Bible Strands
2 Samuel 22:40
You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks to God, recounting divine empowerment during his military campaigns against surrounding enemies.
The words — The Hebrew verb תַּכְרִיעַ (takh.Ri.a') literally means "you make bow down," describing how God forces those who rise against him to fall under his feet.
The thread — This theme of divine arming and enemy subjugation reappears in Psalms 18:39 and Psalms 44:5, where the psalmist credits God with repelling foes and trampling enemies.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that military victory originates from God’s empowerment rather than human capability, requiring the reader to attribute success to divine action.
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
For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.
Cross-references
- Psalms 44:5 Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
- Psalms 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
- Psalms 18:39 You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Colossians 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- 1 Samuel 17:49 Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
- 1 Samuel 23:5 Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah.
- Psalms 144:2 He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
- Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.