Ezekiel 39:3

Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and dash down the arrows from your right hand.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Lord addresses the invading army advancing from the north toward the mountains of Israel. He declares His direct action to dismantle their combat equipment before they engage on the battlefield.

The words — הִכֵּיתִי (hi.kei.Ti) translates literally as "I will strike," and אַפִּיל ('a.Pil) translates as "I will make fall." These verbs describe the physical removal and destruction of the enemy's weapons.

The thread — This motif of divine weapon-breaking appears in Psalms 76:3, where God shatters arrows and shields, and Hosea 1:5, where He breaks the bow in Jezreel. Jeremiah 21:4 similarly records God turning weapons of war against their owners.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human military strength is subordinate to divine command. It requires the reader to acknowledge that warfare outcomes are determined by God's action, not human preparation.

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

וְהִכֵּיתִ֥יve./hi.kei.Tiand/ I will strike קַשְׁתְּךָ֖kash.te./Chabow/ your מִיַּ֣דmi./Yadfrom/ [the] hand of שְׂמֹאולֶ֑ךָse.mo.Le./khaleft/ your וְחִצֶּ֕יךָve./chi.Tzei./khaand/ arrows/ your מִיַּ֥דmi./Yadfrom/ [the] hand of יְמִינְךָ֖ye.mi.ne./Kharight/ your אַפִּֽיל׃'a.PilI will make fall

King James Version

And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

Cross-references

Psalms 76:3 There He shattered the flaming arrows, the shield and sword and weapons of war. Selah
Hosea 1:5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Jeremiah 21:4 this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city.
Psalms 46:9 He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
Ezekiel 20:21 But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.