2 Samuel 22:43 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

2 Samuel 22:44 And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me:

2 Samuel 22:45 Strangers come cringing unto me: At the hearing of the ear, they obey me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beat", "small", "dust", "earth", "trod", "mire", "streets", and "stamped". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beat" and "small", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 42's "They looked and there was none to..." into verse 44's "And thou hast delivered me from the...", so "beat" and "small" 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 "beat" and "small" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.