The Meaning of Psalms 110:6 Explained

Psalms 110:6

KJV: He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

YLT: He doth judge among the nations, He hath completed the carcases, Hath smitten the head over the mighty earth.

Darby: He shall judge among the nations; he shall fill all places with dead bodies; he shall smite through the head over a great country.

ASV: He will judge among the nations, He will fill the places with dead bodies; He will strike through the head in many countries.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He shall judge  among the heathen,  he shall fill  [the places] with the dead bodies;  he shall wound  the heads  over many  countries. 

What does Psalms 110:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 110:1-7 - Our Priest-King At God's Right Hand
Luther describes this psalm as "the true, high, main psalm of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ." Our Lord attributed it to David, in the power of the Holy Spirit; and there is no portion of the Old Testament more frequently quoted in the New. See Matthew 22:44; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 1:13; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 7:21. David speaks of the Messiah as my Lord. The inference as to the deity of our Lord is incontestable. His mighty scepter, the symbol of his rule, reaches from Son to the utmost limits of space and time. He waits till all his enemies are His footstool. Their character is evident in their attire-the beauties of holiness. They are as numerous and refreshing as dewdrops on parched meadows. There is an infinite attractiveness between our Savior and young life-thy youth.
The offices of priest and king were jealously kept apart in the old Hebrew monarchy, so the psalmist has to travel into the childhood of the world to find the type of a priesthood. Jesus is King and Priest after a more ancient and abiding order, which, it is testified, is based on a timeless life. Our Lord shall come to the throne from the battlefield. He shall bruise the serpent's head, but He needs the refreshment of our love and faith. That is the wayside brook. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 110

1  The kingdom
4  The priesthood
5  The conquest
7  And the passion of Christ

What do the individual words in Psalms 110:6 mean?

He shall judge among the nations He shall fill [the places] with dead bodies He shall execute the heads of countries many
יָדִ֣ין בַּ֭גּוֹיִם מָלֵ֣א גְוִיּ֑וֹת מָ֥חַץ רֹ֝֗אשׁ עַל־ אֶ֥רֶץ רַבָּֽה

יָדִ֣ין  He  shall  judge 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דֹּון 
Sense: to judge, contend, plead.
בַּ֭גּוֹיִם  among  the  nations 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
מָלֵ֣א  He  shall  fill  [the  places] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
גְוִיּ֑וֹת  with  dead  bodies 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: גְּוִיָּה  
Sense: a body (of living creatures).
מָ֥חַץ  He  shall  execute 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָחַץ  
Sense: to smite through, shatter, wound severely.
רֹ֝֗אשׁ  the  heads 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
אֶ֥רֶץ  countries 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
רַבָּֽה  many 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.