Verse

Psalm 35:10

ESV All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
NIV My whole being will exclaim, 'Who is like you, LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.'
NASB All my bones will say, 'Lord, who is like You, Who rescues the afflicted from one who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?'
CSB All my bones will say, "Lord, who is like you, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him? "
NLT With every bone in my body I will praise him: 'Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?'
KJV All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

What does Psalm 35:10 mean?

With all his might David promises to praise the Lord as unequaled. In Hebrew thinking, the bones were the essence of a person's body. In a sense, the person was their bones, so when speaking of one's bones the implication is a reference to the person's deepest self (Genesis 2:23; Psalm 6:2).

Using a poetic question which is really a statement, David exclaims, "LORD, who is like you?" When Moses sang in triumph over Israel's rescue from the Egyptian cavalry, he said of the Lord, "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11).

This also describes the Lord as being a defender of the destitute, rescuing them from a stronger adversary. Perhaps David perceived himself as poor and needy, incapable of delivering himself from the formidable force of Saul and his men. He realized that only his incomparable Lord could deliver him. His personal strength was not a guarantee of success (Psalm 33:16).

Like David, Paul ascribes deliverance to the Lord. He writes: "persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me" (2 Timothy 3:11). If a believer is self-reliant, he will fall under the weight of persecution (Proverbs 3:5; 1 Corinthians 10:12), but if he relies on the Lord, he will stand (Jude 1:24–25; Ephesians 6:10–18).
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