The man who touches them must be armed with iron or with the shaft of a spear. The fire burns them to ashes in the place where they lie.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear. They will be utterly burned with fire in their place.”
- KJV But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
- NKJV But the man who touches them Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”
- NASB Instead, the man who touches them Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they will be completely burned with fire in their place.”
- NLT One must use iron tools to chop them down; they will be totally consumed by fire.”
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
The wicked, like thorns, will be gathered with tools and utterly burned, picturing certain judgment.
Overview
Completing the thorn metaphor, the verse describes the ungodly being thrust away and burned in their place. This sober conclusion to David's last words affirms God's righteous judgment against evil, a theme Jesus echoes in His parables of fire and final reckoning (Matthew 13:30, 40).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Heb 6:8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
- 2 Th 2:8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Matt 13:42And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Matt 3:10–12The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- 2 Sam 22:8–10Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- 2 Th 1:8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- Luke 19:14But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- John 15:6If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
- Isa 27:4I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 23:7 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.