Psalms 37:15
in Psalms 37But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.
KJV
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
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This verse in Psalms 37
Commentary
17 notes on this verseTheir sword shall enter into their own heart,.... As Saul's did into his, 1Sa 31:4; and their bows shall be broken; the meaning is, that their efforts shall be fruitless, and their attempts in vain; the mischief they have contrived and designed for others shall fall upon themselves; see Psa 7:15; and therefore the saints should not be fretful and envious.
This site's exposition
scheme against the righteous
on Psalms 37:12-15
The scheming comes with gnashing teeth, and the drawn sword and bent bow are aimed at the poor and needy. The Lord laughs over them, the same laughter He gives the conspiring kings at Psalm 2:4, and He sees their day coming. Their own swords turn back into their hearts.
This site's exposition
their bows will be broken
Spurgeon and John Gill both pointed to Saul, who fell on his own sword, and Spurgeon added Haman on the gallows he built for Mordecai. Augustine drew a contrast. The persecutor's sword reached only the martyrs' bodies, while his own heart took the wound.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
When one of the enemies approaches to wound you and you want to "turn his own sword back against his heart," according to the Scripture text, then do as we tell you. Distinguish within yourself the thought he has launched against you, as to what …
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanCommentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms · Written before 397.
proposed
(Verse 15.) And therefore the spear of sinners will enter into their hearts, and their bow will be broken. Just as peace returns to the servants of God from those who do not receive the blessed peace, so too the wickedness of sinners, with which they try to harm the righteous, will turn back to their own destruction; so that they may be killed by their own weapons and wounds. For often the javelins are thrown back upon those who threw them.
Even if the sinner tries to plot against the righteous person and is bent on carrying it through in every way, do not then grind your teeth at his going unpunished. God will spit on his plot, knowing that he will suffer sometime and that …
"The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright heart" (ver. 14). "Their weapon shall enter into their own heart" (ver. 15). It is an easy thing for his weapon, that is, his sword, to reach thy body, even as the sword of the persecutors reached the body of the Martyrs, but when the body had been smitten, "the heart" remained unhurt; but his heart who "drew out the sword against" the body of the just did not clearly remain unhurt. This is attested by this very Psalm. It saith, Their weapon, that is, "Their sword shall," not go into their body, but, "their weapon shall go into their own heart." They would fain have slain him in the body. Let them die the death of the soul. For those whose bodies they sought to kill, the Lord hath freed from anxiety, saying, "Fear not them who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul."...
The Medieval Church1 voice
Next, when he says, "The sword," he adds about the outward effort of the wicked; and regarding this he does three things. First, he shows their effort. Second, their intended goal, at "To deceive." Third, the outcome of this effort, at "Their sword." Regarding the …
9 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
); the instruments of their cruelty shall fail them and they shall lose those whom they had made tools of to serve their bloody purposes with; nay, their arms shall be broken, so that they shall not be able to go on with their enterprises,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
, 18, 19, 22-25, 28, 29, 37 . He prescribes very good remedies against this sin of envying the prosperity of the wicked, and great encouragement to use those remedies,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
They prepare instruments of death, the sword and the bow, no less will serve; they hunt for the precious life. That which they design is to cast down and slay; it is the blood of the saints they thirst after.
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Like Haman they shall be hanged upon the gallows built by themselves for Mordecai. Hundreds of times has this been the case. Saul, who sought to slay David, fell on his own sword; and the bow, his favourite weapon, the use of which he taught the children of Israel, was not able to deliver him on Gilboa. And their bows shall be broken. Their inventions of evil shall be rendered useless. Malice outwits itself.
Here is the portrait of a proud oppressor armed to the teeth.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Like Haman they shall be hanged upon the gallows built by themselves for Mordecai. Hundreds of times has this been the case. Saul, who sought to slay David, fell on his own sword; and the bow, his favourite weapon, the use of which he taught the children of Israel, was not able to deliver him on Gilboa. And their bows shall be broken. Their inventions of evil shall be rendered useless. Malice outwits itself. It drinks the poisoned cup which it mixed for another, and burns itself in the fire which it kindled for its neighbour. Why need we fret at the prosperity of the wicked when they are so industriously ruining themselves while they fancy they are injuring the saints? The next nine verses mainly describe the character and blessedness of the godly, and the light is brought out with a few black touches descriptive of the wicked and their doom.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Like Haman they shall be hanged upon the gallows built by themselves for Mordecai. Hundreds of times has this been the case. Saul, who sought to slay David, fell on his own sword; and the bow, his favourite weapon, the use of which he taught the children of Israel, was not able to deliver him on Gilboa. And their bows shall be broken. Their inventions of evil shall be rendered useless. Malice outwits itself.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart - All their execrations and maledictions shall fall upon themselves, and their power to do mischief shall be broken.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Their sword shall enter into their own heart - Their purposes will recoil on themselves; or they will themselves suffer what they had devised for others. See the same sentiment expressed in Psa 7:15-16; Psa 9:15; compare Est 7:10. And their bows shall be broken - They will be defeated in their plans. God will cut them off, and not suffer them to execute their designs.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
initiated war the wicked initiated quarrel and strife without previous provocation.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חַ֭רְבָּם | charbom | sword their | H2719 → | 413 times |
| תָּב֣וֹא | tavo' | it will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְלִבָּ֑ם | velibam | in own heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְ֝קַשְּׁתוֹתָ֗ם | vekashetotam | and bows their | H7198 → | 76 times |
| תִּשָּׁבַֽרְנָה׃ | tishavarnah | they will be broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
חַ֭רְבָּםsword their
charbomH2719 →413 times
תָּב֣וֹאit will go
tavo'H935 →2568 times
בְלִבָּ֑םin own heart their
velibamH3820 →595 times
וְ֝קַשְּׁתוֹתָ֗םand bows their
vekashetotamH7198 →76 times
תִּשָּׁבַֽרְנָה׃they will be broken
tishavarnahH7665 →147 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 46:9He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:4
Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against…
- Micah 4:3–4
Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take…
- Micah 5:10
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots.
- Isaiah 60:18
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
- Joshua 11:9
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
- Isaiah 2:4
Through
Psalms 35:8May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
it leads to
- Psalms 141:9–10
Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers.
- Luke 21:34
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Psalms 9:15
The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
- Psalms 141:9–10
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 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); Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 37; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Evagrius Ponticus, ON THOUGHTS 19; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 37:15 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.