2 Samuel 22:41 (DBY)

Passage

And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 22:39 And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet.

2 Samuel 22:40 And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me.

2 Samuel 22:41 And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed.

2 Samuel 22:42 They looked, and there was none to save Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not.

2 Samuel 22:43 And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mine", "enemies", "didst", "thou", "make", "turn", "backs", and "hated". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mine" and "enemies", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 40's "And thou girdedst me with strength to..." into verse 42's "They looked and there was none to...", so "mine" and "enemies" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mine" and "enemies" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.