Psalms 144:6

6 Shoot out lightning, and scatter them; send out your arrows, and rout them.

Psalms 144:6 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 144:6

Cast forth lightning, and scatter them
The mountains, the kings and kingdoms of the earth; the enemies of David, and of Christ, and of his people; particularly the Jews, who have been scattered all over the earth by the judgments of God upon them; cast forth like lightning, which is swift, piercing, penetrating, and destructive; shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them;
or, "trouble them" F11; as the Targum, Septuagint, and Arabic versions, nearer to the Hebrew: these also design the sore judgments of God, the arrows of famine, pestilence, and sword; which fly swiftly, pierce deeply, cut sharply, and, like fiery darts, give great pain and trouble. So Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret them of the decrees which come down from heaven, as Aben Ezra does ( Psalms 144:5 ) : by "lightning" Arama understands the flame of fire which comes out with thunder; and by "arrows" the thunderbolt, which he calls a stone hardened in the air like iron.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 (Mmhtw) "ac turba eos", Tigurine version; "et conturba eos", Cocceius, Michaelis.

Psalms 144:6 In-Context

4 Man is like a puff of wind, his days like a fleeting shadow.
5 ADONAI, lower the heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, make them pour out smoke.
6 Shoot out lightning, and scatter them; send out your arrows, and rout them.
7 Reach out your hands from on high; rescue me; save me out of deep water, out of the power of strangers,
8 whose mouths speak worthless words and whose right hands swear false oaths.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.