Psa 18:42 | NETfull | STEP | I grind them as fine windblown dust; I beat them underfoot like clay in the streets.

Psalms 18:42

42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; ^{▼▼ Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”}
I beat them underfoot ^{▼▼ Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.} like clay ^{▼▼ Or “mud.”} in the streets.