Bible Strands
Psalms 27:2
When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks from a position of declared trust in the Lord as his light, salvation, and stronghold while facing imminent hostile attack. The verse contrasts the approach of attackers with their sudden collapse.
The words — בִּקְרֹ֤ב (biq-rōḇ) = when drew near, paired with verbs for stumbling and falling to describe the attackers' abrupt defeat.
The thread — The collapse of attackers appears in Psalms 9:3, where enemies retreat and stumble before God. Psalms 118:12 and 3:7 similarly record divine intervention, though the latter specifies striking enemies on the jaw and breaking their teeth rather than causing them to fall.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledging that hostile forces will approach with destructive intent but ultimately collapse under divine opposition. It demands a posture of trust that does not shrink from impending conflict.
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
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Cross-references
- Psalms 118:12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- Psalms 3:7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Psalms 9:3 When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.
- Psalms 14:4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
- Psalms 22:16 For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
- Isaiah 8:15 Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”
- Job 19:22 Why do you persecute me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
- Psalms 18:4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
- Psalms 18:38 I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
- Psalms 53:4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.