2 Samuel 22:43

⁴¹ You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.

⁴² They looked, but there was no one to save them— to the LORD, but He did not answer.

I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴ You have delivered me from the strife of my people; You have preserved me as the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁵ Foreigners cower before me; when they hear me, they obey me.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
KJV: Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
WEB: Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.
ASV: Then did I beat them small as the dust of the earth, I did crush them as the mire of the streets, and did spread them abroad.
DARBY: And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them.
BLB: And I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth, like dirt in the streets I crushed them and trampled them.

ÅB: Og jeg knuser dem som jordens støv; jeg sønderknuser dem, tramper dem ned som søle på gatene.
OTB: Da knuste jeg dem som jordens støv;
Jeg knuste dem og trampet dem som gatens gjørme.
B1930: Og jeg knuser dem som jordens støv; jeg sønderknuser dem, tramper dem ned som søle på gatene.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Micah 7:10
Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame— she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:6
I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
Read in context
2 Kings 13:7
Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
Read in context
Zechariah 10:5
They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 32:26
I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
Read in context
Luke 21:24
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Read in context
Isaiah 26:15
You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; You have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for Yourself; You have extended all the borders of the land.
Read in context
Daniel 2:35
Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Read in context