Psalms 97:3

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

A fire goeth before him, And burneth up his adversaries round about.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֵ֭שׁ לְפָנָ֣יו תֵּלֵ֑ךְ וּתְלַהֵ֖ט סָבִ֣יב צָרָֽיו

Transliteration

ʾēš lə-p̄ānāyw tēlēḵ û-təlahēṭ sāḇîḇ ṣārāyw

Grammar Details

*ʾēš*: noun, feminine singular - fire
*lə-p̄ānāyw*: preposition lamed + noun, plural construct + suffix, 3rd person masculine singular - before him
*tēlēḵ*: qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular - goes/will go
*û-təlahēṭ*: conjunction waw + piel imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular - and consumes/burns up
*sāḇîḇ*: adverb - around/surrounding
*ṣārāyw*: noun, masculine plural + suffix, 3rd person masculine singular - his adversaries

Word Meanings

*lə-p̄ānāyw*: before him/ahead of him/in front of him
*tēlēḵ*: goes/walks/proceeds
*təlahēṭ*: burns up/consumes/sets ablaze
*ṣārāyw*: his adversaries/enemies/foes

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

ESVNIVCSBNLTNASBNET

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 18:8 : 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.
Ps 50:3 : 3 Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him, And it is very tempestuous round about him.
Dan 7:10 : 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Hab 3:5 : 5 Before him went the pestilence, And fiery bolts went forth at his feet.
Mal 4:1 : 1 For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Heb 12:29 : 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
2 Pet 3:10-12 : 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; {G1722} {G3571} in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein {G846} shall be burned up. 11 Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in [all] holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Rev 11:5 : 5 And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed.
Rev 20:15 : 15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
2 Thess 1:8 : 8 rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus:
Nah 1:5-6 : 5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him.
Ps 21:8-9 : 8 Thy hand will find out all thine enemies; Thy right hand will find out those that hate thee. 9 Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger: Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
Deut 4:11 : 11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
Deut 4:36 : 36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
Deut 5:4 : 4 Jehovah spake with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
Deut 5:23-24 : 23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; 24 and ye said, Behold, Jehovah our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth speak with man, and he liveth.
Deut 32:22 : 22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, And burneth unto the lowest Sheol, And devoureth the earth with its increase, And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Ps 97:2
83%
2Clouds and darkness are round about him: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
2 Sam 22:12-13
2 verses
82%
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
13At the brightness before him Coals of fire were kindled.
Hab 3:4-5
2 verses
82%
4And [his] brightness was as the light; He had rays [coming forth] from his hand; And there was the hiding of his power.
5Before him went the pestilence, And fiery bolts went forth at his feet.
Ps 97:4-6
3 verses
80%
4His lightnings lightened the world: The earth saw, and trembled.
5The mountains melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6The heavens declare his righteousness, And all the peoples have seen his glory.
2 Sam 22:9
79%
9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.
Ps 18:8-9
2 verses
79%
8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet.
Ps 18:11-13
3 verses
78%
11He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, Hailstones and coals of fire.
13Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
Ps 50:3
78%
3Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him, And it is very tempestuous round about him.
Joel 2:3
77%
3A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and none hath escaped them.
Ps 83:14
77%
14As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,
Nah 1:5-6
2 verses
77%
5The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
6Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him.
Isa 66:15
75%
15For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
Isa 30:27
75%
27Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire;
Job 41:21
75%
21His breath kindleth coals, And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
Heb 12:29
74%
29for our God is a consuming fire.
Isa 9:18
74%
18For wickedness burneth as the fire; it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
Ps 29:7
74%
7The voice of Jehovah cleaveth the flames of fire.
Isa 64:2
74%
2as when fire kindleth the brushwood, [and] the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
Job 37:3
74%
3He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, And his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
Isa 30:30
73%
30And Jehovah will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of [his] anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, and tempest, and hailstones.
Ps 21:9
73%
9Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger: Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
Ps 19:6
73%
6His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
Lam 2:3
73%
3He hath cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel; He hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy: And he hath burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.
Nah 1:8
73%
8But with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Job 41:19
72%
19Out of his mouth go burning torches, And sparks of fire leap forth.
Job 20:26-27
2 verses
72%
26All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown [by man] shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
27The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him.
Isa 10:17
72%
17And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
Ps 148:8
72%
8Fire and hail, snow and vapor; Stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
Ps 104:4
72%
4Who maketh winds his messengers; Flames of fire his ministers;
Ps 85:13
72%
13Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way [to walk in].
Jer 15:14
72%
14[And I will make them] to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not; for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
Ps 68:1-2
2 verses
72%
1For the Chief Musician; A Psalm of David, a Song. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; Let them also that hate him flee before him.
2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: As wax melteth before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
Deut 9:3
72%
3Know therefore this day, that Jehovah thy God is he who goeth over before thee as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will bring them down before thee: so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as Jehovah hath spoken unto thee.
Mic 1:3-4
2 verses
71%
3For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
4And the mountains shall be melted under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.
Ps 106:18
71%
18And a fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked.
Ps 58:9
71%
9Before your pots can feel the thorns, He will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
Heb 1:7
71%
7And of {G3303} the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire:
Nah 1:3
71%
3Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear [the guilty]: Jehovah hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Exod 15:7
71%
7And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest them that rise up against thee: Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.