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Psalm 78:66

He struck his adversaries backward. He put them to a perpetual reproach.

64Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep.
65Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
66He struck his adversaries backward. He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
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← Psalm 78:65Psalm 78:67 →
Notice

“Perpetual reproach” adds lasting disgrace to the blow against God's adversaries, a hard turn in a story already marked by fallen priests and bereaved widows.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What troubles or steadies you in the words “He struck his adversaries backward”?

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How does the loss of priests and husbands shape your reading of this judgment?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

8 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
1 Samuel 5:6But the LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.Both describe God striking people in judgment; Samuel names Ashdod and the tumors, while the psalm names defeat and reproach.
1 Samuel 5:9It was so, that after they had carried it there, the LORD’s hand was against the city with a very great confusion; and he struck the men of the city, both …God strikes in both accounts, with Samuel describing confusion and tumors throughout a city and the psalm describing his adversaries' disgrace.
Jeremiah 23:40I will bring an everlasting reproach on you, and a perpetual shame, which will not be forgotten.’”Both passages speak of reproach that lasts, joining God's judgment to shame that does not pass away.
Deuteronomy 28:27The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.Both speak of the Lord striking people; Deuteronomy threatens bodily affliction, while the psalm recounts a blow and lasting reproach.
Joshua 18:1The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before …The shared thread is limited to subduing opposition: Joshua describes a subdued land, while the psalm describes God's defeated adversaries.
Job 40:12Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.Both use forceful language of humiliation and defeat, though Job contains commands to humble and crush, while the psalm recounts God's action.
Psalm 107:40He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.Both portray God bringing people into disgrace, through perpetual reproach in Psalm 78 and contempt poured on princes in Psalm 107.
1 Samuel 6:4Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?” They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the …Both describe a humbling blow, with Samuel naming a plague that reached the Philistine people and their lords.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 64–68 and note who acts

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Encouragement

This account does not promise the defeat of everyone who opposes you. It records a severe judgment in Israel's history: God struck his own adversaries.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 78:66. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

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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).