Psalm 118:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

NIV: They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

NASB: They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.

CSB: They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.

NLT: Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

KJV: They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

NKJV: They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

This poetically repeats the point of the prior verse (Psalm 118:10). Israel—through the psalmist—celebrates defeating enemy nations. This might refer to early conquest in Canaan (Judges 3:30; 4:24; 8:28), Israeli kings and their successes (1 Samuel 17:51; 23:5; 30:18; 2 Samuel 5:25), or the defense of a rebuilt Jerusalem after the exile (Nehemiah 4:14; 6:16). The song is written as if the song leader prompts the congregation, who reply with the repeated phrase.

The "cutting off" action is in imperfect tense, meaning it suggests something incomplete or ongoing. But some translations place it in the future. It's possible that the psalmist is looking ahead to greater victories and uses this phrasing to speak as if the Lord has already accomplished those feats.

Sometimes believers seem to be in a hopeless situation, surrounded by trials and persecutors. But nothing looks hopeless to the believer who looks up instead of around. The apostle Paul told the Corinthian church that he and his coworkers were "afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8–9). Nevertheless, Paul's trust and hope were firmly anchored in the Lord (2 Corinthians 4:16–18). In 2 Thessalonians 2:16 he ascribed praise to the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father for providing "eternal comfort and good hope through grace."

Psalm 118:10–18 speaks for the nation of Israel and gives reasons for trusting in the Lord. One possible inspiration for these words was Israel's freedom from seventy years of exile (Ezra 2:1) and the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and temple. The repeated phrases were probably meant to be expressed by the entire congregation, in response to the cue lines which come before. The use of past tense here may also be poetic, implying that the psalmist is looking ahead to something God will certainly do, as if it had already happened.

Psalm 118 appears to be a "call and response." The repeated phrases may have been spoken by a congregation after the prompts, read by a song leader. The psalmist begins with a declaration of God's loyal love and its expression by all of Israel. Next is a celebration of the Lord's rescue and the value of honoring Him. Despite Israel's many powerful neighbors, God preserved them through discipline and exile, not allowing the nation to die. What the world rejects has now become the key piece of God's plan for mankind.

This is the last of a block of songs used during Israel's festivals (Psalm 113—118). Because of a mention of rescue from Egypt (Psalm 114:1), this block is sometimes called the "Egyptian Hallel." The Hebrew expression halelu-yāh is a call to "praise the Lord!" The New Testament quotes from this song often (Hebrews 13:6), especially Psalm 118:22 (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7) and Psalm 118:26 (Matthew 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13;). Some scholars suggest this was written after the exile as the temple was being restored (Ezra 2:1; 3:1–2, 8).

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.