Bible Strands
Psalms 74:5
like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God while describing enemy forces that have roared inside the sanctuary and unfurled their banners. The speaker reports the immediate, organized destruction of the holy site.
The words — The Hebrew קַרְדֻּמּֽוֹת (kar.du.Mot) translates literally to "axes," and בִּֽסְבָךְ (bi.sa.vokh) means "in a thicket." These terms specify a methodical, labor-intensive cutting process rather than a random attack.
The thread — Axes cutting timber or advancing against nations appear in 1 Kings 5:6, 2 Chronicles 2:14, and Jeremiah 46:22. These passages consistently pair the tool with both sacred construction and military devastation.
Why it lands — The text records the physical dismantling of sacred objects without offering theological justification. It requires the reader to acknowledge that holy spaces are subject to human violence and must be confronted as they are.
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
A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 5:6 Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
- 2 Chronicles 2:14 He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
- Jeremiah 46:22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.