But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded.
Parallel translations
- WEB But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.
- KJV But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
- NKJV But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded.
- NASB ¶But God will shoot an arrow at them; Suddenly they will be wounded.
- NLT But God himself will shoot them with his arrows, suddenly striking them down.
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 turns the tables, shooting His own arrow so the wicked are struck down suddenly. It shows that God repays evil in His own time and way.
Overview
In a dramatic reversal, the very weapon imagery used by the wicked is turned against them as God strikes them suddenly. Their hidden attacks meet a righteous response from the divine Judge. This assures believers that vengeance belongs to God, who will set all things right through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 7:12–13If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Prov 6:15Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.
- Ps 18:14He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
- 1 Th 5:2–3For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Ps 73:19How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
- Deut 32:42I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
- Deut 32:23I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.
- Isa 30:13this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!
- Prov 29:1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- 1 Chr 10:3–7When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.
- 1 Kgs 22:34However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
- Lam 3:12–13He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
- Matt 24:40Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
- Matt 24:50–51The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate.
- Ps 64:4ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.
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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 64:7 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.