Bible Strands
2 Samuel 22:38
I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks these words as part of a song of deliverance, addressing God after recounting divine empowerment in battle. The context places this declaration immediately after noting God's provision of a stable path and immediately before describing the complete crushing of defeated foes.
The words — The Hebrew verb אֶרְדֹּפָה (ʾerḏōp̄â) means "I will pursue," paired with כַּלּוֹתָם (kallôtām), literally "until their consumption or end." These terms frame the campaign as an unbroken pursuit that continues only to total eradication.
The thread — This theme of relentless pursuit and total defeat of enemies echoes in Psalms 21:8, where God’s hand seizes haters, and in 2 Samuel 8:1, which records David’s historical subjugation of the Philistines. The narrative thread links poetic declaration to recorded military campaigns in the Valley of Rephaim and beyond.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the described military success stems from sustained divine enablement rather than human strategy. It requires the reader to acknowledge that complete resolution of opposition follows a pattern of uninterrupted pursuit and total termination.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.
Cross-references
- Psalms 21:8 Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- 2 Samuel 5:18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.
- 2 Samuel 8:1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
- 2 Samuel 8:13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
- 2 Samuel 10:14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and they entered the city. So Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
- Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.