Psalms 31:8
in Psalms 31You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large place.
KJV
And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.
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This verse in Psalms 31
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAnd hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. To be shut up in one's hand is to be delivered over absolutely to his power; now, the believer is not in the hand of death or the devil, much less is he in the power of man. The enemy may get a temporary advantage over us, but we are like men in prison with the door open; God will not let us be shut up, he always provides a way of escape. Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
This site's exposition
who cling to worthless idols
on Psalms 31:6-8
Verse 6 puts two allegiances together, worthless idols and the LORD, and the trust goes to one of them. Verses 7 and 8 look back on mercy already given, affliction seen and anguish known. Set my feet in the open renders merchav, a wide place.
This site's exposition
You have not delivered me to the enemy
Charles Spurgeon read delivered me to the enemy as handed over wholly to his power. He pictured the believer as a prisoner whose door stays open. Adam Clarke tied it to David's escapes from Saul, the spear thrown while he played before the king among them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"And hast not shut me up into the hands of the enemy" [Psalm 31:8]. And hast not shut me up, that I should have no opening for recovering unto liberty, and be given over for ever into the power of the devil, ensnaring me with the desire of this life, and terrifying me with death. "You have set my feet in a large room." The resurrection of my Lord being known, and my own being promised me, my love, having been brought out of the straits of fear, walks abroad in continuance, into the expanse of liberty.
The reasons of temptation, when they are realized, provide a broad plane for the soul.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Because." Here he commemorates the benefit of liberation. First, the liberation; second, the manner of liberation, at "You have not shut me up." He says he was freed from two things: from rejection and from tribulation. The first is opposed to honor; the second to …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy,....
He complains of the very deplorable condition he was in, and, in the sense of his calamities, still prays that God would graciously appear for him against his persecutors,
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shut me up . . . enemy--abandon to (1Sa 23:11). large room--place of safety (compare Ps 18:19). 9, 10. mine eye, &c.--denotes extreme weakness (compare Ps 6:7). grief--mingled sorrow and indignation (Ps 6:7). soul and . . . belly--the whole person.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. To be shut up in one's hand is to be delivered over absolutely to his power; now, the believer is not in the hand of death or the devil, much less is he in the power of man. The enemy may get a temporary advantage over us, but we are like men in prison with the door open; God will not let us be shut up, he always provides a way of escape. Thou hast set my feet in a large room. Blessed be God for liberty: civil liberty is valuable, religious liberty is precious, spiritual liberty is priceless. In all troubles we may praise God if these are left. Many saints have had their greatest enlargements of soul when their affairs have been in the greatest straits. Their souls have been in a large room when their bodies have been lying in Bonner's coal hole, or in some other narrow dungeon. Grace has been equal to every emergency; and more than this, it has made the emergency an opportunity for displaying itself.
Thou hast set my foot in a large room - Many hair-breadth escapes David had for his life; at that time especially when, playing before Saul, the furious king took a spear and endeavored to pierce him through the body, but he escaped and got to the deserts. Here God, who had saved his life, set his feet in a large room. The seventh and eighth verses speak of what God had done previously for him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy - Hast not delivered me into his hand, or into his power. See the margin 1Sa 17:46; 1Sa 24:18; 1Sa 26:8. Thou hast set my feet in a large room - In a large place. Thou hast made me free, or set me at liberty. See Psa 4:1, note; Psa 18:19, note; Psa 18:36, note.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִ֭סְגַּרְתַּנִי | hisgartani | you delivered up me | H5462 → | 91 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אוֹיֵ֑ב | ʾoyev | an enemy | H341 → | 282 times |
| הֶֽעֱמַ֖דְתָּ | heemadta | you made stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| בַמֶּרְחָ֣ב | vamerchav | in <the> roomy place | H4800 → | 6 times |
| רַגְלָֽי׃ | raglai | feet my | H7272 → | 247 times |
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הִ֭סְגַּרְתַּנִיyou delivered up me
hisgartaniH5462 →91 times
בְּיַד־in [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
אוֹיֵ֑בan enemy
ʾoyevH341 →282 times
הֶֽעֱמַ֖דְתָּyou made stand
heemadtaH5975 →521 times
בַמֶּרְחָ֣בin <the> roomy place
vamerchavH4800 →6 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 18:19He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:5
In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 18:36
You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
- Psalms 118:5
Through
Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
- Leviticus 26:8
Through
Psalms 4:1Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
- Exodus 34:6–7
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Psalms 40:1–3
I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Psalms 18:18–19
They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.
- 2 Corinthians 1:10
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 31; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Evagrius Ponticus, NOTES ON THE PSALMS 30[31].9; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.