Psalm 3:7 kjv
Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
Psalm 3:7 nkjv
Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
Psalm 3:7 niv
Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
Psalm 3:7 esv
Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
Psalm 3:7 nlt
Arise, O LORD!
Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Psalm 3 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 7:6 | Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; lift Yourself up against the rage of my foes... | God's powerful intervention against enemies. |
| Ps 12:5 | "For the oppression of the poor, for the groaning of the needy, now I will arise," says the Lord... | God arising for the afflicted. |
| Ps 44:26 | Rise up; come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! | Call for God to awaken and help. |
| Deut 33:27 | ...underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove out the enemy before you... | God fighting and disarming foes. |
| Ex 14:13 | And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord..." | God providing salvation against adversaries. |
| 2 Sam 22:2-3 | He said: "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge..." | God as personal deliverer and refuge. |
| 1 Sam 2:10 | The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. | God utterly breaking enemies. |
| Ps 58:6 | O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! | Direct parallel: God breaking enemies' teeth. |
| Job 29:17 | I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made him drop his prey from his teeth. | Imagery of disarming the oppressor. |
| Lam 3:30 | Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him... | Contrast to David: not seeking human retribution. |
| Matt 5:39 | But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek... | Jesus' teaching on turning the other cheek. |
| Ps 2:4 | He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. | God's supreme authority over rebellious nations. |
| Ps 3:2 | Many are saying of my soul, "There is no salvation for him in God." | Contextualizes David's trust amidst despair. |
| Ps 27:1-2 | The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me...they shall stumble and fall. | Confidence in God's salvation and defeat of enemies. |
| Rom 16:20 | The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. | God's ultimate victory over the adversary. |
| Ps 9:19-20 | Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail... Put them in fear, O Lord! | Call for God to assert dominance. |
| Ps 144:1 | Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle... | God's enabling and fighting on behalf of His people. |
| Isa 54:17 | No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. | God's protective and victorious hand. |
| Hab 3:8 | Did the Lord rage against the rivers? ...that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation? | God's triumphant and saving action. |
| Zech 13:6 | ...what are these wounds on your chest?" He will say, "The wounds I received in the house of my friends." | A different "strike," foreshadowing Christ's suffering. |
| Jude 1:9 | But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil...did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" | God's power over demonic adversaries. |
| Ps 18:47 | The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation... | Exalting God for His saving power. |
| Isa 42:13 | The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a warrior He stirs up His zeal... He shouts, He raises a war cry, He triumphs over His enemies. | God as an active warrior. |
Psalm 3 verses
Psalm 3 7 Meaning
Psalm 3:7 is a fervent plea and declaration of faith from David in the face of overwhelming adversaries. It begins with a desperate cry for God's immediate intervention ("Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!") and then immediately transitions to an expression of profound confidence, rooted in God's established character and anticipated decisive actions. David proclaims that God will surely incapacitate his enemies, not merely defeating them but publicly humiliating them by striking their cheeks and rendering them powerless by breaking their teeth. This signifies God's complete and humiliating victory over those who oppose His chosen one.
Psalm 3 7 Context
Psalm 3 is David's prayer during a specific crisis: "when he fled from Absalom his son" (superscription). This historical setting illuminates the psalmist's deep distress, as his own son led a rebellion against him, driving him from Jerusalem. Surrounded by "many" who asserted "there is no salvation for him in God," David feels vulnerable and exposed. Despite the dire circumstances, the psalm immediately expresses profound trust in God as his "shield," "glory," and "lifter of his head" (Ps 3:3). Verse 7 therefore marks the turning point where David moves from describing his plight and expressing general trust to a specific and forceful prayer for divine intervention and a confident declaration of God's coming victory over his enemies. The imagery used ("striking the cheek," "breaking teeth") resonates with the humiliation and aggression inherent in warfare and personal assault in ancient Near Eastern culture.
Psalm 3 7 Word analysis
- Arise (קוּמָה - qūmāh): An imperative verb, often a military or judicial summons for God to rise up and act decisively. It implies God's previous state of apparent inaction from a human perspective. It is a plea for immediate and visible intervention.
- O Lord! (יְהוָה - YHWH): The covenant name of God, emphasizing His faithfulness, power, and personal relationship with His people. David appeals to the God who has made Himself known and pledged His loyalty.
- Save me (הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי - hôšîʿēnî): A comprehensive request for deliverance, rescue, and salvation from physical danger and opposition. It implies protection and ultimate triumph over adversaries.
- O my God! (אֱלֹהַי - ʾĕlōhay): Expresses a deeply personal and possessive relationship. It underlines David's reliance on his personal deity, not a generic divine being. This personal appeal highlights the intimacy of David's faith amidst public abandonment.
- For You strike (כִּי הִכִּיתָ - kî hikkîtā): The Hebrew "כִּי" (kî, "for" or "because") introduces the basis for David's confidence. The verb "הִכִּיתָ" (hikkîtā) is a Qal Perfect, indicating a completed action, but here functions with a prophetic perfect sense – God will surely do this because it is already certain in His divine plan, or it recalls God's past acts of striking as a guarantee for the future. It signifies a decisive, incapacitating blow.
- all my enemies (כָּל־אֹיְבַי - kol-ʾôyevay): Emphasizes the totality and comprehensive nature of God's victory. No enemy will escape His judgment.
- on the cheek (לֶחִי - leḥî): Striking the cheek was an act of extreme humiliation, disgrace, and public insult in ancient Near Eastern cultures. It could signify a victor's contempt for the vanquished, or a legal act of condemnation. It renders the opponent publicly shamed and powerless to respond effectively.
- You break (שִׁבַּרְתָּ - šibbārttā): Another Qal Perfect verb, carrying the same sense of absolute certainty and completed action in God's divine will. To shatter, to crush completely.
- the teeth (שִׁנֵּי - šinnêy): A vivid metaphor for the power to harm, tear, and devour. Wild beasts use their teeth to seize and destroy prey. In this context, it represents the aggressive capacity, the very means by which enemies threaten and carry out their wicked schemes.
- of the wicked (רְשָׁעִים - rešāʿîm): Specifies the moral character of David's adversaries. They are not merely opponents, but "wicked" – those who actively oppose God's righteousness, justice, and established order. This emphasizes that God's judgment is upon their moral character and evil intentions.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!: This bipartite plea powerfully combines a communal address to the covenant God (YHWH) with an intimate, personal cry ("my God"). It calls upon God's might and covenant faithfulness for a rescue that is urgently needed and personally desired.
- For You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked: This phrase explains the basis of David's confidence. It transitions from a desperate cry to an assured declaration of God's imminent and decisive action. The parallel imagery of striking the cheek and breaking the teeth underscores both the public humiliation and the total incapacitation of the wicked. This is not just a defeat, but a stripping away of their power and dignity, making them utterly harmless and disgraced. It directly opposes any notion that the wicked have any enduring power.
Psalm 3 7 Bonus section
This verse vividly illustrates the Old Testament concept of Yahweh as a divine warrior. Unlike the false gods of surrounding nations who were often depicted as passive or tied to specific locations, Israel's God is presented as active, intervenient, and powerfully engaged in human affairs on behalf of His people. The "Arise!" echoes battle cries or calls for a judge to take their stand. The language also contains an implicit polemic against reliance on human strength or conventional military might; David’s confidence is solely in the LORD’s intervention, portraying God Himself as the one who dismantles the power of the wicked directly, regardless of their apparent might or numbers. The transition from a plea ("Arise! Save me!") to a declaration of God's certain action ("You strike... You break...") also showcases a prophetic confidence. It implies that from God's perspective, the victory is already accomplished, even if it hasn't manifested fully in David's present reality.
Psalm 3 7 Commentary
Psalm 3:7 is a profound testament to a faith that looks beyond dire circumstances to God's ultimate power and character. In this verse, David articulates both urgent human need and unwavering divine certainty. His cry, "Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!", is a model for believers in distress, teaching them to vocalize their vulnerability yet place their hope not in their own strength, but in the living God. The use of God's covenant name, "YHWH," coupled with the intimate address, "my God," shows a deeply personal relationship underlying his confidence. The subsequent declaration, "For You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked," functions as the foundation for his petition. It's not a mere hope, but a statement of certainty that God has acted or will surely act in this manner. The imagery is brutally effective: striking the cheek is an act of utter public degradation and contempt, akin to a legal sentence or physical assault that leaves one defenseless and shamed. Breaking the teeth, on the other hand, incapacitates their ability to harm or prey, like disarming a beast. This twofold image vividly portrays God's complete victory over wickedness – humiliating its pride and stripping away its power. It provides spiritual encouragement that even when adversaries seem formidable, their might is temporary, and their ultimate downfall is assured by God's sovereign hand. This verse teaches us that God’s justice is not only certain but comprehensive, leaving His enemies powerless and disgraced. It reaffirms the truth that all power ultimately belongs to God, and He defends His righteous ones against all forms of opposition.