Psalms 144:6

6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them.

Psalms 144:6 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them!
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them!
The Message Bible (MSG)
6 Hurl your lightnings in every direction; shoot your arrows this way and that.
American Standard Version (ASV)
6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them; Send out thine arrows, and discomfit them.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
6 Hurl bolts of lightning, and scatter them. Shoot your arrows, and throw them into confusion.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6 Flash [Your] lightning and scatter the foe; shoot Your arrows and rout them.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
6 Send flashes of lightning and scatter my enemies. Shoot your arrows and chase them away.

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 They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
5 Part your heavens, LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them.
7 Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners
8 whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Habakkuk 3:11; Zechariah 9:14
  • 2. S Psalms 59:11; S Psalms 68:1
  • 3. Psalms 7:12-13; Psalms 18:14
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