Psalms 144:6

6 Hurl your lightnings in every direction; shoot your arrows this way and that.

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 All we are is a puff of air; we're like shadows in a campfire.
5 Step down out of heaven, God; ignite volcanoes in the hearts of the mountains.
6 Hurl your lightnings in every direction; shoot your arrows this way and that.
7 Reach all the way from sky to sea: pull me out of the ocean of hate, out of the grip of those barbarians
8 Who lie through their teeth, who shake your hand then knife you in the back.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.