Psalms 44:10
in Psalms 44You have made us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have plundered us.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou makest us to turn back from the adversary; And they that hate us take spoil for themselves.
KJV
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
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This verse in Psalms 44
Commentary
11 notes on this verseOne who is carried off by people is not necessarily conquered. Take, for example, Paul. He rejoices in his sufferings. He glories in being let out through a window and lowered in a basket. Look at holy Jeremiah, holy Ezekiel, holy Daniel. These were led into captivity and plundered by the Assyrians. But their own personal faith was never taken captive. They never sinned against the Lord's covenant.
This site's exposition
You have rejected and humbled
on Psalms 44:9-12
Every verb here has God as its subject. He rejected them, sent them back from the foe, gave them up as sheep to be devoured, and scattered them among the nations. Gill reads the sale that brings no profit as the sharpest edge of the complaint.
This site's exposition
made us retreat from the foe
Verse 5 drove foes back, and now the foe drives Israel back. Henry saw them flee before those who used to flee before them, while those who hate them have plundered the land. Barnes tied this to Nebuchadnezzar carrying the temple vessels to Babylon.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"You have turned us away backward in presence of our enemies" [Psalm 44:10], so that they are, as it were, before; we, behind; they are counted as conquerors, we as conquered. "And they which hate us spoiled for themselves." What did they "spoil" but ourselves?
The Medieval Church1 voice
"You have turned us back." Here is set forth the order of the adversity of holy men, with respect to two things: namely, with respect to the consolation they do not have, and with respect to the affliction they suffer. Men who go to battle …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
8 ): "We are dispirited, and have lost the ancient valour of Israelites; we flee, we fall, before those that used to flee and fall before us; and then those that hate us have the plunder of our camp and of our country; they spoil for themselves, and reckon all their own that they can lay their hands on.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy. The humiliating consciousness that the Lord has left them soon makes men cowards. Flight closes the fight of those who have not the Lord in the van. And they which hate us spoil for themselves. After defeat and retreat, comes spoliation. The poor, vanquished nation paid a terrible penalty for being overcome; plunder and murder desolated the conquered land, and the invaders loaded themselves with every precious thing which they could carry away. In spiritual experience we know what it is to be despoiled by our enemies; doubts and fears rob us of our comforts, and terrible forebodings spoil us of our hopes; and all because the Lord, for wise purposes, sees fit to leave us to ourselves. Alas! for the deserted soul; no calamity can equal the sorrow of being left of God, though it be but for a small moment.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy. The humiliating consciousness that the Lord has left them soon makes men cowards. Flight closes the fight of those who have not the Lord in the van. And they which hate us spoil for themselves. After defeat and retreat, comes spoliation. The poor, vanquished nation paid a terrible penalty for being overcome; plunder and murder desolated the conquered land, and the invaders loaded themselves with every precious thing which they could carry away.
Thou makest us to turn back - This thou didst: and our enemies, profiting by the occasion, finding our strength was departed from us, made us an easy prey, captivated our persons, and spoiled us of our property.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy - Instead of giving us the victory. That is, we are defeated. And they which hate us spoil for themselves - They plunder us; they take our property as spoil, and carry it away. That this was done at the time referred to in the introduction as the time of the composition of the psalm, is apparent from the narrative in the Book of Chronicles. 2Ch 36:7, “Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.” Compare 2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 24:13-16; 2Ki 25:13-17.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Even if You have forsaken us and put us to shame Even if You put us to shame, we will forever thank Your name.
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. 6 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תְּשִׁיבֵ֣נוּ | teshivenu | you have made turn back us | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אָ֭חוֹר | ʾachor | backwards | H268 → | 41 times |
| מִנִּי־ | mini- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| צָ֑ר | tzar | [the] opponent | H6862 → | 109 times |
| וּ֝מְשַׂנְאֵ֗ינוּ | umesaneinu | and [those who] hate us | H8130 → | 146 times |
| שָׁ֣סוּ | shasu | they have plundered | H8154 → | |
| לָֽמוֹ׃ | lamo | for themselves |
תְּשִׁיבֵ֣נוּyou have made turn back us
teshivenuH7725 →1056 times
אָ֭חוֹרbackwards
ʾachorH268 →41 times
מִנִּי־from
mini-H4480 →1188 times
צָ֑ר[the] opponent
tzarH6862 →109 times
וּ֝מְשַׂנְאֵ֗ינוּand [those who] hate us
umesaneinuH8130 →146 times
שָׁ֣סוּthey have plundered
shasuH8154 →
לָֽמוֹ׃for themselves
lamo
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
Joshua 7:12This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be…
it leads to
- Psalms 5:4–5
For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; no evil can dwell with You.
- Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
- Psalms 5:4–5
Through
Leviticus 26:17And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:10
If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
- Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Leviticus 26:36–37
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to…
- Psalms 53:5
There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
- Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to…
- Leviticus 17:10
Through
Joshua 7:8O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
it leads to
- Romans 3:5–6
But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.
- Romans 3:5–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, COMMENTARY ON TWELVE PSALMS 44:35; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 44; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.