Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
Parallel translations
- WEB Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
- KJV Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
- BSB Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,
- NASB ¶Arise, Lord, confront him, make him bow down; Save my soul from the wicked with Your sword,
- NLT Arise, O Lord! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!
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 cries for God to arise, confront the wicked, and deliver his soul. It matters because deliverance from evil ultimately depends on God's active intervention.
Overview
David urges Yahweh to rise up, face down his enemy, and rescue him by his sword. He casts the burden of judgment and deliverance entirely on God. This plea for God to act against evil is answered decisively at the cross and in Christ's final triumph over all wickedness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 7:6Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
- Ps 3:7Arise, Yahweh! Save me, my God! For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
- Ps 44:26Rise up to help us. Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake.
- Ps 44:23Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever.
- Acts 4:28to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.
- Ps 22:20Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog.
- Ps 7:11–13God is a righteous judge, yes, a God who has indignation every day.
- Isa 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
- Isa 10:15Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.
- Isa 10:5Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!
- Ps 119:126It is time to act, Yahweh, for they break your law.
- Hab 1:12Aren’t you from everlasting, Yahweh my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Yahweh, you have appointed him for judgment. You, Rock, have established him to punish.
- Isa 37:26Have you not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it in ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to destroy fortified cities, turning them into ruinous heaps.
- Isa 13:5They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 17:13 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.