Psalm 68 22

Psalm 68:22 kjv

The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:

Psalm 68:22 nkjv

The Lord said, "I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

Psalm 68:22 niv

The Lord says, "I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea,

Psalm 68:22 esv

The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

Psalm 68:22 nlt

The Lord says, "I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.

Psalm 68 verses

Psalm 68 22 Meaning

Psalm 68:22 proclaims the Lord's absolute power and unwavering commitment to His people, promising their deliverance from even the most formidable and dire circumstances. God declares His intent to rescue them from powerful strongholds (Bashan) and the deepest perils (depths of the sea). This divine rescue will culminate in a complete and decisive victory over their enemies, so overwhelming that the foes will be utterly crushed, with their demise visibly displayed. The imagery of feet wading in blood and dogs licking their share emphasizes the totality, disgrace, and irreversible defeat of all opposition to God and His chosen ones.

Psalm 68 22 Context

Psalm 68 is a grand processional psalm, likely composed for a celebratory occasion such as the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem or a significant military triumph. It vividly portrays God as a divine warrior, leading His people to victory. The psalm opens by echoing Moses' prayer in Numbers 10:35, calling for God's enemies to be scattered as He arises. Throughout the chapter, it recounts God's powerful acts in history, from the Exodus (v. 7-8), through the giving of the Law, the conquest of Canaan (v. 12-14), to the establishment of His dwelling in Zion (v. 15-16, 29). Verse 22, therefore, sits within a larger narrative of God's redemptive power and His consistent intervention on behalf of His chosen people, promising their ultimate vindication against all who oppose them.

Historically, "Bashan" (a region east of the Jordan) was known for its mighty kings (like Og, whom Israel defeated, Num 21:33-35; Deut 3:1-11) and was synonymous with strength and imposing opposition. "Depths of the sea" commonly represents extreme peril, chaos, or places from which there seems to be no return. The ancient Near East also featured powerful marine deities in their myths (e.g., Yam), against whom Yahweh's dominion over the sea and the deep served as a clear polemic, asserting His sole, supreme power. The verse contrasts the dire places from which God saves His people with the total destruction He inflicts upon their enemies, illustrating His absolute control over life, death, and all opposing forces, thereby solidifying His covenant faithfulness and power against any perceived rival deities or human adversaries.

Psalm 68 22 Word analysis

• "The Lord said" (אָמַר אֲדֹנָי - ’āmar ’Adonay): Emphasizes divine authority and an unchangeable decree. It highlights God's personal resolve and commitment.

• "I will bring them back" (אָשִׁיב - ’āšîḇ): Literally "I will return" or "cause to return." Signifies a purposeful, active rescue mission. This isn't just escape; it's God's powerful hand retrieving His people from adverse conditions. The repetition emphasizes the certainty.

• "from Bashan" (מִבָּשָׁן - mibāšān): Bashan, a fertile, strong, and elevated region known for formidable adversaries like King Og, symbolizes powerful, arrogant, and imposing enemies or a place of great strength held by foes.

• "from the depths of the sea" (מִמְּצֻלוֹת יָם - mimməṣulōṯ yām): Represents extreme danger, death, chaos, or inescapable peril. It can be metaphorically understood as rescue from the abyss of destruction or the power of death itself. It contrasts God's control over forces of chaos.

• "so that your feet may wade" (לְמַעַן תִּמְחַץ רַגְלְךָ - ləma‘an timḥaṣ raḡləḵā): "Tread/plunge" or "strike/crush" with your feet. "Your" (singular, referring to God's chosen one, Israel) implies the personal participation in the victor's experience. It’s not just God fighting, but His people witnessing and experiencing the absolute triumph.

• "in the blood of your foes" (בְּדַם אֹיְבֶיךָ - bəḏam ’ōyḇeḵā): A vivid, gruesome image depicting utter carnage and complete victory over enemies. It underscores the decisive, overflowing defeat of all opposition.

• "and the tongues of your dogs may have their share" (לְשׁוֹן כְּלָבֶיךָ מִמֵּאָדִים - ləšōn kəlaḇeḵā mimmə’ādîm): The precise Hebrew mimmə’ādîm has varied interpretations ("from your powerful ones," "from the red/gore," or "from what drips"). However, the common understanding is that dogs, acting as scavengers, will lick up the blood and remnants of the utterly vanquished foes. This graphic imagery denotes the ultimate disgrace, total destruction, and ignominious end of the enemies, signifying that their very corpses are dishonored and consumed by scavengers, denying them burial.

• "I will bring them back from Bashan; I will bring them back from the depths of the sea": This parallel structure highlights the breadth and completeness of God's rescue. Whether the enemy is mighty and entrenched (Bashan) or vast and engulfing (the sea's depths), God's power reaches them to bring His people out. It assures the faithful that no situation is beyond God's salvific reach.

• "so that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, and the tongues of your dogs may have their share": This final, brutal phrase serves as a powerful hyperbole emphasizing the comprehensive and absolute victory. It signals the complete and irreversible end of the adversaries, leaving no room for their recovery or continued threat. It depicts a state of affairs where the victory is not just secured but visibly and extensively manifest, marking the triumph as complete.

Psalm 68 22 Bonus section

The specific choice of "Bashan" also carries a nuanced theological weight. Beyond its historical association with King Og, Bashan was known for its powerful, often arrogant, "bulls of Bashan" (Ps 22:12), which could symbolize formidable, brute opposition. God's promise to retrieve His people from Bashan signifies not just conquering the enemy in Bashan, but taking His own people out from under the dominion or threat of such powerful adversaries, reinforcing the theme of liberation.

Furthermore, the triumphant reversal described in this verse – from danger to ultimate victory, where the rescued participate in the fruits of God's judgment – serves as a type for God's larger eschatological plan. It foreshadows the ultimate triumph of Christ and His church over all spiritual and temporal foes, culminating in a future where all enemies are decisively overcome, and evil is definitively judged (as seen in Revelation's imagery of the Lamb's victory). The deliverance here is a demonstration of God's enduring commitment to establish His righteous kingdom and bring justice upon His creation.

Psalm 68 22 Commentary

Psalm 68:22 stands as a potent declaration of God's unwavering omnipotence and faithfulness to His covenant people. It is a divine oath (expressed as "The Lord said") promising not merely deliverance, but a complete reversal of fortunes for the afflicted and oppressed. God pledges to retrieve His people from Bashan, symbolizing any entrenched, mighty, and arrogant opposition that seeks to dominate or harm them. Simultaneously, His promise to bring them back from the "depths of the sea" signifies His power to rescue from situations of overwhelming peril, despair, or even the jaws of death itself, implying that no danger is too profound or insurmountable for Him.

The ultimate aim of this divine rescue is the decisive and humiliating defeat of their adversaries. The graphic imagery of feet "wading in the blood of your foes" is a powerful, perhaps hyperbolic, ancient Near Eastern expression of total triumph and the widespread slaughter of enemies. It implies such an extensive defeat that the very ground is saturated with the blood of the vanquished. Following this, the imagery of "the tongues of your dogs" partaking in this gore depicts the utter contempt and disgrace heaped upon the defeated, signifying an ignominious end, typically reserved for those deemed irredeemable and cast off without honorable burial. This visual confirms that God's victory ensures the utter humiliation and complete elimination of all threats to His people and His purposes. Thus, the verse assures the righteous of God's sure salvation and the definitive judgment upon those who oppose Him, demonstrating that no foe, however mighty or strategically positioned, can stand against the Lord.