Exodus 15:6 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Exodus 15:6 kjv
Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Exodus 15:6 nkjv
"Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
Exodus 15:6 niv
Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy.
Exodus 15:6 esv
Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
Exodus 15:6 nlt
"Your right hand, O LORD,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
smashes the enemy.
Exodus 15 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 20:6 | Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. | God's right hand brings salvation. |
| Ps 98:1 | Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. | God's right hand achieves victory. |
| Ps 118:15-16 | The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. | Emphasizes the power and exaltation of God's right hand. |
| Is 41:10 | Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. | God's right hand sustains His people. |
| Hab 3:4 | His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden. | Implied power of God's hand/right hand. |
| Ps 77:10 | And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” | Remembrance of God's powerful acts. |
| Ex 15:3 | The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. | God explicitly as a Warrior. |
| Deut 3:24 | O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm... | God's mighty hand. |
| Job 26:14 | Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand? | Immeasurable extent of God's power. |
| Ps 29:4 | The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. | God's voice, like His hand, displays power. |
| Ps 66:3 | Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You." | God's great power compels enemies. |
| Is 60:12 | For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish; And those nations shall be utterly ruined. | Divine judgment on unserving nations. |
| Ps 2:9 | You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. | God/Messiah shattering enemies. |
| Jer 13:14 | And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together... I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them. | God shattering judgment. |
| Zech 14:3 | Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. | God fights on behalf of His people. |
| Rev 19:15 | Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron; He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. | Ultimate shattering of enemies by Christ. |
| Acts 2:33 | Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. | Christ exalted to God's right hand. |
| Heb 1:3 | who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. | Christ's power and position at God's right hand. |
| Eph 1:19-20 | and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe... which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, | God's power working in believers, exemplified by Christ's ascension to His right hand. |
| 1 Pet 3:22 | who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. | Christ's triumph and authority at God's right hand. |
| Rom 16:20 | And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. | God crushing the ultimate enemy (Satan). |
| Heb 2:14 | Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. | Christ destroying the one with the power of death. |
Exodus 15 verses
Exodus 15 6 meaning
Exodus 15:6 declares the absolute, overwhelming power of Yahweh's "right hand" demonstrated in the Red Sea deliverance. It emphasizes God's majesty and might as He decisively vanquishes His enemies, bringing about their complete destruction. This verse attributes Israel's salvation directly to God's powerful action and highlights His unrivaled sovereignty as the divine Warrior who breaks all opposition.
Exodus 15 6 Context
Exodus 15:6 is a pivotal part of the Song of Moses and Miriam, sung immediately after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 14) and the utter destruction of Pharaoh's army. This event is the pinnacle of the exodus, demonstrating Yahweh's power over creation and His absolute sovereignty over human rulers and their false deities. The song is Israel's direct response of praise and worship, establishing a foundational theological narrative for generations to come. Historically, this song served to cement Israel's identity as a people delivered by a uniquely powerful God. Culturally, the pharaoh was considered a divine being and the Egyptian army was seen as invincible; Yahweh's shattering of this mighty force, through His "right hand," served as a direct and potent polemic against the pantheon of Egyptian gods (Ra, Amun, Seth, etc.) and their claims of supremacy. It proclaims Yahweh as the true and only God of unrivaled power, the divine Warrior (Ex 15:3) who fights for His people.
Exodus 15 6 Word analysis
- Your right hand (יְמִינְךָ֙ yemin'ka):
- Word: "Right hand" is a prominent anthropomorphism, attributing a human physical attribute to God. It symbolizes divine power, strength, authority, and effective action. In the ancient world, the right hand was associated with primary strength, blessing, and honor.
- Significance: It emphasizes God's direct and personal involvement in the salvation event. It's not a general force but His very self in powerful action.
- O Lord (יְהוָה Yahweh):
- Word: The sacred covenant name of God, revealing Him as the eternally existent, faithful, and personal God who intervenes in history for His people.
- Significance: Underscores that the actions are not random but by the specific, covenant-keeping God of Israel. It emphasizes His character as sovereign deliverer.
- glorious (נֶאְדָּרִי ne'dariy):
- Word: Root means majestic, splendid, mighty, awesome, magnificent. Implies something overwhelming in its display and inspiring of awe.
- Significance: Describes the unparalleled and awe-inspiring nature of God's power. It's not merely powerful, but gloriously so, beyond human comprehension.
- in power (בַּכֹּ֖חַ bakkoach):
- Word: Literally "with strength" or "with might."
- Significance: Reinforces and specifies the quality of God's right hand—it is mighty and strong. It's a statement of inherent capability leading to impactful action.
- your right hand, O Lord, (יְמִֽינְךָ֙ יְהוָ֔ה yemin'ka Yahweh):
- Words-group: The repetition emphasizes and reinforces the source and nature of the power. It creates a poetic parallel, building intensity and underscoring the truth being declared.
- Significance: This parallelism (parallelism of synonymous thought, or "stair-step" parallelism, common in Hebrew poetry) is not mere repetition but intensifies the assertion of divine agency and power, highlighting the directness of God's action. It declares God as the sole actor and His method of intervention.
- shatters (תִּרְעַ֣ץ tir'atz):
- Word: To crush, break into pieces, smash, dash. It implies a violent, complete, and utterly destructive act, leaving nothing intact.
- Significance: Denotes total annihilation and decisive victory. It is not just a defeat but a crushing end for the adversary.
- the enemy (אוֹיֵ֥ב oyev):
- Word: Foe, adversary, antagonist. While primarily referring to the Egyptian army here, the singular "enemy" often broadens its scope in prophetic and poetic contexts to include any opposition to God's purpose and people.
- Significance: Signifies not just human opposition but ultimately anything that sets itself against the will and people of Yahweh. The focus is on the object of God's righteous judgment.
Exodus 15 6 Bonus Section
- The Song of Moses (Exodus 15) serves as an archetypal salvation hymn, setting a pattern for how God's people respond to divine deliverance throughout biblical history.
- The anthropomorphism of God's "right hand" emphasizes the tangibility and effectiveness of divine action, making God's power relatable even while maintaining His transcendence.
- The "shattering" of the enemy reflects a theological principle: God's justice ultimately dismantles evil and oppressive forces. This provides hope for future divine interventions against adversaries.
- The theological understanding derived from this verse and the wider Song profoundly influenced later Psalms and prophetic writings that spoke of God's might and victory, particularly against nations that opposed Israel.
Exodus 15 6 Commentary
Exodus 15:6 powerfully encapsulates the triumph of God over His adversaries, rooted in the concrete historical event of the Red Sea crossing. It declares that Yahweh's "right hand"—His direct, forceful, and intentional intervention—is inherently "glorious in power." This glory isn't an abstract quality but is manifested in His ability to "shatter the enemy." The repetition of "Your right hand, O Lord" acts as a strong literary device, creating an emphatic declaration that the victory belongs solely to Yahweh and flows from His inherent, unrivaled might. It is a fundamental truth for Israel's faith: their God is not weak but utterly potent, actively dismantling anything that opposes His will and people. This verse celebrates God as the victorious warrior, whose majestic power is revealed in decisive acts of judgment against His foes and deliverance for His covenant people.