As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

PSALMS 68:2KJV
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Psalms 68:2 (KJV)

What does Psalms 68:2 mean?

Psalms 68:2 uses vivid images to describe how God’s presence causes the wicked to vanish and be destroyed, just as smoke is blown away by the wind and wax melts before a fire. The verse emphasizes that those who oppose God cannot stand before Him and will ultimately perish.

In this psalm, King David is speaking, calling on God to rise up and act against His enemies. The verse uses everyday experiences—smoke disappearing and wax melting—to help listeners picture how powerless the wicked are before God’s power. This is part of a larger song celebrating God’s might and His care for His people.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 68:2

  • "Smoke" (עָשָׁן, ʿāshān) is a picture of something insubstantial and fleeting, showing how quickly God can remove His enemies.
  • "Melteth" (נָמַס, nāmas) describes something dissolving or losing its form, which deepens the image of total defeat and helplessness before God.
  • "Wicked" (רָשָׁע, rashaʿ) refers specifically to those who are morally opposed to God, not just anyone who makes mistakes.
  • "Presence" (פָּנִים, pānîm) literally means "face," suggesting a direct encounter with God, not just a distant effect.

Why Psalms 68:2 matters

  • The verse clears up that God’s judgment is not just a distant idea but something that can be sudden and complete, like smoke or melting wax.
  • The use of ordinary, physical images helps readers understand the certainty and thoroughness of God’s action against evil.
  • This verse sets the tone for the rest of the psalm, which contrasts the fate of the wicked with the joy and safety of those who trust in God.

Where else these words appear

“wax” Hebrew H1749 · used in 4 verses

  • Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
  • Psalms 97:5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
  • Micah 1:4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

“away” Hebrew H5086 · used in 8 verses

  • Leviticus 26:36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
  • Job 32:13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man.
  • Proverbs 21:6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

“melteth” Hebrew H4549 · used in 20 verses

  • Exodus 16:21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
  • Judges 15:14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
  • Isaiah 10:18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.

“smoke” Hebrew H6227 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
  • Job 41:20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
  • Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.