Psalms 7:13
in Psalms 7He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; He maketh his arrows fiery shafts.
KJV
He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
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This verse in Psalms 7
Commentary
18 notes on this verseJust as men who are polishing up their arms indicate by this action the attack in war, so Scripture, wishing to bespeak a movement of God toward vengeance, says that he polishes his sword. "He has bent his bow." … There is no bowstring that stretches the bow of God, but a punitive power, now strained tight, again loosened. Scripture threatens the sinner that future punishments are prepared for him, if he remains in his sin.
This site's exposition
God will sharpen His sword
on Psalms 7:12-14
The judgment waits on repentance. If the man does not repent, God sharpens His sword, bends and strings His bow, and ordains His arrows with fire. Verse 14 draws the wicked man's evil as a pregnancy, travailing with evil, conceiving trouble, and giving birth to falsehood.
This site's exposition
He ordains His arrows with fire
The word behind with fire can mean burning or hot in pursuit, so older versions read against the pursuers. Franz Delitzsch read it as arrows made into fire. Either way, the sword, the bow and the deadly weapons are prepared for the pursuers of verse 1.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"And in it He has prepared the instruments of death: He has wrought His arrows for the burning" [Psalm 7:13]. That bow then I would readily take to be the Holy Scripture, in which by the strength of the New Testament, as by a sort of string, the hardness of the Old has been bent and subdued. From thence the Apostles are sent forth like arrows, or divine preachings are shot. Which arrows "He has wrought for the burning," arrows, that is, whereby being stricken they might be inflamed with heavenly love. For by what other arrows was she stricken, who says, "Bring me into the house of wine, place me among perfumes, crowd me among honey, for I have been wounded with love"? By what other arrows is he kindled, who, desirous of returning to God, and coming back from wandering, asks for help against crafty tongues, and to whom it is said, "What shall be given you, or what added to you against the crafty tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with devastating coals:" that is, coals, whereby, when you are stricken and set on fire, you may burn with so great love of the kingdom of heaven, as to despise the tongues of all that resist you, and would recall you from your purpose, and to deride their persecutions, saying, "Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded," he says, "that neither death, nor life, nor angel, nor principality, nor things present, not things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Thus for the burning has He wrought His arrows. […]
That same adversary, Absalom, as if he has been born again from ourselves, prepares the war against us. Our sound judgment concerning the matter, or rather our alliance with God, turns him who is bloodthirsty against us back. For because he attributes the cause of the good things that have been accomplished for him through "the words of Cush" to God, he composes this thanksgiving.… It would be worthwhile to apply the figures of the story to the virtuous life, how the advice that saves us becomes the strangling of the adversary; and this saving advice has been recorded, on the one hand, in the history, and on the other, in the psalm.
These are not words of punishment, note, but of threat: he said wield, not inflict; bent his bow, not fired the arrow. And to teach us against whom he will fire the arrows, he immediately attached the words "he made his arrows into flaming shafts," …
The ones who are burning are those who have received the flaming arrows of the devil.
'Unless ye be converted, he will brandish his sword.' This passage admits a twofold understanding. For many think it is said of God, so that, for example's sake, it is said to sinners. And what does it say? 'Unless ye be converted, he will brandish his sword': that is, unless ye do penance, the Lord will strike you with his sword. But let us see whether the things that follow can be fitted to the person of the Lord. 'He hath bent his bow, and made it ready.' This can be said of God. 'And in it he hath prepared the vessels of death.' This is difficult, for the Lord does not have vessels of death, but vessels of life; but this too can somehow be understood of the person of the Saviour. But that which follows, 'Behold, he hath been in labour with injustice, and hath conceived sorrow and brought forth iniquity, he hath opened a pit and dug it out,' cannot at all be taken of God. We are compelled, therefore, by necessity, on account of the things that follow which are harsher and more arrogant, not to understand of God, 'Unless ye be converted, he will brandish his sword.'
10 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
'And in it he hath prepared the vessels of death.' They fit the person of the devil. 'He hath made his arrows for them that burn.' Beautifully he said, 'for them that burn': for those whose hearts burn with lust and passions, these have been conquered by the devil. 'He hath made his arrows for them that burn.' Beautifully he said 'for them that burn'; he did not say 'for those about to burn,' that is, those who are about to burn with his arrows; but whosoever's hearts he sees burning, those he strikes.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Scripture enlightens a posteriori through strict judgments. For God always imposes strict judgments upon transgressions of the precepts, as in the cases of Lucifer, Adam and his wife, the depraved upon whom came the flood, the prideful who built the tower of Babel, the Chananeans …
Then when he says, "Unless," he shows that the Lord prepares himself to inflict punishment, even though he delays for a reason. And this preparation is set forth: first on God's part as the one punishing; second on man's part as the one punished or …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Fifthly, The destruction of impenitent sinners, though it come slowly, yet comes surely; for it is ordained, they are of old ordained to it. Sixthly, Of all sinners persecutors are set up as the fairest marks of divine wrath; against them, more than any other, God has ordained his arrows. They set God at defiance, but cannot set themselves out of the reach of his judgments.
He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death,....
It is here intimated, [1.] That the destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion, for it is threatened with that proviso: If he turn not from his evil way, if he do not let fall his enmity against the people of God, then let him expect it will be his ruin; but, if he turn, it is implied that his sin shall be pardoned and all shall be well.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Even now the thirsty arrow longs to wet itself with the blood of the persecutor. The bow is bent, the aim is taken, the arrow is fitted to the string, and what, O sinner, if the arrow should be let fly at thee even now! Remember, God's arrows never miss the mark, and are, every one of them, "instruments of death." Judgment may tarry, but it will not come too late. The Greek proverb saith, "The mill of God grinds late, but grinds to powder."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
against the persecutors--Some render "for burning," but the former is the best sense. Arrows for burning would be appropriate in besieging a town, not in warring against one man or a company in open fight.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death - This appears to be all a prophecy of the tragical death of Saul. He was wounded by the arrows of the Philistines; and his own keen sword, on which he fell, terminated his woful days!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He hath also prepared for him - The instruments of punishment are already prepared, and God can use them when he pleases. They are not to be made ready, and, therefore, there is no necessity for delay when he shall have occasion to use them. The idea is, that arrangements are made for the destruction of the wicked, and that the destruction must come upon them. The world is full of these arrangements, and it is impossible that the sinner should escape. The instruments of death - The means of putting them to death; that is, of punishing them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
If he does not repent [i.e., if] the wicked [does not repent] of his wickedness.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And..for him And for the wicked man, the Holy One, blessed be He, has prepared deadly weapons.
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. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֭לוֹ | velo | and for him | ||
| הֵכִ֣ין | hekhin | he has prepared | H3559 → | 217 times |
| כְּלֵי־ | kelei- | weapons of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| מָ֑וֶת | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| חִ֝צָּ֗יו | chitzav | arrows his | H2671 → | 53 times |
| לְֽדֹלְקִ֥ים | ledolekim | into burning [things] | H1814 → | |
| יִפְעָֽל׃ | yifal | he will make | H6466 → | 57 times |
וְ֭לוֹand for him
velo
הֵכִ֣יןhe has prepared
hekhinH3559 →217 times
כְּלֵי־weapons of
kelei-H3627 →325 times
מָ֑וֶתdeath
mavetH4194 →156 times
חִ֝צָּ֗יוarrows his
chitzavH2671 →53 times
לְֽדֹלְקִ֥יםinto burning [things]
ledolekimH1814 →
יִפְעָֽל׃he will make
yifalH6466 →57 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
2 Thessalonians 1:6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:8
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- Colossians 3:25
Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
- Psalms 94:20–23
Can a corrupt throne be Your ally— one devising mischief by decree?
- Zechariah 2:8
Through
Revelation 16:6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:26
I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your…
- Revelation 11:18
The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your…
- Revelation 6:10–11
And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”
- Isaiah 49:26
Through
Habakkuk 3:13You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 110:6
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide.
- Psalms 110:6
Through
Psalms 45:5Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
it leads to
- Psalms 21:12
For You will put them to flight when Your bow is trained upon them.
- Psalms 21:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 17 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); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 7; Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 11:7 (PS 7); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Evagrius Ponticus, NOTES ON THE PSALMS 7:14; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Gregory of Nyssa, INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2:11.148-49; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 3, on Psalm 7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 7:7 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.