Read
Psalm 118:12
They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the LORD’s name I cut them off.
10All the nations surrounded me, but in the LORD’s name I cut them off.
11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In the LORD’s name I indeed cut them off.
12They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the LORD’s name I cut them off.
13You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but the LORD helped me.
14The LORD is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.
Notice
Bees and burning thorns make the surrounding nations feel fierce yet vulnerable, while the speaker credits YHWH’s name for his violent victory over them.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Which part of the swarm image best captures how pressure feels to you today?
Write on thisHow does the repeated appeal to YHWH’s name shape your reading of this battle?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Deuteronomy 1:44The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.Both compare attackers to bees, though Deuteronomy recounts defeat and pursuit while the psalm recounts victory.
Psalm 27:2When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.Both describe enemies attacking the speaker and then losing their advantage through defeat or a fall.
Ecclesiastes 7:6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.Both use burning thorns as a comparison, though Ecclesiastes describes a fool’s laughter and the psalm describes defeated attackers.
1 Samuel 17:45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God …David and the psalm’s speaker both face armed opposition in the LORD’s name.
Psalm 58:9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.Both passages use burning thorns in descriptions of being quenched or swept away.
Psalm 20:5We will triumph in your salvation. In the name of our God, we will set up our banners. May the LORD grant all your requests.Both connect triumph with God’s name, expressed through raised banners in Psalm 20 and defeated enemies in Psalm 118.
Psalm 20:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,Both connect God’s name with help in danger, one through a prayer and the other through an account of victory.
2 Samuel 23:6But all the ungodly will be as thorns to be thrust away, because they can’t be taken with the hand.Both compare hostile or ungodly people to thorns that are removed or destroyed.
1 Chronicles 14:14–16David inquired again of God; and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them. Turn away from them, and come on them opposite the mulberry trees.Both describe facing opposition with reference to God, though Chronicles gives battle instructions absent from the psalm.
Isaiah 27:4Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together.Both use burning thorns in a battle setting, with Isaiah portraying God himself marching against them.
2 Chronicles 14:11–12Asa cried to the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, LORD our God; for …Asa and the psalm’s speaker both face a multitude in the LORD’s name, placing their confidence in him.
1 Chronicles 14:10–11David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?” The LORD said to him, “Go up; for I will deliver …Both connect victory over enemies with the LORD, with David seeking assurance and the psalm’s speaker recounting deliverance.
Where this verse fits
Fear for the future. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The speaker credits YHWH for help against surrounding nations. His account of victory offers grounds for trust in God; it grants no permission to harm those who oppose you.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 118:12. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 118 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).