Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Parallel translations
- WEB Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.
- KJV Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
- BSB O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
- NASB ¶God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
- NLT Break off their fangs, O God! Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord!
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 out for God to disarm the wicked, breaking the teeth that tear like predatory lions. It is a prayer that evil's power to harm be shattered by God.
Overview
Here David prays an imprecation, asking God to render the wicked powerless to devour the innocent. The vivid image of broken teeth and silenced lions appeals to God as the only one able to halt oppression. Such prayers entrust vengeance to God rather than seizing it personally, anticipating the day when Christ will fully overthrow all that is evil.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 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.
- Hos 5:14For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear in pieces and go away. I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.
- Ps 10:15Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
- Job 4:10–11The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
- Mic 5:8The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is no one to deliver.
- Ps 17:12He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
- Job 29:17I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
- Ezek 30:21–26Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up, to apply medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.
- Isa 31:4For Yahweh says to me, “As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds is called together against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for their noise, so Yahweh of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its heights.
- Num 23:24Behold, the people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.”
- Ps 91:13You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
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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 58:6 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.