Psalm 9:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.

NIV: My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.

NASB: When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before You.

CSB: When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before you.

NLT: My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when you appeared.

KJV: When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

NKJV: When my enemies turn back, They shall fall and perish at Your presence.

The phrasing of this verse speaks of the present, but the events in question are in the past. This is a poetic choice, used in modern language even today. Depicting some dramatic event in history, a writer might switch to a present-tense narrative for the sake of drama. Context clarifies that David is celebrating past success, as the phrase "you have" occurs five times between verses 4 and 5.

God completely confounded David's enemies. The imagery here is someone retreating in such a hurry that they trip and fall over themselves, and so are even more easily defeated. A similar depiction of absolute terror is presented in Psalm 21:12.

Throughout history enemies have tried to destroy the people of Israel, but the Lord has turned them back just as He turned David's enemies back. Egypt tried to destroy God's people, but God intervened and destroyed the Egyptian army at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:27–29). Both before David's life (Judges 2:11–15), and after (Lamentations 1:1–9), God allowed Israel to suffer defeat and conquest because of their sin. However, they never faced annihilation.

During the tribulation period, Satan will try to destroy Israel, but will fail. The Lord will respond by destroying the beast and his armies (Revelation 12:7–17; 19:11—20:10). Zechariah 14:2 depicts all nations aligned against Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation period, but the Lord will fight against those nations and prevail (Zechariah 14:3). Then, Jesus will become king over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9).

Psalm 9:1–8 opens the song as David ascribes praise to God. He celebrates the Lord for saving him and his army from the nations that attacked him and his people. He recalls the triumph the Lord accomplished over the enemy. The victory evidenced the Lord's righteous judgment and sovereignty. The nations perished but the Lord's name lives forever.

David praises God in a song which follows an acrostic pattern: the psalm is divided into phrases which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The pattern continues through Psalm 10, leading some to suggest they were intended as a single work, or as closely related halves. In this psalm, David promises to praise God for His great deeds, including awesome victory over evil. The Lord's eternal justice is also praised, as David asks for further rescue from those who seek to kill him. The passage ends with a prayer for God to remind mankind of His authority.

This is a thanksgiving song, where David shows appreciation for the Lord's rescue. This shares similar themes to Psalm 10, though from a very different tone. Some scholars think Psalms 9 and 10 were originally a single work. This is part of the first section of the book of Psalms, including Psalms 1 through 41.

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.