Mazmur 21:11-13

21:11 Yes, ¹  they intend to do you harm; ² 

they dream up a scheme, ³  but they do not succeed. ⁴ 

21:12 For you make them retreat ⁵ 

when you shoot your arrows at them. ⁶ 

21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength! ⁷ 

We will sing and praise ⁸  your power!

[21:11]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[21:11]  ² tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).

[21:11]  ³ sn See Ps 10:2.

[21:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “they lack ability.”

[21:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”

[21:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”

[21:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.

[21:13]  sn The psalm concludes with a petition to the Lord, asking him to continue to intervene in strength for the king and nation.

[21:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “sing praise.”