Psalms 2:9

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
break	תְּ֭רֹעֵם Te.ro.'em	H7489	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
rod	בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט be.She.vet	H7626	a scion · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
iron	בַּרְזֶ֑ל bar.Zel	H1270	iron (as cutting) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
pieces	תְּנַפְּצֵֽם te.na.pe.Tzem	H5310	to dash to pieces · verb, piel imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
potter’s	יוֹצֵ֣ר yo.Tzer	H3335	to mould into a form · noun, common masculine singular absolute
vessel	כִּכְלִ֖י kikh.Li	H3627	something prepared · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Revelation 2:26-27 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Psalms 89:23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
Revelation 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treade…
Isaiah 30:14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found…
Psalms 21:8-9 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Psalms 110:5-6 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
Jeremiah 19:11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, th…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 2:7-9

We have heard what the kings of the earth have to say against Christ's kingdom, and have heard it gainsaid by him that sits in heaven; let us now hear what the Messiah himself has to say for his kingdom, to make good his claims, and it is what all the powers on earth cannot gainsay. I. The kingdom of the Messiah is founded upon a decree, an eternal decree, of God the Father. It was not a sudden resolve, it was not the trial of an experiment, but the result of the counsels of the divine wisdom and the determinations of the divine will, before all worlds, neither of which can be altered - the precept or statute (so some read it), the covenant or compact (so others), the federal transactions be…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 2:9

His enemies shall be subject to His terrible power (Job 4:9; Th2 2:8), as His people to His grace (Psa 110:2-3). rod of iron--denotes severity (Rev 2:27). a potter's vessel--when shivered cannot be mended, which will describe utter destruction.

John Gill on Psalms 2:9

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron,.... Not his inheritance and possession among the Gentiles, the chosen ones given him by the Father; these he delights in, takes care of, protects, and preserves: but the stubborn and rebellious ones among the Heathen, and in each of the parts of the world, who will not have him to reign over them; who treat his person with contempt, reject his government, disobey his Gospel, and despise his commands; towards these Christ will use severity, and will exert his power and break them in pieces. The Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, render it, "shall feed" or "rule them"; and so it is cited in Revelation 2:27; and applied to…

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John Calvin on Psalms 2:9

Psalm 2:9 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. This is expressly stated to teach us that Christ is furnished with power by which to reign even over those who are averse to his authority, and refuse to obey him. The language of David implies that all will not voluntarily receive his yoke, but that many will be stiff-necked and rebellious, whom notwithstanding he shall subdue by force, and compel to submit to him. It is true, the beauty and glory of the kingdom of which David speaks are more illustriously displayed when a willing people run to Christ in the day of his power, to show themselves his obedient subjects; but as the greater p…

The Church Fathers

Remember the rod of correction and discipline, and do not get conceited and proud when you have been filled with the good things of God's gifts and start grumbling against him; because in his anger he will shatter you with it like a potter's vessel.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 366:6

"You shall rule them with a rod of iron," with inflexible justice, and "You shall break them like a potter's vessel" [Psalm 2:9]; that is, "You shall break" in them earthly lusts, and the filthy doings of the old man, and whatsoever has been derived and inured from the sinful clay.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 2

And these things have been said about his humanity, for it is about his deity that in this very psalm it has been said: Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron; as a potters vessel shalt thou dash them in pieces; as if at the same time making known the force and might of his divinity, and indicating the renovation or regeneration of the human race—for the potter's vessel, though dashed to pieces, provided it has not as yet been subjected to the furnace, admits of being refashioned.
— Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Armour — Is employed in the English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive and defensive. (1.) The offensive weapons were different at different periods of history. The “rod of iron” (Ps. 2:9) is…
Iron — Tubal-Cain is the first-mentioned worker in iron (Gen. 4:22). The Egyptians wrought it at Sinai before the Exodus. David prepared it in great abundance for the temple (1 Chr. 22:3: 29:7). The…
Pottery — The art of, was early practised among all nations. Various materials seem to have been employed by the potter. Earthenware is mentioned in connection with the history of Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18), of…
Hatred To Christ · Punishment of — Punishment of
Iron · Rods for scourging — Rods for scourging
Kings · Judgments upon, when opposed to Christ — Judgments upon, when opposed to Christ
Power Of Christ, The · The wicked shall be destroyed by — The wicked shall be destroyed by
Scepter (Sceptre) · Ma — Ma

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 2:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 2:7-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 2:9

John Gill on Psalms 2:9

John Calvin on Psalms 2:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 2:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 2:7-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 2:9

John Gill on Psalms 2:9

John Calvin on Psalms 2:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 2:7-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 2:9

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 2:8-9