For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.
Parallel translations
- WEB For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them.
- KJV For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
- NKJV For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, Because You favored them.
- NASB For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.
- NLT They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them.
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
Israel did not win the land by their own sword or arm but by God's right hand and the light of His face. It matters because salvation rests on God's favor, not human effort.
Overview
The psalmist stresses that the conquest was wholly God's doing, granted because He delighted in His people. The 'light of your face' speaks of God's gracious presence and favor. This emphatic denial of self-reliance points forward to the gospel truth that we are saved not by works but by the favor of God shown in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Deut 7:7–8The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
- Deut 8:17–18You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- Josh 24:12I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
- 2 Cor 4:7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
- Zech 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Deut 4:37–38Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,
- Exod 15:16and terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of Your arm they will be as still as a stone until Your people pass by, O LORD, until the people You have bought pass by.
- Ps 20:6Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand.
- Ps 77:15With power You redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
- Deut 10:15Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.
- Ps 42:11Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Ps 42:5Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.
- 1 Sam 12:22Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
- Isa 63:12who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
- Rom 9:10–15Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.
- Ps 17:7Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
- Num 14:8If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us.
- Ps 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
- Ps 74:11Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!
- Ps 80:16Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
- Mal 1:2–3“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,
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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 44:3 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
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