The Meaning of Psalms 18:34 Explained

Psalms 18:34

KJV: He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

YLT: Teaching my hands for battle, And a bow of brass was brought down by my arms.

Darby: Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass;

ASV: He teacheth my hands to war; So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He teacheth  my hands  to war,  so that a bow  of steel  is broken  by mine arms. 

What does Psalms 18:34 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 18

1  David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings

What do the individual words in Psalms 18:34 mean?

He teaches my hands to make war so that can bend a bow of bronze my arms
מְלַמֵּ֣ד יָ֭דַי לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה וְֽנִחֲתָ֥ה קֶֽשֶׁת־ נְ֝חוּשָׁ֗ה זְרוֹעֹתָֽי

מְלַמֵּ֣ד  He  teaches 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: לָמַד  
Sense: to learn. teach, exercise in.
יָ֭דַי  my  hands 
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה  to  make  war 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
וְֽנִחֲתָ֥ה  so  that  can  bend 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָחַת  
Sense: to go down, descend.
קֶֽשֶׁת־  a  bow 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קֶשֶׁת  
Sense: bow.
נְ֝חוּשָׁ֗ה  of  bronze 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְחוּשָׁה  
Sense: copper, bronze.
זְרוֹעֹתָֽי  my  arms 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: זְרֹועַ  
Sense: arm, forearm, shoulder, strength.