Psalms 118:12 (YLT)

Passage

They compassed me about as bees, They have been extinguished as a fire of thorns, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.

Nearby Context

Psalms 118:10 All nations have compassed me about, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.

Psalms 118:11 They have compassed me about, Yea, they have compassed me about, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.

Psalms 118:12 They compassed me about as bees, They have been extinguished as a fire of thorns, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.

Psalms 118:13 Thou hast sorely thrust me to fall, And Jehovah hath helped me.

Psalms 118:14 My strength and song <FI>is<Fi> Jah, And He is to me for salvation.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "compassed", "bees", "been", "extinguished", "fire", "thorns", "name", and "jehovah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "compassed" and "bees", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "They have compassed me about Yea they..." into verse 13's "Thou hast sorely thrust me to fall...", so "compassed" and "bees" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

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