The Meaning of Psalms 18:9 Explained

Psalms 18:9

KJV: He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

YLT: And He inclineth the heavens, and cometh down, And thick darkness is under His feet.

Darby: And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

ASV: He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He bowed  the heavens  also, and came down:  and darkness  [was] under his feet. 

What does Psalms 18:9 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 18:9 mean?

And He bowed the heavens and came down and with darkness under His feet
וַיֵּ֣ט שָׁ֭מַיִם וַיֵּרַ֑ד וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל תַּ֣חַת רַגְלָֽיו

וַיֵּ֣ט  And  He  bowed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
שָׁ֭מַיִם  the  heavens 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וַיֵּרַ֑ד  and  came  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל  and  with  darkness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲרָפֶל  
Sense: cloud, heavy or dark cloud, darkness, gross darkness, thick darkness.
תַּ֣חַת  under 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
רַגְלָֽיו  His  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person masculine singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.