For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
Parallel translations
- KJV For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
- BSB For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.
- NKJV For I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me.
- NASB For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me.
- NLT I do not trust in my bow; I do not count on my sword to save 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
The psalmist renounces trust in his bow and sword as the source of deliverance. It matters because faith refuses to rest in human weapons or abilities.
Overview
Echoing verse 3, the psalmist disavows confidence in military means. The bow and sword, the best human resources for war, cannot save. This humble reliance on God alone anticipates the gospel call to trust not in the flesh but in the Lord who fights for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Sam 17:47and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
- Hos 1:7But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
- Ps 20:7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.
- Ps 33:16–17There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 44:6 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.