English Standard Version
Psalms 18:9
9He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
Psalms 18:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
- New International Version (NIV)He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
Context of Psalms 18:9
7Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 8Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 10He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind. 11He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.
Read all of Psalms 18Psalms 18:9 word by word
וַיֵּ֣ט שָׁ֭מַיִם וַיֵּרַ֑ד וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל תַּ֣חַת רַגְלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 18:9
- Psalms 68:4Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him!
- Psalms 144:5Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
- Deuteronomy 33:26"There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.
- 2 Samuel 22:10He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
- Isaiah 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
- Joel 3:16The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
- Matthew 24:29"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Hebrews 12:26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."
- 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
- Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
- Deuteronomy 5:22"These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
- Mark 15:33And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- John 13:7Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."
Commentaries on Psalms 18:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9He bowed the heavens also, and came down - He made the heavens bend under him when he descended to take vengeance on his enemies. The psalmist seems here to express the appearance of the Divine majesty in a glorious cloud, descending from heaven, which underneath was substantially dark, but above, bright, and shining with exceeding lustre; and which, by its gradual approach to the earth, would appear as though the heavens themselves were bending down and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9He bowed the heavens also - He seemed to bend down the heavens - to bring them nearer to the earth. “He inclines the canopy of the heavens, as it were, toward the earth; wraps himself in the darkness of night, and shoots forth his arrows; hurls abroad his lightnings, and wings them with speed.” Herder, Spirit of Hebrew Poetry (Marsh), ii. 157. The allusion is still to the tempest, when the clouds ran low; when they seem to sweep along the ground; when it…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-11The Lord rules over all of nature (see Psalm 104:2–4; 148:5–6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. darkness--or, a dense cloud (Ex 19:16; De 5:22).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 18:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries