat them small, and scattered them as dust before the wind.” I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets - In the corresponding place in 2Sa 22:43, this is, “I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.” The idea in the place before us is, that he poured them out, for so the Hebrew word means, as the dirt or mire in the streets. As that is trodden on, or trampled down, so they, instead of being marshalled for battle, were wholly disorganized, scattered, and left to be trodden down, as the most worthless object is. A similar image occurs in Isa 10:6, where God is speaking of Sennacherib: “I will send him against an hypocritical nation ... to tread them down like the mire of the streets.”
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽאֶשְׁחָקֵ֗ם | veeshchakem | and I crushed them | H7833 → | |
| כְּעָפָ֥ר | keafar | like dust | H6083 → | 110 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵי־ | penei- | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| ר֑וּחַ | ruach | [the] wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| כְּטִ֖יט | ketit | like [the] mud of | H2916 → | 13 times |
| חוּצ֣וֹת | chutzot | [the] streets | H2351 → | 164 times |
| אֲרִיקֵֽם׃ | ʾarikem | I poured out them | H7324 → |
וְֽאֶשְׁחָקֵ֗םand I crushed them
veeshchakemH7833 →
כְּעָפָ֥רlike dust
keafarH6083 →110 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵי־[the] face of
penei-H6440 →2123 times
ר֑וּחַ[the] wind
ruachH7307 →378 times
כְּטִ֖יטlike [the] mud of
ketitH2916 →13 times
חוּצ֣וֹת[the] streets
chutzotH2351 →164 times
אֲרִיקֵֽם׃I poured out them
ʾarikemH7324 →
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 50:22Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
it leads to
- Job 8:13
Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
- Psalms 9:17
The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.
- Psalms 7:2
or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
- Jeremiah 2:32
Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
- Job 8:13
Through
Zechariah 10:5They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
it leads to
- Haggai 2:22
I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his…
- Romans 8:31–37
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Haggai 2:22
Through
Isaiah 10:6I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the…
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:17
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite…
- Isaiah 9:17
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.