You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.
Parallel Translations
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You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.
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Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.
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Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me; yea, them that hate me, that I might cut them off.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 22:41 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 23:27 I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
- Joshua 10:24 When they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, “Come near. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came near, and put their feet on their necks.
- Genesis 49:8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before you.
- Psalms 18:40-41 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me. They cried, but there was no one to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
- Psalms 21:8-9 Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
- Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
- Luke 19:27 But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’ ”
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 punishing those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus, who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (4 sources)
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Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 41. Causest to give me the back — The…
41. Causest to give me the back — The word rendered back means properly the back of the neck. The meaning is, that God had made David’s foes turn their backs to him and fly. Compare a parallel expression in Exo_23:27. In all this passage it is noticeable how devoutly David ascribes all his successes and victories to God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 41. And mine enemies didst thou make to turn…
41. And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me:
as for them that hate me, I destroyed them.
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The first clause means that his enemies were put to flight (Exo_23:27), not (as the E. V. suggests) that he planted his foot on their necks in token of triumph (Jos_10:24).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And mine enemies thou hast made to turn upon…
Vers. 41-43.
And mine enemies thou hast made to turn upon me their back, Even those that hate me; and have utterly destroyed them. They looked, but there was none to save, Even to Jehovah, but he answered them not. And I beat them small as the dust of the earth; As the mire of the streets I stamped upon them, I trode them down.
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Those that hate me. The sentence is to be completed from the previous clause, "my haters" and "my enemies" being equivalent. There are several small variations between the text here and in Psalm 18., such as "they cried" for they looked; and "I emptied them out" for I stamped upon them, the difference in both cases consisting in a single letter.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 2Sa_22:41. “The neck,” or “the back.” Made them turn…
2Sa_22:41. “The neck,” or “the back.” Made them turn to flee. (See Exo_23:27.)
2Sa_22:43. “As the dust.” “This language may be only expressive of that contempt in which ancient conquerors were wont to indulge when speaking of their foes. But it is literally true that they might soon be reduced as small as dust. The bodies of slain enemies that lie exposed without the rites of burial on the field or streets, soon become the prey of dogs or vultures, and the bones, stripped of all flesh, blanch in the warm climate, where they are not long in being crumbled to dust, and so trodden under the feet of their masters.” (Jamieson.)
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2Sa_22:44. “Strivings,” or contests. This may especially refer to the internal conflicts in David’s own kingdom. (So Keil and Alexander.) “The closing words of this psalm, and its obvious connection with the promises in 2 Samuel 7, show that the anticipation of the last clause of the psalm was not limited to David’s personal triumphs, either at home or abroad, but meant to comprehend the victories of his successors, and especially of Him in whom the royal line was at once to end and be perpetuated.” (Alexander.)
2Sa_22:45. “The stranger.” Or, “the sons of outland,” i.e., foreigners. “Submit.” Literally, &c., i.e., yield a feigned obedience. “As soon as they hear.” This may mean, “they will submit at the mere report, or when they hear the command they will obey,” implying personal presence.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.