With the east wind You smash the ships of Tarshish.
Parallel translations
- WEB With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.
- KJV Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
- BSB With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
- NKJV As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind.
- NLT You destroyed them like the mighty ships of Tarshish shattered by a powerful east wind.
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 shatters the mightiest fleets as easily as the east wind breaks the proud ships of Tarshish. No human power can stand against Him.
Overview
The 'ships of Tarshish' were the largest seagoing vessels of the ancient world, symbols of wealth and strength. The psalmist pictures God overthrowing such power effortlessly, just as a storm wind wrecks a fleet. This continues the celebration of Zion's security: the same Lord who defends His city is sovereign over the nations' greatest might.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Jer 18:17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy. I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
- 1 Kgs 22:48Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they didn’t go; for the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber.
- Ezek 27:25–26The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise: and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.
- Isa 2:16For all the ships of Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery.
- 1 Kgs 10:22For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
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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 48:7 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.