The Meaning of Psalms 18:38 Explained

Psalms 18:38

KJV: I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

YLT: I smite them, and they are not able to rise, They fall under my feet,

Darby: I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet.

ASV: I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise: They shall fall under my feet.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I have wounded  them that they were not able  to rise:  they are fallen  under my feet. 

What does Psalms 18:38 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 18:27-50 - Girded With Strength For Service
God's way is perfect, and if only we will walk with Him He will make ours perfect also. Walls and troops cannot stop a man when God leads him through them. We must follow on the line of His purpose, and then the very mountains are a way and our enemies subserve the program, Acts 2:23.
Swift and sure-footed, when the path is slippery, Psalms 18:33; strong in battle, Psalms 18:34; great through God's gentle kindness, or, as the English Book of Common Prayer renders it, "thy loving correction," Psalms 18:35. Severity would never have done for the Apostles what Jesus did by His patience and long-suffering.
The closing hallelujah of Psalms 18:46-50 is very fine. It is the living Savior that we need. We must stint our words when we speak of men; but mortal lips, however eloquent, have never exhausted the worth of our King. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:38 mean?

I have wounded them so that not they could rise they have fallen under my feet
אֶ֭מְחָצֵם וְלֹא־ יֻ֣כְלוּ ק֑וּם יִ֝פְּל֗וּ תַּ֣חַת רַגְלָֽי

אֶ֭מְחָצֵם  I  have  wounded  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: מָחַץ  
Sense: to smite through, shatter, wound severely.
וְלֹא־  so  that  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יֻ֣כְלוּ  they  could 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָכֹל  
Sense: to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able.
ק֑וּם  rise 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
יִ֝פְּל֗וּ  they  have  fallen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
תַּ֣חַת  under 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
רַגְלָֽי  my  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.