Psalms 21:12

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God immediately after noting the failure of enemy schemes in verse 11 and just before calling for praise in verse 13. This placement frames the verse as a declaration of God's active intervention against opposing forces.

The words — The phrase תְּשִׁיתֵמוֹ (teshitemo) and שֶׁ֑כֶם (shekem) literally render as "you will make them a shoulder." This Hebrew idiom describes the physical act of turning one's shoulder to flee, which the BSB translates as putting them to flight.

The thread — The motif of God turning enemy hostility into retreat runs through Psalms 7:12, Psalms 18:40, and Psalms 64:7. Each reference pairs divine weaponry or action with the immediate collapse of opposing plans.

Why it lands — The text asserts that human hostility cannot override divine action, requiring the reader to abandon self-reliance. It demands acknowledgment that survival and victory depend solely on God's directed strength.

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.