What are some biblical examples of foes falling in Psalm 27:2?
When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall. (NLT)
Psalms 27:2
ESV - 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
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Asked September 12 2020
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
Community answers are sorted based on votes. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is.
Shirley H
Supporter
So many foes! But, here are some more... 1 Samuel 2:12,-22, 29,34 -Eli' sons. 1 Samuel 31:6. King Saul, his three sons and his armorbearer 2 Samuel 18:14-17 Joab kills Absalom. (Joab was David's nephew) 1 Chronicles 20:8, they fell by the hand of David. 1 Chronicles 21:8, this is interesting..."So David said to God, 'I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.'"...1Chronicles 21:13, "And David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man." Wow, David recognizes safety with God even in sin! 1 Chronicles 21:16,17 - David and the elders fell before the angels of the Lord and prayed! Esther 8:7, the fall of Haman Nahum 1:8,9,10 - God's wrath on His enemies. Nahum 3:12, strongholds of Ninevah will fall like ripe figs. Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira fall for lying to the Holy Spirit! Acts 9: 3-6 Saul/Paul falls before the LORD! There are so many! But I find this one very interesting too...John 18:5, "They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, 'I am He.' And Judas who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back and fell to the ground." The power and might of Our Lord is indescribable!
Tim Maas
Supporter
Since the cited passage was from a psalm of David, I would say that (in addition to other examples that could be noted from the Bible as a whole), the biblical account of David's life just by itself gives multiple examples of the individuals whom David might have had in mind with regard to God not allowing their plans, negative sentiments, or hostile actions against him to succeed or come to fruition, including: Eliab (1 Samuel 17:28) Goliath (1 Samuel 17:32-53) Saul (1 Samuel 18-31) Absalom (2 Samuel 15-18) Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15-17) Shimei (2 Samuel 16:5-13) Adonijah (1 Kings 1) Achish (king of Gath) and the Philistines (1 Samuel 21) Michal (2 Samuel 6:12-23) Hadad-ezer (king of Zobah-Hamath) (2 Samuel 8:3-5) Nations whom David defeated in war as the king of Israel (Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Edomites, Ammonites, Amalekites)(2 Samuel 8)
Grant Abbott
Supporter
David begins this Psalm with a bold declaration of faith. “The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?“ Then in the referenced verse David says “When my enemies and foes advance against me, they will stumble and fall.” Why? Because God is fighting for him. I think the most amazing example of foes falling happened in the life of King Hezekiah of Judah. This event is so important in the history of the Jewish people it is recorded 3 times (Isaiah 36-37; 2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles 32). King Sennacherib of Assyria comes to attack Jerusalem. King Hezekiah is helpless to defend the city, so he enquires of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah. God declares that he will protect and defend Jerusalem, that Sennacherib will never set foot in the city. Hezekiah models a great faith in God during this calamity. Sennacherib and his commanders mock God, saying that he would never be able to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian army. So God sends an angel of death to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. As a result Sennacherib returns to Nineveh and is murdered by 2 of his sons in the temple of his God. Many foes fell on that day and God brought about a great deliverance for his people.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
"David's primary foes and the key Bible references for his subduing them are listed below. Philistines: 2 Samuel 5:17-25; 8:1; 1 Chronicles 18:1. Moabites: 2 Samuel 8:2; 1 Chronicles 18:2. Arameans/Syrians (Zobah and Damascus): 2 Samuel 8:3-8; 1 Chronicles 18:3-8. Ammonites: 2 Samuel 10:1-19; 12:26-31; 1 Chronicles 19:1-19. Edomites: 2 Samuel 8:13-14; 1 Chronicles 18:12-13." - biblegateway, biblehub, perplexity.ai Brown-Driver-Briggs, (BDB), the Hebrew lexicon of the Old Testament lists this verb, 3 letters (3 “radicals”,--we called them this in seminary) as נָפַל433 verb fall, lie I believe this means this verb is found 433 times in the Old Testament. Sometimes it is used figuratively as “go to ruin” or “perish,” etc. (about 30 times); "" כָּרַע Psalm 20:7-8, especially Ps 20:8; figurative of earth Isaiah 24:20 (opposed to קוּם--"rise"), Haman falls before (לִפְנֵי) Mordecai Esther 6:13 (twice in verse); compare Isaiah 14:12 (absolute) where Satan falls from heaven “ How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” I am comforted that one day God will right all wrongs. Sometimes He does this even in our lifetimes. What an awesome, just God we have!
Jeffrey Johnson
Supporter
What are some biblical examples of foes falling in Psalm 27:2? "When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh, even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell." Psalm 27:2 describes enemies collapsing before God's protection. Scripture contains many scenes where hostile forces fail, not because of human strength, but because God overturns their plans. These examples help show the pattern David is referring to. Biblical Examples of Foes Falling Goliath and the Philistines (1 Samuel 17): The giant Goliath mocked David and threatened his life, but ultimately stumbled and fell face-first when David's stone struck him, mirroring the collapse of his threatening army. King Sennacherib and the Assyrian Army (2 Kings 18–19; Isaiah 36–37): The mighty Assyrian forces advanced to devour Jerusalem and taunted God, but the Angel of the Lord struck down the camp overnight, forcing a humiliating and defeated retreat for Sennacherib. A further illustration appears in the story of the Syrians attacking Elisha. The prophet prayed, and the attackers were struck with blindness. Their strength evaporated instantly, showing how foes can be rendered powerless without a physical battle. Pharaoh's Army at the Red Sea (Exodus 14): The Egyptian forces aggressively pursued the Israelites to consume them, only to be completely overturned and swallowed up as the waters collapsed upon their chariots and horse riders. In Judges, Gideon's tiny force faced a massive Midianite army. Panic spread among the Midianites, and they turned on each other. God's confusion brought their downfall, not Gideon's might. This reflects the "stumbling" described in Psalm 27:2—enemies failing before they can carry out their intent. Another example is King Saul's repeated attempts to capture David. Saul pursued him many times, yet each attempt collapsed. Sometimes Saul was diverted; sometimes his plans unravelled; sometimes circumstances beyond his control restrained him. These failures show foes "falling" as plans break apart. Summary of the whole topic Psalm 27:2 portrays enemies collapsing before God's protection, a theme echoed throughout Scripture. The verse reflects moments when hostile forces advance with destructive intent but are overturned by divine action. The Bible repeats this pattern: armies defeated without human strength, threats dissolving unexpectedly, and adversaries losing power at the moment they seem dominant. Whether through sudden collapse, confusion, blindness, or complete reversal of plans, these accounts highlight a consistent truth—those who oppose God's people cannot ultimately succeed when God intervenes. Psalm 27:2 captures this reality in a single line: foes may approach with confidence, yet their efforts fail, their plans break apart, and their strength vanishes under God's defence.
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