The Meaning of Psalms 18:39 Explained

Psalms 18:39

KJV: For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

YLT: And Thou girdest me with strength for battle, Causest my withstanders to bow under me.

Darby: And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.

ASV: For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For thou hast girded  me with strength  unto the battle:  thou hast subdued  under me those that rose up  against me. 

What does Psalms 18:39 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 18:39 mean?

For You have armed me with strength for the battle You have subdued those who rose up against me under me
וַתְּאַזְּרֵ֣נִי חַ֭יִל לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה תַּכְרִ֖יעַ קָמַ֣י תַּחְתָּֽי

וַתְּאַזְּרֵ֣נִי  For  You  have  armed  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: אָזַר  
Sense: gird, encompass, equip, clothe.
חַ֭יִל  with  strength 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַיִל 
Sense: strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army.
לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה  for  the  battle 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
תַּכְרִ֖יעַ  You  have  subdued 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַע  
Sense: to bend, kneel, bow, bow down, sink down to one’s knees, kneel down to rest (of animals), kneel in reverence.
קָמַ֣י  those  who  rose  up  against  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
תַּחְתָּֽי  under  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.