Psalm 9:3
New International Version
My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.

New Living Translation
My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when you appeared.

English Standard Version
When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.

Berean Standard Bible
When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

King James Bible
When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

New King James Version
When my enemies turn back, They shall fall and perish at Your presence.

New American Standard Bible
When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before You.

NASB 1995
When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before You.

NASB 1977
When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before Thee.

Legacy Standard Bible
When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before You.

Amplified Bible
When my enemies turn back, They stumble and perish before You.

Christian Standard Bible
When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

American Standard Version
When mine enemies turn back, They stumble and perish at thy presence.

Contemporary English Version
When my enemies face you, they run away and stumble and are destroyed.

English Revised Version
When mine enemies turn back, they stumble and perish at thy presence.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When my enemies retreat, they will stumble and die in your presence.

Good News Translation
My enemies turn back when you appear; they fall down and die.

International Standard Version
When my enemies turn back, they will stumble and perish before you.

Majority Standard Bible
When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

NET Bible
When my enemies turn back, they trip and are defeated before you.

New Heart English Bible
When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence.

Webster's Bible Translation
When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

World English Bible
When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
In my enemies turning backward, "" They stumble and perish from Your face.

Young's Literal Translation
In mine enemies turning backward, they stumble and perish from Thy face.

Smith's Literal Translation
In the turning away of mine enemies backward, they shall be weak and perish from thy face.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened and perish before thy face.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For my enemy will be turned back. They will be weakened and perish before your face.

New American Bible
When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you.

New Revised Standard Version
When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
When mine enemies are beaten back, they shall stumble and perish before thy presence.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
When my enemies turn back their behind, they will stumble and be destroyed from before you.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
When mine enemies are turned back, They stumble and perish at Thy presence;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
When mine enemies are turned back, they shall be feeble and perish at thy presence.
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Give Thanks to the LORD
2I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. 3When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You. 4For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously.…

Cross References
Exodus 15:9-10
The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’ / But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.

1 Samuel 17:45-47
But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. / This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. / And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

2 Samuel 22:38-41
I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed. / I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet. / You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me. ...

Isaiah 41:11-12
Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish. / You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.

Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten.

Lamentations 3:64-66
You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. / Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them! / You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD.

Micah 7:10
Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.

Luke 10:17-19
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” / So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. / Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.


Treasury of Scripture

When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at your presence.

they shall

Psalm 68:1,2
To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him…

Psalm 76:7
Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?

Psalm 80:16
It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

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Backward Broken Enemies Face Fall Haters Overcome Perish Perished Presence Stumble Stumbled Turn Turned Turning
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Backward Broken Enemies Face Fall Haters Overcome Perish Perished Presence Stumble Stumbled Turn Turned Turning
Psalm 9
1. David praises God for executing judgment
11. He incites others to praise him
13. He prays that he may have cause to praise him














When my enemies retreat
This phrase sets the stage for a scene of divine intervention and victory. The Hebrew root for "enemies" is "oyeb," which refers to adversaries or foes. In the historical context of ancient Israel, enemies often represented not just personal adversaries but also national threats. The retreat of enemies signifies a turning point where God’s power is visibly at work, causing those who oppose His people to flee. This retreat is not merely a strategic withdrawal but a demonstration of God’s sovereignty and protection over His chosen ones.

they stumble and perish
The imagery of stumbling suggests a loss of balance and control, often used in the Psalms to depict the downfall of the wicked. The Hebrew word "kashal" means to stumble or stagger, indicating a divine intervention that causes the enemies to falter. "Perish" comes from the Hebrew "abad," meaning to be destroyed or to vanish. This is not just a physical defeat but a complete eradication of the threat, emphasizing the totality of God’s deliverance. Historically, this reflects the numerous times God delivered Israel from seemingly insurmountable odds, reinforcing the belief in His omnipotence.

before You
This phrase underscores the presence and authority of God in the situation. The Hebrew preposition "paneh" means "before" or "in the presence of," indicating that the defeat of the enemies occurs directly under God’s watchful eye. It is a reminder that nothing happens outside of God’s knowledge or control. Theologically, this speaks to the omnipresence and omnipotence of God, who is always present with His people, ensuring their protection and vindication. In a broader scriptural context, it reassures believers that God is actively involved in the battles they face, and victory is assured when He is present.

(3) When.--Literally, in the turning of mine enemies back, which may be either when they turned, or because they turned, or possibly with both ideas combined. The older versions have when. Psalm 9:2-3 form one sentence, "I will be glad and rejoice in thee . . . when mine enemies are turned back, (when) they fall and perish at thy presence."

Fall.--Better, stumble through weakness. So the LXX., "are weak."

Verse 3. - When mine enemies are turned back; or, because mine enemies are turned back ('Speaker's Commentary'); i.e. made to retreat, repulsed, driven before me in hasty flight. They shall fall and perish at thy presence; or, they stumble and perish, etc. The psalmist represents the enemy, poetically, "as if they had been thrown to the ground by the glance of God's fiery countenance" (Hengstenberg).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When my enemies
אוֹיְבַ֥י (’ō·wy·ḇay)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 341: Hating, an adversary

retreat,
בְּשׁוּב־ (bə·šūḇ-)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

they stumble
יִכָּשְׁל֥וּ (yik·kā·šə·lū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3782: To totter, waver, to falter, stumble, faint, fall

and perish
וְ֝יֹאבְד֗וּ (wə·yō·ḇə·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6: To wander away, lose oneself, to perish

before You.
מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃ (mip·pā·ne·ḵā)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face


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OT Poetry: Psalm 9:3 When my enemies turn back they stumble (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 9:2
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