May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
- KJV Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
- NKJV Let them flow away as waters which run continually; When he bends his bow, Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
- NASB May they flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, may they be as headless shafts.
- NLT May they disappear like water into thirsty ground. Make their weapons useless in their hands.
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 asks that the wicked drain away like vanishing water and that their weapons fail. It is a plea that their schemes come to nothing.
Overview
David prays that the threats of the wicked dissolve and their arrows be blunted, stripped of power to wound. The imagery conveys hope that oppression is fleeting before the eternal God. Believers can rest in the assurance that no weapon formed against God's people will ultimately prosper.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Josh 7:5And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
- Ps 112:10The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.
- Isa 13:7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.
- Ps 64:3who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
- Exod 15:15Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,
- Josh 2:9–11and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
- 2 Sam 17:10Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.
- Ps 64:7–8But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded.
- Ps 22:14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
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 58:7 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.