I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will beat down his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him.
- KJV And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
- NKJV I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.
- NASB “But I will crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him.
- NLT I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him.
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 pledges to defeat the king's adversaries and strike down those who hate him.
Overview
The Lord Himself acts as the warrior who subdues David's foes. The king's victories are credited to God's intervention. This anticipates the final triumph of the Messiah, under whose feet God will place every enemy (1 Cor. 15:25; Ps. 110:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Sam 7:9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land.
- John 15:23Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
- 2 Sam 7:1After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
- 2 Sam 3:1Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
- Ps 132:18I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.”
- Ps 18:40You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.
- Ps 21:8–9Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- 2 Sam 22:40–44You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
- Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- Luke 19:14But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- Ps 2:1–6Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
- Ps 109:3They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
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 89:23 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.