Bible Strands
Psalms 48:7
With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the community, recounting a past event where God intervened to protect Jerusalem. The text states that a wind from the east wrecked the ships of Tarshish, contributing to the panic and anguish of those opposing Zion.
The words — The Hebrew term ר֥וּחַ (Ruach) denotes a wind or breath, paired with קָדִ֑ים (Qadim) for the east, while תְּ֝שַׁבֵּ֗ר (teshaBer) means you shatter. The phrase describes a direct divine action that breaks the ships of Tarshish.
The thread — This imagery of an east wind as an instrument of divine action appears in Jeremiah 18:17, while the specific mention of Tarshish ships connects to the failed voyages in 1 Kings 22:48 and the commercial wealth described in Ezekiel 27:25.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that historical security depends on divine intervention rather than human military or naval power. It calls the reader to trust God’s established presence in Jerusalem as the foundation of lasting stability.
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
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 18:17 I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind. I will show them My back and not My face in the day of their calamity.”
- 1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
- Ezekiel 27:25 The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.
- 1 Kings 10:22 For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
- Isaiah 2:16 against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel.