Through God We Will Do Valiantly
Psalm 60 summary: what it means
Psalm 60 speaks for a people who have lost. It opens by telling God plainly that he has rejected them, broken them and been angry. The land itself is pictured as shaken and torn. Yet the people also say God has given a banner to those who fear him. They ask him to save with his right hand so that the ones he loves may be delivered.
At verse 6 God answers from his sanctuary. He claims the regions of the land as his own and treats Moab, Edom and Philistia as subject to him. The people still ask who will lead them into Edom. The psalm ends by admitting that human help is vain and trusting that God will tread down the enemy.
Psalm 60: Through God We Will Do Valiantly
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-60
Psalm 60 commentary: explained verse by verse
God, you have rejected us.You have broken us down.You have been angry.Restore us, again.
O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
The psalm opens with a blunt charge. God has rejected his people, broken them down and been angry. The request that follows is simply to be restored.
Also read 1 Chronicles 28:9, 1 Samuel 13:6-7, Psalm 59:1, Psalm 89:3
You have made the land tremble.You have torn it.Mend its fractures,for it quakes.
Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
Also read 2 Chronicles 7:14, Jeremiah 10:10, Haggai 2:6-7, Jeremiah 14:17
You have shown your people hard things.You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
The people say God has shown them hard things. He has made them drink wine that makes them stagger. Defeat is pictured as being too dizzy to stand.
Also read Daniel 9:12, Jeremiah 25:15, Revelation 16:19, Isaiah 51:17
You have given a banner to those who fear you,that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
In the middle of the lament, the people remember a gift. God has given a banner to those who fear him, to be displayed because of the truth. A banner is something raised and seen, a sign that they still belong to him.
Also read Isaiah 11:12, Isaiah 13:2, Psalm 12:1-2, Isaiah 59:14-15
So that your beloved may be delivered,save with your right hand, and answer us.
That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
The request is that God save with his right hand and answer. The reason given is that his beloved may be delivered. The people appeal to God's love for them.
Also read Psalm 60:12, Psalm 17:7, Deuteronomy 33:12, Psalm 22:8
God has spoken from his sanctuary:“I will triumph.I will divide Shechem,and measure out the valley of Succoth.
God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
God answers from his sanctuary. He says he will triumph, divide Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. Dividing and measuring land is the act of an owner.
Also read Joshua 24:1, Joshua 17:7, Joshua 24:32, Genesis 12:6
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.Ephraim also is the defense of my head.Judah is my scepter.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Also read Deuteronomy 33:17, 1 Chronicles 12:37, 1 Samuel 28:2, Genesis 49:10
Moab is my wash basin.I will throw my sandal on Edom.I shout in triumph over Philistia.”
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
God names neighbouring peoples in everyday images. Moab is his wash basin, and he throws his sandal on Edom. He shouts in triumph over Philistia, so these enemies are pictured as servants in his house.
Also read 1 Chronicles 18:13, Genesis 27:40, 1 Chronicles 18:1-2, Genesis 25:23
Who will bring me into the strong city?Who has led me to Edom?
Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
The voice changes to a question. Who will bring me into the strong city, and who has led me to Edom? God has spoken, but the way to victory is not yet clear.
Also read 2 Samuel 11:1, 1 Chronicles 11:6, Judges 1:24-25, 1 Chronicles 11:17-19
Haven’t you, God, rejected us?You don’t go out with our armies, God.
Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
The people turn the question back on God. Has he not rejected them, and does he not refuse to go out with their armies? The complaint of verse 1 returns.
Also read Deuteronomy 20:4, 1 Samuel 4:6-7, Psalm 20:7, Psalm 118:9-10
Give us help against the adversary,for the help of man is vain.
Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
This verse asks for help against the adversary. It gives the reason in few words: the help of man is vain. The people are saying that human strength alone will not save them.
Also read Psalm 124:1-3, Psalm 108:12, Psalm 25:22, Isaiah 31:3
Through God we will do valiantly,for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.
Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
The psalm ends in confidence. Through God they will do valiantly, because it is he who will tread down their adversaries. Their courage rests on what God does.
Also read 1 Chronicles 19:13, Numbers 24:18-19, Revelation 19:15, 2 Samuel 10:12
A prayer from Psalm 60
God, there are times when it feels as if you have rejected us. Things that seemed solid have cracked, and the ground shakes. We have seen hard things. Restore us again. Mend the fractures in what has been broken. Save with your right hand and answer us, so that those you love may be delivered. You have spoken from your sanctuary, and every land you named is yours. The help of man is vain, so we ask you for help. Through you we will do valiantly, for it is you who will tread down our adversaries. Amen.
Psalm 60 Bible study questions
- In verses 1 to 3, what does the speaker say God has done to the people and to the land?
- In verses 6 to 8, which places does God name as his own, and what images are used for Moab and Edom?
- Verse 2 asks God to mend the fractures of the land; what in your life or community feels in need of mending?
- Verse 11 says the help of man is vain; how do you weigh human help and trust in God when you face something hard?
- Psalm 108:6 to 13 repeats much of Psalm 60:5 to 12; what changes when those lines follow the praise at the start of Psalm 108?
Questions about Psalm 60
What does Psalm 60 mean?
It is a prayer by a defeated people. They admit God has let them fall, ask him to restore and save them, hear his claim over the land and its neighbours, and end trusting that through God they will do valiantly.
Who wrote Psalm 60?
The heading attributes it to David and calls it a teaching poem. It links the psalm to his fighting with Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, when Joab killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
What does Psalm 60:4 mean?
It says God has given a banner to those who fear him, to be displayed because of the truth. In a psalm about defeat, it is a sign that God's people still have something to rally to.
What is Psalm 60:11 in the KJV?
The King James Version reads: "Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man." The World English Bible has help against the adversary.
What does the KJV heading of Psalm 60 say?
It reads: "To the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand."
Psalm 60 KJV: the King James Version
O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.1
Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.2
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.3
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.4
That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.5
God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.6
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;7
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.8
Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?9
Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?10
Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.11
Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.12
Psalm 60 in Hebrew
The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.
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1 לַ֭מְנַצֵּחַ עַל־שׁוּשַׁ֣ן עֵד֑וּת מִכְתָּ֖ם לְדָוִ֣ד לְלַמֵּֽד׃
2 בְּהַצּוֹת֨וֹ ׀ אֶ֥ת אֲרַ֣ם נַהֲרַיִם֮ וְאֶת־אֲרַ֪ם צ֫וֹבָ֥ה וַיָּ֤שָׁב יוֹאָ֗ב וַיַּ֣ךְ אֶת־אֱד֣וֹם בְּגֵיא־מֶ֑לַח שְׁנֵ֖ים עָשָׂ֣ר אָֽלֶף׃
3 אֱ֭לֹהִים זְנַחְתָּ֣נוּ פְרַצְתָּ֑נוּ אָ֝נַ֗פְתָּ תְּשׁ֣וֹבֵ֥ב לָֽנוּ׃
4 הִרְעַ֣שְׁתָּה אֶ֣רֶץ פְּצַמְתָּ֑הּ רְפָ֖ה שְׁבָרֶ֣יהָ כִי־מָֽטָה׃
5 הִרְאִ֣יתָה עַמְּךָ֣ קָשָׁ֑ה הִ֝שְׁקִיתָ֗נוּ יַ֣יִן תַּרְעֵלָֽה׃
6 נָ֘תַ֤תָּה לִּירֵאֶ֣יךָ נֵּ֭ס לְהִתְנוֹסֵ֑ס מִ֝פְּנֵ֗י קֹ֣שֶׁט סֶֽלָה׃
7 לְ֭מַעַן יֵחָלְצ֣וּן יְדִידֶ֑יךָ הוֹשִׁ֖יעָה יְמִֽינְךָ֣ ועננו׃
8 אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ דִּבֶּ֥ר בְּקָדְשׁ֗וֹ אֶ֫עְלֹ֥זָה אֲחַלְּקָ֥ה שְׁכֶ֑ם וְעֵ֖מֶק סֻכּ֣וֹת אֲמַדֵּֽד׃
9 לִ֤י גִלְעָ֨ד ׀ וְלִ֬י מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה וְ֭אֶפְרַיִם מָע֣וֹז רֹאשִׁ֑י יְ֝הוּדָ֗ה מְחֹֽקְקִי׃
10 מוֹאָ֤ב ׀ סִ֬יר רַחְצִ֗י עַל־אֱ֭דוֹם אַשְׁלִ֣יךְ נַעֲלִ֑י עָ֝לַ֗י פְּלֶ֣שֶׁת הִתְרֹעָֽעִֽי׃
11 מִ֣י יֹ֭בִלֵנִי עִ֣יר מָצ֑וֹר מִ֖י נָחַ֣נִי עַד־אֱדֽוֹם׃
12 הֲלֹֽא־אַתָּ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֣ים זְנַחְתָּ֑נוּ וְֽלֹא־תֵצֵ֥א אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים בְּצִבְאוֹתֵֽינוּ׃
13 הָֽבָה־לָּ֣נוּ עֶזְרָ֣ת מִצָּ֑ר וְ֝שָׁ֗וְא תְּשׁוּעַ֥ת אָדָם׃
14 בֵּֽאלֹהִ֥ים נַעֲשֶׂה־חָ֑יִל וְ֝ה֗וּא יָב֥וּס צָרֵֽינוּ׃
Psalm 60 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 59 there.
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1 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription of a title, to David himself, for doctrine,
2 When he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal and Joab returned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the saltpits, twelve thousand men.
3 O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us.
4 Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it: heal thou the breaches thereof, for it has been moved.
5 Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink wine of sorrow.
6 Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee: that they may flee from before the bow: That thy beloved may be delivered.
7 Save me with thy right hand, and hear me.
8 God hath spoken in his holy place: I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem; and will mete out the vale of tabernacles.
9 Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine: and Ephraim is the strength of my head. Juda is my king:
10 Moab is the pot of my hope. Into Edom will I stretch out my shoe: to me the foreigners are made subject.
11 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
12 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go out with our armies?
13 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the salvation of man.
14 Through God we shall do mightily: and he shall bring to nothing them that afflict us.
Psalm 60 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 59.
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1 In finem, pro his qui immutabuntur, in tituli inscriptionem ipsi David, in doctrinam,
2 cum succendit Mesopotamiam Syriæ et Sobal, et convertit Joab, et percussit Idumæam in valle Salinarum duodecim millia.
3 Deus, repulisti nos, et destruxisti nos; iratus es, et misertus es nobis.
4 Commovisti terram, et conturbasti eam; sana contritiones ejus, quia commota est.
5 Ostendisti populo tuo dura; potasti nos vino compunctionis.
6 Dedisti metuentibus te significationem, ut fugiant a facie arcus; ut liberentur dilecti tui.
7 Salvum fac dextera tua, et exaudi me.
8 Deus locutus est in sancto suo: lætabor, et partibor Sichimam; et convallem tabernaculorum metibor.
9 Meus est Galaad, et meus est Manasses; et Ephraim fortitudo capitis mei. Juda rex meus;
10 Moab olla spei meæ. In Idumæam extendam calceamentum meum: mihi alienigenæ subditi sunt.
11 Quis deducet me in civitatem munitam? quis deducet me usque in Idumæam?
12 nonne tu, Deus, qui repulisti nos? et non egredieris, Deus, in virtutibus nostris?
13 Da nobis auxilium de tribulatione, quia vana salus hominis.
14 In Deo faciemus virtutem; et ipse ad nihilum deducet tribulantes nos.
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Psalm 60 at a glance
| Verses | 12 |
| Heading in the text | For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A teaching poem by David, when he fought with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. |
| Attributed to | The heading attributes it to David and links it to his fighting with Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, when Joab killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. |
| Type | Lament |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 59 |
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Psalm 60 in other translations
This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 60 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 60 belongs
Psalms of DavidBook 2 of the Psalms
How this page was made
The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.
Sources
- Text: World English Bible and King James Version, both public domain, from ebible.org source
- Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Douay-Rheims: Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Latin text: Clementine Vulgate, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Numbering: Greek and Latin psalm numbering, Wikipedia, Psalms source