You have bent the edge of his sword and have not sustained him in battle.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven’t supported him in battle.
- KJV Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
- NKJV You have also turned back the edge of his sword, And have not sustained him in the battle.
- NASB You also turn back the edge of his sword, And have not made him stand in battle.
- NLT You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle.
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 seems to have blunted the king's sword and withheld support in battle.
Overview
The king's weapon is turned back and he stands unaided in war, a picture of military collapse. The lament boldly charges this loss to God's withdrawn help. It deepens the cry for God to remember His covenant and act, a longing answered in Christ's ultimate victory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 7:8–12O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
- 2 Chr 25:8Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has power to help and power to overthrow.”
- Ezek 30:21–25“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.
- Num 14:45Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.
- Num 14:42Do not go up, lest you be struck down by your enemies, because the LORD is not among you.
- Lev 26:36–37As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Josh 7:4–5So about three thousand men went up, but they fled before the men of Ai.
- Ps 44:10You have made us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have plundered us.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 89:43 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.