God’s Word Translation
Psalms 74:13
13You stirred up the sea with your own strength. You smashed the heads of sea monsters in the water.
Psalms 74:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
- New International Version (NIV)It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
Context of Psalms 74:13
11Why do you hold back your hand, especially your right hand? Take your hands out of your pockets. Destroy your enemies! 12And yet, from long ago God has been my king, the one who has been victorious throughout the earth. You stirred up the sea with your own strength. You smashed the heads of sea monsters in the water. 14You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave them to the creatures of the desert for food. 15You opened the springs and brooks. You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
Read all of Psalms 74Psalms 74:13 word by word
אַתָּ֤ה פוֹרַ֣רְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ֣ יָ֑ם שִׁבַּ֖רְתָּ רָאשֵׁ֥י תַ֝נִּינִ֗ים עַל־הַמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 74:13
- Psalms 66:6He turned the sea into dry land. They crossed the river on foot. We rejoiced because of what he did there.
- Psalms 78:13He divided the sea and led them through it. He made the waters stand up like a wall.
- Psalms 106:8He saved them because of his reputation so that he could make his mighty power known.
- Psalms 136:13Give thanks to one who divided the Red Sea— because his mercy endures forever.
- Exodus 14:21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided,
- Nehemiah 9:11You divided the sea in front of them so that they could walk through the sea on dry ground. You threw into deep water those who pursued your people as someone throws a stone into raging water.
- Isaiah 11:15The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian Sea. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River with his scorching wind and divide it into seven streams so that people can walk over it in their sandals.
- Exodus 14:28The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
- Isaiah 51:9Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Lord! Wake up as you did in days long past, as in generations long ago. Didn’t you cut Rahab into pieces and stab the serpent?
- Ezekiel 29:3Tell him, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I’m against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt. You are like a monster crocodile lying in the Nile River. You say, “The Nile River is mine. I made it for myself.”
- Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, sing a funeral song for Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him, ‘You think you are like a lion among the nations. Instead, you are like a crocodile in the water. You splash around in the water. You stir up the water with your feet. You make the streams muddy.
Commentaries on Psalms 74:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Thou didst divide the sea - When our fathers came from Egypt. Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters - Pharaoh, his captains, and all his hosts were drowned in the Red Sea, when attempting to pursue them.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength - Margin, as in Hebrew, “break.” That is, he had by his power “broken up” the strength of the sea so that it offered no resistance to their passing through it. The allusion is evidently to the passage through the Red Sea, Exodus 14:21. Thou brakest the heads of the dragons - Margin, “whales.” On the meaning of the word used here - תנין tannı̂yn - see the notes at Isaiah 13:22; notes at Job 30:29. It refers here…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will never cast off those whom he has chosen. We have as much reason to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-23The psalmist laments the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This happened in 586 BC. The psalmist uses vivid imagery, asks questions, recalls fresh memories, and directly asks the Lord to act (Psalm 74:19–23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1513-15. Examples of the "salvation wrought" are cited. divide the sea--that is, Red Sea. brakest ... waters--Pharaoh and his host (compare Is 51:9, 10; Eze 29:3, 4).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 74:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 74
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries