If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
Parallel translations
- WEB If a man doesn’t relent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.
- BSB If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- NKJV If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready.
- NASB ¶If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and taken aim.
- NLT If a person does not repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.
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
If the wicked will not repent, God readies His judgment like a sharpened sword and a strung bow. Persistent rebellion invites certain judgment.
Overview
David warns that for the one who refuses to turn from sin, God prepares the instruments of judgment. The vivid weapons picture God's readiness to act against unrepentant evil. The mention of 'if a man doesn't relent' holds out space for repentance, showing that judgment falls on the hardened, while mercy awaits those who turn to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Acts 3:19Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
- Matt 3:10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
- Isa 55:6–7Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
- Deut 32:41If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
- Ps 85:4Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
- Ezek 18:30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
- Jer 31:18–19I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
- Ezek 33:11Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
- Isa 27:1In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
- Ezek 21:23And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
- Isa 34:5For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
- Ezek 21:9–11Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
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 7:12 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.