New King James Version
Psalms 97:3
3A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about.
Psalms 97:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
- New International Version (NIV)Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes.
Context of Psalms 97:3
1The Lord reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! 2Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. 4His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles. 5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Read all of Psalms 97Psalms 97:3 word by word
אֵ֭שׁ לְפָנָ֣יו תֵּלֵ֑ךְ וּתְלַהֵ֖ט סָבִ֣יב צָרָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 97:3
- Psalms 18:8Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.
- Psalms 21:8Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
- Psalms 50:3Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
- Deuteronomy 4:11“Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
- Deuteronomy 5:4The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
- Deuteronomy 32:22For a fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
- Daniel 7:10A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.
- Nahum 1:5The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
- Habakkuk 3:5Before Him went pestilence, And fever followed at His feet.
- Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Hebrews 12:29For our God is a consuming fire.
- 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
- Revelation 11:5And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
- Revelation 20:15And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Commentaries on Psalms 97:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3A fire goeth before him - Literally, this and the following verse may refer to the electric fluid, or to manifestations of the Divine displeasure, in which, by means of ethereal fire, God consumed his enemies. But fire is generally represented as an accompaniment of the appearances of the Supreme Being. He appeared on Mount Sinai in the midst of fire, thunder, and lightninys, Exodus 19:16-18. Daniel, Daniel 7:9, Daniel 7:10, represents the Sovereign Judge…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A fire goeth before him - See Psalm 18:13, note; Psalm 50:3, note. And burneth up his enemies round about - Is especially directed against his foes. That is, he manifests himself as a just God, inflicting vengeance on his enemies. He comes to reign, and in his reign all his foes will be destroyed.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-4Clouds … Fire … lightning: This language shows that the Lord is coming to judge.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-53-5. The attending illustrations of God's awful justice on enemies (Psa 83:14) are seen in the disclosures of His almighty power on the elements of nature (compare Psa 46:2; 77:17; Ha 3:6, &c.).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 97:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 97
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries