The Meaning of Psalms 68:14 Explained

Psalms 68:14

KJV: When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.

YLT: When the Mighty spreadeth kings in it, It doth snow in Salmon.

Darby: When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it became snow-white as Zalmon.

ASV: When the Almighty scattered kings therein, It was as when it snoweth in Zalmon.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When the Almighty  scattered  kings  in it, it was [white] as snow  in Salmon. 

What does Psalms 68:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 68:12-25 - Their Mighty Deliverer
The processional march still continues. Presently Mount Zion comes in sight, and the neighboring hills are depicted as eying it enviously for its selection in preference to themselves. In Psalms 68:17-18 the glad throng begins to climb the sacred slopes of Zion, amid still more triumphant strains; and in Psalms 68:19, etc., the gates of the sanctuary stand wide open to welcome the festal crowds.
How great the contrast between the blackened appearance of a smoky caldron, and the lustrous sheen of a bird's pinions as they flash in the sunlight! Psalms 68:13. Yet that is the contrast between what we were, and what we now are. Zalmon, Psalms 68:14 -perhaps a reference to the wooded hill near Shechem, mentioned in Judges 9:48. The hostile kings were scattered as snowflakes are driven before the wind and melt in the sun. The hill Bashan, Psalms 68:15, is a snow-clad summit, but Zion is greater, since God is there. In the triumphant words of Psalms 68:18, the singer quotes Judges 5:12, and they are applied in Ephesians 4:8 to our Lord's ascension. Note the r.v. rendering of Psalms 68:19 -that the Lord daily beareth our burdens. Singers, minstrels, and girls with timbrels, Psalms 68:25 -all have a share in the Church's joy. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 68

1  A prayer at the removing of the ark
4  An exhortation to praise God for his mercies
7  for his care of the church
19  for his great works

What do the individual words in Psalms 68:14 mean?

When scattered the Almighty kings in it was [white] as snow in Zalmon
בְּפָ֘רֵ֤שׂ שַׁדַּ֓י מְלָ֘כִ֤ים בָּ֗הּ תַּשְׁלֵ֥ג בְּצַלְמֽוֹן

בְּפָ֘רֵ֤שׂ  When  scattered 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: פָּרַשׂ  
Sense: to spread, spread out, stretch, break in pieces.
שַׁדַּ֓י  the  Almighty 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁדַּי  
Sense: almighty, most powerful.
מְלָ֘כִ֤ים  kings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בָּ֗הּ  in  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
תַּשְׁלֵ֥ג  was  [white]  as  snow 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁלַג  
Sense: (Hiphil) to snow, be as snow.
בְּצַלְמֽוֹן  in  Zalmon 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צַלְמֹון 
Sense: an Ahohite, one of David’s mighty warriors.