Psalms 27:2

2 When the wicked advance against me to devour[a] me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Psalms 27:2 in Other Translations

KJV
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
ESV
2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
NLT
2 When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
MSG
2 When vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me alive, Those bullies and toughs fall flat on their faces.
CSB
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.

Psalms 27:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 27:2

When the wicked, [even] mine enemies and my foes, came upon
me
They are wicked men, men of malignant spirits, and evildoers, who are the enemies and foes of the people of God, and who hate them with an implacable hatred, and do everything they can to distress and afflict them; and such enemies David had, who were many and mighty; and these "came upon" him, or "approached against" him F3, they drew near to him to make war with him, as the word signifies F4; they attacked him in an hostile manner; and their view was, as he says,

to eat up my flesh,
as they eat bread, ( Psalms 14:4 ) ; to devour him at once, to make but one morsel of him, to destroy his life, to strip him of his substance, to take away his wives and children, as the Amalekites at Ziklag, ( 1 Samuel 30:1-6 ) ;

they stumbled and fell;
the Lord put stumbling blocks in their way, and retarded their march, and hindered them from executing their designs; and they fell into the hands of David, and were subdued under him, or fell by death; and these past instances of divine goodness the psalmist calls to mind, to keep up his heart and courage, and animate and strengthen him against the fears of men, of death and hell.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (yle brqb) "cum appropinquaverint adversum me", Pagninus; so Gejerus.
F4 "Belligerantibus contra me", Junius & Tremellius; so Piscator & Ainsworth.

Psalms 27:2 In-Context

1 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?
2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Psalms 9:3; Psalms 14:4; S Psalms 20:8; Psalms 37:24; Daniel 11:19; Romans 11:11

Footnotes 1

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