SEV Biblia, Chapter 6:16
sobre todo, tomando el escudo de la fe, con que podis apagar todos los dardos de fuego del maligno.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Ephesians 6:16
Verse 16. Above all, (epi pasin, over all the rest of the armour,) taking the shield of faith] In the word qureov, thureos, the apostle alludes to the great oblong shield, or scutum, which covers the whole body. See its description before. And as faith is the grace by which all others are preserved and rendered active, so it is properly represented here under the notion of a shield, by which the whole body is covered and protected. Faith, in this place, must mean that evidence of things unseen which every genuine believer has, that God, for Christ's sake, has blotted out his sins, and by which he is enabled to call God his Father, and feel him to be his portion. It is such an appropriating faith as this which can quench any dart of the devil.
The fiery darts of the wicked.] belov, a dart, signifies any kind of missile weapon; every thing that is projected to a distance by the hand, as a javelin, or short spear; or by a bow, as an arrow; or a stone by a sling.
The fiery darts - ta belh ta pepurwmena. It is probable that the apostle alludes to the darts called falarica, which were headed with lead, in or about which some combustible stuff was placed that took fire in the passage of the arrow through the air, and often burnt up the enemy's engines, ships, &c.; they were calculated also to stick in the shields and set them on fire. Some think that poisoned arrows may be intended, which are called fiery from the burning heat produced in the bodies of those who were wounded by them. To quench or extinguish such fiery darts the shields were ordinarily covered with metal on the outside, and thus the fire was prevented from catching hold of the shield. When they stuck on a shield of another kind and set it on fire, the soldier was obliged to cast it away, and thus became defenceless.
The fiery darts of the wicked, tou ponhrou, or devil, are evil thoughts, and strong injections, as they are termed, which in the unregenerate inflame the passions, and excite the soul to acts of transgression. While the faith is strong in Christ it acts as a shield to quench these. He who walks so as to feel the witness of God's Spirit that he is his child, has all evil thoughts in abhorrence; and, though they pass through his mind, they never fix in his passions. They are caught on this shield, blunted, and extinguished.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 16. Above all, taking the shield of faith , &c.] Which may be understood either of the grace of faith, which is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial; and like a shield of mighty men, by which mighty things are done, and by which the believer not only repels, but conquers the enemy. The Jews say f84 , that repentance and good works are as a shield against divine vengeance: or rather of the object of faith, that which faith makes use of as a shield; so God himself is a shield, ( Genesis 15:1); his divine perfections, as his power, faithfulness, truth, and immutability, which encompass the saints as a shield, and are opposed by faith to the temptations of Satan; also the love and favour of God, ( Psalm 5:12); and particularly God in his word, ( Proverbs 30:5), which is a shield against false doctrines, and the wiles of Satan. Moreover, Christ is a shield, ( Psalm 84:11); and faith makes rise of him as a shield, his person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; which it holds up and opposes to all the charges and objections of Satan; and who is the saints' protection, and security from the wrath of God, divine justice, and eternal death. The disciples of the wise men are said to be wsyrt , shielded men, who, as the gloss says fight in the war of the law; but they are not like Christ's disciples, who have on the shield, and fight the fight of faith: and this is above all to be taken, as being the most useful part of the Christian armour; or with all, with the rest, this is to be taken, and by no means to be neglected; and it is to be used in all; in every temptation of Satan, in every conflict with that enemy, or any other. Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked ; of the wicked one, Satan; who was the first wicked one, and the tempter of others to wickedness; and is emphatically the wicked one, being wickedness itself; and his temptations are fiery darts: they may be compared to darts, because they sometimes come suddenly and swiftly and thick and fast, are very numerous, and where they stick are very troublesome and grieving; (see Genesis 49:23,24). And they may be said to be fiery, because they serve to inflame the mind, and excite to sin, as lust, anger, revenge, and the like; and were they not repelled, would be the occasion of bringing into everlasting burnings. The allusion is to belesi pepurwmenoiv , the fiery darts, cast by enemies into towns, and upon houses, in order to burn them f86 . Mention is also made of aad yryg , fiery darts, with the Jews f87 , and of Satan's casting a dart at David f88 : from these customs, and ways of speaking, the apostle borrows his phrases; and suggests, that the shield of faith is of use to quench the fiery darts of Satan's temptations; so that they may not have the malignant influence they are designed for; which is chiefly done by faith's dealing with the blood of Christ. And there were ways of quenching the fiery darts alluded to; which was done by skins and hides of beasts made wet, or anointed with alum f89 .
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 10-18 - Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare an suffering. Those who would prove themselves to have true grace, mus aim at all grace; and put on the whole armour of God, which he prepare and bestows. The Christian armour is made to be worn; and there is n putting off our armour till we have done our warfare, and finished ou course. The combat is not against human enemies, nor against our ow corrupt nature only; we have to do with an enemy who has a thousan ways of beguiling unstable souls. The devils assault us in the thing that belong to our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts. We must resolve by God's grace, not to yield to Satan Resist him, and he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our cause, or our Leader, or our armour, we give his advantage. The different parts of the armour of heavy-armed soldiers who had to sustain the fiercest assaults of the enemy, are her described. There is none for the back; nothing to defend those who tur back in the Christian warfare. Truth, or sincerity, is the girdle. Thi girds on all the other pieces of our armour, and is first mentioned There can be no religion without sincerity. The righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, is a breastplate against the arrows of Divin wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us, fortifies the hear against the attacks of Satan. Resolution must be as greaves, or armou to our legs; and to stand their ground or to march forward in rugge paths, the feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Motives to obedience, amidst trials, must be drawn from a clea knowledge of the gospel. Faith is all in all in an hour of temptation Faith, as relying on unseen objects, receiving Christ and the benefit of redemption, and so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, defence every way. The devil is the wicked one. Violent temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell, are darts Satan shoots at us Also, hard thoughts of God, and as to ourselves. Faith applying the word of God and the grace of Christ, quenches the darts of temptation Salvation must be our helmet. A good hope of salvation, a Scriptura expectation of victory, will purify the soul, and keep it from being defiled by Satan. To the Christian armed for defense in battle, the apostle recommends only one weapon of attack; but it is enough, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. It subdues and mortifie evil desires and blasphemous thoughts as they rise within; and answer unbelief and error as they assault from without. A single text, wel understood, and rightly applied, at once destroys a temptation or a objection, and subdues the most formidable adversary. Prayer mus fasten all the other parts of our Christian armour. There are othe duties of religion, and of our stations in the world, but we must kee up times of prayer. Though set and solemn prayer may not be seasonabl when other duties are to be done, yet short pious prayers darted out always are so. We must use holy thoughts in our ordinary course. A vai heart will be vain in prayer. We must pray with all kinds of prayer public, private, and secret; social and solitary; solemn and sudden with all the parts of prayer; confession of sin, petition for mercy and thanksgiving for favours received. And we must do it by the grac of God the Holy Spirit, in dependence on, and according to, his teaching. We must preserve in particular requests, notwithstandin discouragements. We must pray, not for ourselves only, but for all saints. Our enemies are mighty, and we are without strength, but ou Redeemer is almighty, and in the power of his mighty we may overcome Wherefore we must stir up ourselves. Have not we, when God has called often neglected to answer? Let us think upon these things, and continu our prayers with patience. (Eph 6:19-24)
Greek Textus Receptus
επι 1909 πασιν 3956 αναλαβοντες 353 5631 τον 3588 θυρεον 2375 της 3588 πιστεως 4102 εν 1722 ω 3739 δυνησεσθε 1410 5695 παντα 3956 τα 3588 βελη 956 του 3588 πονηρου 4190 τα 3588 πεπυρωμενα 4448 5772 σβεσαι 4570 5658
Vincent's NT Word Studies
16. Above all (ejpi pasin). Ambiguous. It may mean over all, or in addition to all. The latter is correct. Rev., withal.
The shield of faith (ton qureon thv pistewv). Qureon shield, is from qura door, because shaped like a door. Homer uses the word for that which is placed in front of the doorway. Thus of the stone placed by Polyphemus in front of his cave ("Odyssey," ix., 240). The shield here described is that of the heavy infantry; a large, oblong shield, four by two and a half feet, and sometimes curved on the inner side. Sculptured representations may be seen on Trajan's column. Compare "Compass him as with a shield," Psalm v. 12. It was made of wood or of wicker-work, and held on the left arm by means of a handle. Xenophon describes troops, supposed to be Egyptians, with wooden shields reaching to their feet ("Anabasis," i., 8, 9). Saving faith is meant.
Fiery darts (ta belh ta pepurwmena). Lit., the darts, those which have been set on fire. Herodotas says that the Persians attacked the citadel of Athens "with arrows whereto pieces of lighted tow were attached, which they shot at the barricade" (viii., 52). Thucydides: "the Plataeans constructed a wooden frame, which they set up on the top of their own wall opposite the mound.... They also hung curtains of skills and hides in front: these were designed to protect the woodwork and the workers, and shield them against blazing arrows" (ii. 75). Livy tells of a huge dart used at the siege of Saguntum, which was impelled by twisted ropes. "There was used by the Saguntines a missile weapon called falarica, with the shaft of fir, and round in other parts, except toward the point, whence the iron projected. This part, which was square, they bound around with tow and besmeared with pitch. It had an iron head three feet in length, so that it could pierce through the body with the armor. But what caused the greatest fear was that this weapon, even though it stuck in the shield and did not penetrate into the body, when it was discharged with the middle part on fire, and bore along a much greater flame produced by the mere motion, obliged the armor to be thrown down, and exposed the soldier to succeeding blows" (xxi. 8). Again, of the siege of Ambracia by the Romans: "Some advanced with burning torches, others carrying tow and pitch and fire-darts, their entire line being illuminated by the blaze" (xxxviii. 6). Compare Psalm vii. 13, where the correct rendering is, "His arrows He maketh fiery arrows." Temptation is thus represented as impelled from a distance. Satan attacks by indirection - through good things from which no evil is suspected. There is a hint of its propagating power: one sin draws another in its track: the flame of the fire-tipped dart spreads. Temptation acts on susceptible material. Self-confidence is combustible. Faith, in doing away with dependence on self, takes away fuel for the dart. It creates sensitiveness to holy influences by which the power of temptation is neutralized. It enlists the direct aid of God. See 1. Corinthians x. 13; Luke xxii. 32; Jas. i. 2; 1 Pet. iv. 12; 2 Pet. ii. 9.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
6:16 {Taking up} (analabontes). See verse #13. {The shield of faith} (ton qureon tes pistews). Late word in this sense a large stone against the door in Homer, from qura, door, large and oblong (Latin _scutum_), aspis being smaller and circular, only here in N.T. {To quench} (sbesai). First aorist active infinitive of sbennumi, old word, to extinguish (#Mt 12:20). {All the fiery darts} (panta ta bele ta pepurwmena). belos is an old word for missile, dart (from ballw, to throw), only here in N.T. pepurwmena is perfect passive participle of purow, old verb, to set on fire, from pur (fire). These darts were sometimes ablaze in order to set fire to the enemies' clothing or camp or homes just as the American Indians used to shoot poisoned arrows.
