Bible Strands
Psalms 144:6
Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the LORD, continuing a plea for divine descent and intervention against hostile forces.
The words — בָּרָק (Ba.rok) translates to lightning, and חִצֶּיךָ (chi.Tzei./kha) means your arrows, both depicting the LORD’s offensive power.
The thread — This imagery of divine projectiles recurs in Deuteronomy 32:23, Psalms 18:13, and Deuteronomy 32:42 as symbols of heavenly judgment.
Why it lands — It demands acknowledgment that deliverance and judgment come through direct divine action rather than human effort.
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
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:23 I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.
- Psalms 18:13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.
- Deuteronomy 32:42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
- 2 Samuel 22:12 He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.
- Psalms 7:12 If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Psalms 21:12 For You will put them to flight when Your bow is trained upon them.
- Psalms 45:5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
- Psalms 77:17 The clouds poured down water; the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth.