The Meaning of Psalms 18:33 Explained

Psalms 18:33

KJV: He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

YLT: Making my feet like hinds, And on my high places causeth me to stand.

Darby: Who maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places;

ASV: He maketh my feet like hinds feet : And setteth me upon my high places.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He maketh  my feet  like hinds'  [feet], and setteth  me upon my high places. 

What does Psalms 18:33 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 18:27-50 - Girded With Strength For Service
God's way is perfect, and if only we will walk with Him He will make ours perfect also. Walls and troops cannot stop a man when God leads him through them. We must follow on the line of His purpose, and then the very mountains are a way and our enemies subserve the program, Acts 2:23.
Swift and sure-footed, when the path is slippery, Psalms 18:33; strong in battle, Psalms 18:34; great through God's gentle kindness, or, as the English Book of Common Prayer renders it, "thy loving correction," Psalms 18:35. Severity would never have done for the Apostles what Jesus did by His patience and long-suffering.
The closing hallelujah of Psalms 18:46-50 is very fine. It is the living Savior that we need. We must stint our words when we speak of men; but mortal lips, however eloquent, have never exhausted the worth of our King. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:33 mean?

He makes my feet like the [feet] of deer and on my high places sets me
מְשַׁוֶּ֣ה רַ֭גְלַי כָּאַיָּל֑וֹת וְעַ֥ל בָּ֝מֹתַ֗י יַעֲמִידֵֽנִי

מְשַׁוֶּ֣ה  He  makes 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁוָה 
Sense: to agree with, be or become like, level, resemble.
רַ֭גְלַי  my  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
כָּאַיָּל֑וֹת  like  the  [feet]  of  deer 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: אַיָּלָה  
Sense: doe, deer, hind.
וְעַ֥ל  and  on 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
בָּ֝מֹתַ֗י  my  high  places 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: בָּמָה  
Sense: high place, ridge, height, bamah (technical name for cultic platform).
יַעֲמִידֵֽנִי  sets  me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.