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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
- BSB May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.
- 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 smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
- Ps 112:10The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
- Isa 13:7Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
- Ps 64:3Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
- Exod 15:15Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
- Josh 2:9–11And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
- 2 Sam 17:10And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.
- Ps 64:7–8But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
- Ps 22:14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
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.