Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.
- BSB I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
- NKJV Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trod them like dirt in the streets, And I spread them out.
- NASB “Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like the mud of the streets.
- NLT I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trampled them in the gutter like dirt.
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
David crushed his enemies as fine as dust and street mud. His victory over them was thorough and complete.
Overview
The vivid imagery conveys the totality of the defeat God granted David over his adversaries. Within the holy-war setting, it depicts the decisive subduing of those who threatened God's kingdom. It anticipates the final, complete victory of God's reign over all that resists him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Mic 7:10Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
- Isa 10:6I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- 2 Kgs 13:7Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.
- Zech 10:5And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
- Deut 32:26I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
- Mal 4:1For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
- Dan 2:35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
- Ps 18:42Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
- Luke 21:24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
- Ps 35:5Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
- Isa 26:15Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
- Zech 2:6Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
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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 22:43 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.