The Meaning of Psalms 18:17 Explained

Psalms 18:17

KJV: He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

YLT: He delivereth me from my strong enemy, And from those hating me, For they have been stronger than I.

Darby: He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I.

ASV: He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He delivered  me from my strong  enemy,  and from them which hated  me: for they were too strong  for me. 

What does Psalms 18:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 18:1-26 - A Wonderful Deliverance
There is another edition of this psalm in 2 Samuel 22:1-51. Psalms 18:2 and Psalms 18:49 are applied in the New Testament to the Lord Jesus, Hebrews 2:13 and Romans 15:9. We begin with the psalmist's good resolve, Psalms 18:1-3. No single metaphor can comprehend the whole of God's helpfulness to men; but can we say, "I love thee"? See John 21:17. "Thou knowest!"
The story of the past, Psalms 18:4-19. We also have our Red Seas. In our distress let us also cry. The voice of the sufferer may be weak and solitary, but it reaches through the gates of pearl and moves creation! Luke 8:46.
The confident claim of the righteous, Psalms 18:20-26. We cannot boast a righteousness of our own, but we stand in Christ. We are full of impurity and evil, but we may claim at least integrity of motive. Compare Psalms 18:26 with Leviticus 26:21-24. The wind blows in one direction; you can walk against it or with it-take your choice. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:17 mean?

He delivered me from my enemy strong and from those who hated me for they were too strong for me
יַצִּילֵ֗נִי מֵאֹיְבִ֥י עָ֑ז וּ֝מִשֹּׂנְאַ֗י כִּֽי־ אָמְצ֥וּ מִמֶּֽנִּי

יַצִּילֵ֗נִי  He  delivered  me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
מֵאֹיְבִ֥י  from  my  enemy 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
עָ֑ז  strong 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עַז 
Sense: strong, mighty, fierce.
וּ֝מִשֹּׂנְאַ֗י  and  from  those  who  hated  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.
אָמְצ֥וּ  they  were  too  strong 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָמֵץ  
Sense: to be strong, alert, courageous, brave, stout, bold, solid, hard.
מִמֶּֽנִּי  for  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.