You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you have armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
- KJV For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.
- NKJV For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose against me.
- NASB “For You have encircled me with strength for battle; You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me.
- NLT You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God armed David with strength for battle and subdued his adversaries under him. Victory is credited wholly to God's empowering.
Overview
David again confesses that his strength for war and his triumph over enemies are God's gifts. He is the instrument; God is the source. This humility before God's sovereignty marks true faith and finds its fulfillment in the kingdom established not by human might but by God's power in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 44:5Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
- Col 1:11being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- Isa 60:14The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Ps 18:32It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
- Ps 18:39You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
- Rev 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- Isa 45:5I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- 1 Sam 17:49–51Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
- Ps 144:2He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
- 1 Sam 23:5Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 22:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.