He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
Parallel translations
- WEB He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
- BSB He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.
- NKJV He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.
- NASB He saved me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
- NLT He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
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 delivered David from a powerful enemy too strong for him. It matters because God saves his people from foes they cannot defeat on their own.
Overview
David acknowledges that his enemies were too mighty for him, but God rescued him from them. The rescue magnifies God's strength against overwhelming odds. Believers likewise are saved by God's power, not their own, from enemies of sin and death too strong for them, through the victory of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Heb 2:14–15Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
- Ps 142:6Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
- Job 16:9He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
- Ps 35:10All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
- Ps 69:4–14They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
- Eph 6:10–12Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
- Ps 118:7The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
- 2 Sam 22:1And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
- Ps 18:40–41Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
- Ps 38:19But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
- 2 Sam 22:18He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
- Ps 9:13Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
- Ps 25:19Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
- Luke 19:14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:17 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.