Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse uses a powerful image of a horned animal goring and trampling its foes. This isn't just about a general sense of victory, but about a forceful, almost brutal subduing of enemies, made possible not by the singer's own strength, but by God's presence and the authority of His Name.
Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm opens with the people of Israel recalling God's mighty acts in the past, remembering how He delivered their ancestors and gave them victory over their foes. They're looking back to a time when God actively fought for them, a stark contrast to their current struggles. This verse expresses their confidence, built on that history, that God's power through His very name will enable them to overcome their present enemies.
How can we fight our battles? This verse paints a vivid picture of God's power working through His people.
The psalmist declares, 'Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.' Notice the 'through you' and 'through your name.' This isn't just a passive statement of God's power; it's about how His power is channeled through us.
A Metaphor of Strength
The original imagery likely comes from powerful horned animals, like bulls or buffaloes, charging and trampling their enemies. Imagine that raw, unstoppable force. The psalmist is saying that when God is with us, His people gain that kind of power.
God as the Source
However, this strength isn't our own. It comes 'through you' – through God's presence and enablement – and 'through your name.' God's name represents His character, His reputation, and all that He has revealed Himself to be. When we act in His name, we are acting with His authority and power.
Why do we win? This verse grounds our confidence not in our own abilities, but in something far greater.
The psalmist makes a clear distinction: 'For I will not trust in my bow, and my sword will not save me. Surely you have saved us from our enemies...' (Psalm 44:6-7). This is a crucial counterpoint to the power described in verse 5. We might be empowered, but we don't fight in our own strength or with our own weapons.
Renouncing Self-Reliance
Ask a follow-up
Trusting in our own abilities—our 'bow' and 'sword'—is a false hope. It blinds us to where true victory comes from. The psalmist explicitly rejects this kind of self-reliance, acknowledging that human strength alone is insufficient.
The True Source of Victory
Instead, the psalmist declares, 'In God we will boast all the day long' (Psalm 44:8). Our boasting, our confidence, and our praise belong solely to God. This isn't just about acknowledging Him after the fact; it's a continuous, all-day posture of dependence and gratitude. All victories, past and present, are attributed to His saving power.
Understand the original words
nagach · Hebrew Verb
To push, thrust, or strike; in battle, it represents the aggressive movement against an enemy with the strength provided by God.
tsar · Hebrew Noun
Those who display hostility, hatred, or aggression toward God's people; they are often identified as enemies of God's covenant.
shem · Hebrew Noun
The manifestation of God's character, authority, and reputation; to call upon His name is to rely on the totality of who He is as revealed to His people.
buws · Hebrew Verb
To trample or crush under foot; a common biblical metaphor for complete victory over defeated enemies.
This psalm is likely a prayer from the Maccabean period, a time when Jews faced severe persecution for their faith. The psalmist looks back to God's past victories, like those during the early monarchy or the conquest of Canaan, to find hope and courage amidst their current suffering and military defeats.
~1000 BC
United Monarchy Flourishes
Under kings like David and Solomon, Israel experiences a period of military strength and national unity, pushing back enemies and establishing its kingdom. This era sets a benchmark for God's past deliverances.
c. 931 BC
Kingdom Divides
After Solomon's reign, the united kingdom splits into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. This division weakens Israel and often leads to internal conflict and external vulnerability.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern Kingdom of Israel, exiling its people. This event is a stark reminder of the consequences of unfaithfulness and the vulnerability of God's people to powerful empires.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
The Babylonian Empire destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling many from the southern Kingdom of Judah. This is a catastrophic national trauma, prompting deep reflection on God's presence and past faithfulness amidst present suffering.
c. 167-160 BC— this verse
Maccabean Revolt Begins
Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrates the Jerusalem Temple and persecutes Jews who refuse to abandon their faith. This sparks the Maccabean Revolt, a period of intense religious persecution and armed struggle for religious freedom.
c. 164 BC
Temple Rededicated
The Maccabees, led by Judas Maccabeus, recapture Jerusalem and rededicate the Temple. While a significant victory, the conflict and persecution continue, highlighting the ongoing struggle of faith against overwhelming odds.
This passage uses the same imagery of a powerful horned animal, like a bull, to describe the strength given to Joseph, directly paralleling the imagery of 'pushing down' enemies with a horn found in Psalms 44:5.
1 Samuel 17:45-47David's victory over Goliath demonstrates trusting in God's name and power, not human strength, to overcome adversaries, echoing the sentiment in Psalms 44:5 that victories come 'through Your name'.
Joshua 10:14This verse highlights that the Lord fought for Israel, a concept reinforced by Psalms 44:5 which asserts that any victory or power to overcome foes comes directly from God's intervention and strength.
Romans 8:37Paul's declaration that believers are 'more than conquerors' through Christ powerfully parallels the Psalmist's confidence in God's power to enable them to overcome and 'tread down' their enemies.
1 Corinthians 15:57This verse gives thanks to God who gives victory, aligning with the core message of Psalms 44:5 that ultimate triumph over opposition is not by human might but by God's enabling power and through His name.
clarkePsalms 44:5: "Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us."
Through thee will we push down - Through thy Word, במימרא bemeimra, "Thy substantial Word." - Chaldee. If thou be with us, who can be successfully against us? Literally "We will toss them in the air with our horn;" a metaphor taken from an ox or bull tossing the dogs into the air which attack him. Through thy name - Jehovah; the infinite, the omnipotent, the eternal Bei…
ellicottPsalms 44:5: "Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us."
(5) Push down. —The image of the original is lost here, the LXX. have retained it. It is that of a buffalo or other horned animal driving back and goring its enemies. Deuteronomy 33:17 applies it as a special description of the tribe of Joseph. The figure is continued in the next clause; the infuriated animal tramples its victim under foot.
The verse uses a powerful image of a horned animal goring and trampling its foes. This isn't just about a general sense of victory, but about a forceful, almost brutal subduing of enemies, made possible not by the singer's own strength, but by God's presence and the authority of His Name.
This psalm opens with the people of Israel recalling God's mighty acts in the past, remembering how He delivered their ancestors and gave them victory over their foes. They're looking back to a time when God actively fought for them, a stark contrast to their current struggles. This verse expresses their confidence, built on that history, that God's power through His very name will enable them to overcome their present enemies.
This psalm opens with the people of Israel recalling God's mighty acts in the past, remembering how He delivered their ancestors and gave them victory over their foes. They're looking back to a time when God actively fought for them, a stark contrast to their current struggles. This verse expresses their confidence, built on that history, that God's power through His very name will enable them to overcome their present enemies.
"Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us." — The verse uses a powerful image of a horned animal goring and trampling its foes. This isn't just about a general sense of victory, but about a forceful, almost brutal subduing of enemies, made possi…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026