When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence.
Parallel Translations
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When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence.
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When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
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(9-4) When mine enemies are turned back, they stumble and perish at Thy presence;
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Psalms 9:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
- Psalms 76:7 You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?
- Psalms 80:16 It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke.
- Revelation 6:12-17 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind. The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places. The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
- Revelation 20:11 I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Psalms 68:1-2 Let God arise! Let his enemies be scattered! Let them who hate him also flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
- Isaiah 64:3 When you did awesome things which we didn’t look for, you came down, and the mountains quaked at your presence.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 3. While my enemies are turned back. In these…
3. While my enemies are turned back. In these words he assigns the reason why he undertakes to sing the praises of God, namely, because he acknowledges that his frequent victories had been achieved, not by his own power, nor by the power of his soldiers, but by the free favor of God. In the first part of the verse he narrates historically how his enemies were discomfited or put to flight; and then he adds, what faith alone could enable him to say, that this did not take place by the power of man or by chance, but because God fought for him, “Mais pource que Dieu a battacile pour luy. — Fr.
The idea implied in the verb כשל, cashal, is that of stumbling, and it is here employed in a military sense. In Psalm 27:2, where it is said of David’s enemies, “they stumbled and fell;” this is the verb used for stumbled. The idea there is not properly that of falling, but of being wounded and weakened by the stumbling-blocks in the way, previous to falling. The word כשל, cashal, has been viewed as having the same meaning in the passage before us. “It refers,” says Hammond, “to those that either faint in a march or are wounded in a battle, or especially that in flight meet with galling traps in their way, and so are galled and lamed, rendered unable to go forward, and so fall, and become liable to all the ill chances of pursuits, and as here are overtaken and perish in the fall.”
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“C’est la face de Dieu qui les poursuit.” — Fr. “It is the face of God which pursues them.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 9:3 When mine enemies are turned back, they…
Psa 9:3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
Ver. 3. When mine enemies] This, Tremellius maketh to be the form of praise which the psalmist professeth that he will sing to God, and rendereth it thus, That mine enemies returning back are fallen, &c.
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And perish at thy presence] The victory is of God, and to him alone to be ascribed. The Romans in their triumphs presented a palm to Jupiter. The Grecians also thankfully ascribed to Jupiter their deliverance from the Persians, wrought by Themistocles, and there hence called him ελευθεριος, that is, deliverer.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain When they are discomfited and put to flight, they…
When they are discomfited and put to flight, they shall not save themselves by flight, and reserve themselves to do further mischief, but shall stumble as it were at gall-traps by thee laid in their way, and shall be pursued, and overtaken, and cut off, upon thy appearance against them. One angry look of thine is able to confound and destroy them. Heb. from thy face, because thou didst march in the head of our armies, and against them. They could not stand before thee. So he ascribes the honour of his victories to God only, and to his presence and assistance.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain When mine enemies are turned back,.... As the Philistines…
When mine enemies are turned back,.... As the Philistines were, when Goliath their champion was dead; and as the men that came to apprehend Christ, David's antitype, went backwards and fell to the ground, through the superior power of Christ; and as sin, Satan, and the world, and at last antichrist, are made to retreat from the Lord's people, who are more than conquerors over them through Christ that has loved them. "They shall fall and perish at thy presence"; they shall stumble at one thing or another which divine Providence will throw in their way to hinder them from executing their designs, and so fall before them they meant to destroy, and perish at the presence of God as wax melteth before the fire; see Psa 27:2; so antichrist shall be consumed with the breath of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his coming, Th2 2:8; and this is the ground and foundation of the psalmist's joy, and rejoicing, and singing praise to God as it will be the reason of the joy of saints in the latter day, Rev 18:22.
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Psalms 9:4
psa 9:4
psa 9:4
psa 9:4For thou hast maintained my right and my cause,.... Or vindicated and established his righteous cause; God had pleaded and defended it, and by the flight, fall, and ruin of his enemies, had clearly made it appear that his cause was just and good;
thou sittest in the throne judging right; God has not only a throne of grace on which he sits, and from whence he distributes grace and mercy to his people, but he has a throne of judgment, and which is prepared for it, as in Psa 9:7; where he sits as the Judge of all the earth, and will do right; nor can he do otherwise, though his judgments are not always manifest in the present state of things; and the vindication of the psalmist's innocence and uprightness is another reason of his joy and gladness.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Turned back - Put to flight.
Turned back - Put to flight.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. When mine enemies are turned back] It…
Verse 3. When mine enemies are turned back] It is a sure sign of a nearly approaching complete conquest over sin, when, by resistance to its influences, it begins to lose its power. That is the time to follow on to know the Lord.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 9:3. When mine enemies are turned back —…
Psa 9:3. When mine enemies are turned back — Discomfited and put to flight; they shall fall and perish — They shall not save themselves by flight and so reserve themselves to do farther mischief but shall stumble, as it were, at the obstacles and impediments laid by thee in their way, and shall be pursued, overtaken, and cut off; at thy presence — Upon thy appearing against them. One angry look of thine is sufficient to confound and destroy them. Hebrew, מפניךְ, mippaneicha, from thy face; they could not stand before thee, because thou didst march at the head of our armies against them. So he ascribes the honour of his victories to God only, and to his presence and assistance.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain When mine enemies are turned back - Who these…
When mine enemies are turned back - Who these enemies were, the psalmist does not say. It is clear, however, as was remarked in the introduction, that the psalm was composed:
(a) in view of a victory which had been achieved over some formidable enemies; and
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(b) in view of some dangers still impending from a similar source.
The literal meaning of the passage here is, “In the turning of my enemies back;” that is, in their retreat, defeat, overthrow. So far as the Hebrew form of expression is concerned, this may either refer to what had been done, or to what would be; and may imply either that they had been turned back, or that the psalmist hoped and believed that they would be; for in either case the fact would show the divine perfections, and give occasion for gratitude and praise. The verbs with which this is connected - “they shall fall and perish” - are indeed in the Hebrew, as in our version, in the future tense; but this does not necessarily determine the question whether the psalmist refers to what had occurred or what would occur. His attitude is this: he contemplates his enemies as mighty and formidable; he sees the danger which exists when such enemies surround one; he looks at the interposition of God, and he sees that whenever it occurs it would be followed by this consequence, that they would stumble and fall before him. But while this verse does not determine the question whether he refers to what has been, or to what would be, the subsequent verses Psa 9:4-6 seem to settle it, where he speaks as if this were already done, and as if God had interposed in a remarkable manner in defeating his foes. I regard this, therefore, as a reflection on what had occurred, and as expressing what was then actually a ground of praise and thanksgiving.
They shall fall and perish - A general statement in view of what had occurred, meaning that this would always be the case.
At thy presence - Before thee; that is, when thou dost manifest thyself. This was the reason why they would stumble and fall, and is equivalent to saying, that “whenever mine enemies are turned back, the reason why they stumble and fall is “thy presence.” It is the interposition of thy power. It is not to be traced to the prowess of man that they thus turn back, and that they fall and perish; it is to be traced to the fact that thou art present - that thou dost interpose.” It is thus an acknowledgment of God as the author of the victory in all cases.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain When . . . are turned back--It is the…
When . . . are turned back--It is the result of God's power alone. He, as a righteous Judge (Psa 7:11), vindicates His people. He rebukes by acts as well as words (Psa 6:1; Psa 18:15), and so effectually as to destroy the names of nations as well as persons.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3-6. A graphic description of the desolating effect of…
3-6. A graphic description of the desolating effect of the war.
When mine enemies are turned back—Or, because “mine enemies are turned back.” The preposition may denote both time (when) and reason (because.)
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Perish at thy presence—Literally, at thy appearance, or, at thy face. God appeared, or looked on them, and they retreated backward, stumbled, and perished. See Exo_14:24.
For thou—Because thou hast executed my judgment and my cause. The language in Psa_9:4-5 is strictly juridical.
O thou enemy—Rather read this line, the enemy are perished, [they are] perpetual desolations.
Cities… their memorial is perished—The very names of the cities are forgotten, so complete is their ruin. David’s second Syrian war extended from Ammon in Arabia to Helam in Syria, a distance of about three hundred miles, and probably in no district in the world, of equal extent, are there at this day more ruins of ancient cities whose very names have perished, than in this.
Thou… destroyed cities— “Thou,” here, refers not to his enemies, but to God, as in Psa_9:4-5. God alone is the dispenser of these judgments, and this blotting out of cities and peoples is the threatened doom of his enemies. Exo_17:14; Deu_25:19
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 3, 4. Stanza of Beth. It is best to…
3, 4. Stanza of Beth. It is best to place a semicolon only at the end of Psa_9:2, and render Psa_9:3 in close connexion with it:
Because mine enemies turn back,
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Stumble and perish at Thy presence.
The ‘presence’ or ‘face’ of God is to His enemies necessarily a manifestation of victorious wrath. Comp. Psa_21:9 (R.V. marg.); Psa_34:16; Exo_14:24. The verse is a vivid picture of a panic rout: the foe turning to flee, stumbling in their precipitate haste, overtaken and annihilated. Cp. Psa_35:5-6.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) When.—Literally, in the turning of mine enemies back,…
(3) When.—Literally, in the turning of mine enemies back, which may be either when they turned, or because they turned, or possibly with both ideas combined. The older versions have when. Psa_9:2-3 form one sentence, “I will be glad and rejoice in thee . . . when mine enemies are turned back, (when) they fall and perish at thy presence.”
Fall.—Better, stumble through weakness. So the LXX., “are weak.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When mine enemies are turned back; or, because mine…
When mine enemies are turned back; or, because mine enemies are turned back ("Speaker"s Commentary"); i.e. made to retreat, repulsed, driven before me in hasty flight. They shall fall and perish at thy presence; or, they stumble and perish, etc. The psalmist represents the enemy, poetically, "as if they had been thrown to the ground by the glance of God"s fiery countenance" (Hengstenberg).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 3. God's presence is evermore sufficient to work…
Ver. 3. God's presence is evermore sufficient to work the defeat of our most furious foes, and their ruin is so complete when the Lord takes them in hand, that even flight cannot save them, they fall to rise no more when he pursues them. We must be careful, like David, to give all the glory to him whose presence gives the victory. If we have here the exultings of our conquering Captain, let us make the triumphs of the Redeemer the triumphs of the redeemed, and rejoice with him at the total discomfiture of all his foes.
Ver. 3. When mine enemies are turned back, etc. Were turned back, repulsed, and put to flight. To render this in the present time, as our translators did, is certainly improper; it destroys the coherence, and introduces obscurity. Ainsworth saw this, and rendered in the past, "When mine enemies turned backward." "At thy presence." That is, by thine anger. For as God's presence or face denotes his favour to such as fear and serve him, so it denotes his anger towards the wicked. "The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil." B. Boothroyd, 1824.
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Ver. 3. They shall fall and perish. It refers to those that either faint in a march, or are wounded in a battle, or especially that in flight meet with galling haps in their way, and so are galled and lamed, rendered unable to go forward, and so fall, and become liable to all the chances of pursuits, and as here, are overtaken and perish in the fall. Henry Hammond, D.D.
None.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 turn back
turn back
"retreat" or "flee in fear"
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you sit on your throne, a righteous judge
Kings had authority to judge people, and they would sit on their throne when they judged. David speaks as if God were an earthly king. AT: "you judge like a king who sits on his throne, and you are righteous" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
perish
just
throne
righteous
judge
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 9:3-6 The psalmist celebrates God’s judgment of the wicked,…
9:3-6 The psalmist celebrates God’s judgment of the wicked, which is a testimony to the Lord’s reliable promise to establish his kingdom on earth (1:6; Ps 2).
9:3 retreated . . . staggered: The Lord overpowers even powerful enemies (see 27:2). Israel also experienced judgment when it resisted the Lord (107:12).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.