The Meaning of Psalms 18:42 Explained

Psalms 18:42

KJV: Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

YLT: And I beat them as dust before wind, As mire of the streets I empty them out.

Darby: And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.

ASV: Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then did I beat  them small as the dust  before  the wind:  I did cast them out  as the dirt  in the streets. 

What does Psalms 18:42 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 18:42 mean?

And I beat them as fine as the dust upon the face of the wind like dirt in the streets I cast them out
וְֽאֶשְׁחָקֵ֗ם כְּעָפָ֥ר עַל־ פְּנֵי־ ר֑וּחַ כְּטִ֖יט חוּצ֣וֹת אֲרִיקֵֽם

וְֽאֶשְׁחָקֵ֗ם  And  I  beat  them  as  fine 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁחַק  
Sense: to rub away, beat fine, pulverise.
כְּעָפָ֥ר  as  the  dust 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: 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.
פְּנֵי־  the  face  of 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
ר֑וּחַ  the  wind 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
כְּטִ֖יט  like  dirt  in 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: טִיט  
Sense: mud, clay, mire, damp dirt.
חוּצ֣וֹת  the  streets 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חוּץ  
Sense: outside, outward, street, the outside.
אֲרִיקֵֽם  I  cast  them  out 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: רִיק  
Sense: to make empty, empty out.