The Meaning of Psalms 18:37 Explained

Psalms 18:37

KJV: I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

YLT: I pursue mine enemies, and overtake them, And turn back not till they are consumed.

Darby: I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed.

ASV: I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; Neither will I turn again till they are consumed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I have pursued  mine enemies,  and overtaken  them: neither did I turn again  till they were consumed. 

What does Psalms 18:37 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 18:37 mean?

I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them and neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed
אֶרְדּ֣וֹף א֭וֹיְבַי וְאַשִּׂיגֵ֑ם וְלֹֽא־ אָ֝שׁוּב‪‬ עַד־ כַּלּוֹתָֽם

אֶרְדּ֣וֹף  I  have  pursued 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
א֭וֹיְבַי  my  enemies 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
וְאַשִּׂיגֵ֑ם  and  overtaken  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: מַשֶּׂגֶת 
Sense: to reach, overtake, take hold upon.
וְלֹֽא־  and  neither 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אָ֝שׁוּב‪‬  did  I  turn  back  again 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
עַד־  till 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
כַּלּוֹתָֽם  they  were  destroyed 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.