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Psalm 3 · a question people ask

"You have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked" (3:7). Is this a prayer for revenge?

In the text

The verse has a prayer and a reason. The prayer is "Arise, LORD! Save me, my God!" (3:7). The reason begins with "For": "For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked" (3:7) (tap cheek). In the WEB both lines speak of what the LORD has done, and the LORD is the one who strikes. The psalmist asks to be saved, and doesn't say he will strike anyone. The next verse is "Salvation belongs to the LORD. May your blessing be on your people" (3:8). Other psalms ask God to act against enemies; Psalm 109's chapter sets out the main ways Christians read such prayers, and chooses none.

The verses

“Arise, LORD! Save me, my God! For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD. May your blessing be on your people. Selah.”
Psalm 3:7-8 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 3

Psalm 3: A shield around me

The many say, "There is no help for him in God" (3:2), and the psalm's last verse answers them: "Salvation belongs to the LORD" (3:8). In Hebrew help and Salvation are one word, yeshu'ah. And the verb of the many who "rise up" (3:1) is the verb of the psalmist's "Arise, LORD!" (3:7).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions