Ulangan 32:42

32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh –

the blood of the slaughtered and captured,

the chief ¹  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

Ulangan 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ² 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

1 Samuel 22:15

22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse ³  his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” ⁴ 

Ayub 6:4

6:4 For the arrows ⁵  of the Almighty ⁶  are within me;

my spirit ⁷  drinks their poison; ⁸ 

God’s sudden terrors ⁹  are arrayed ¹⁰  against me.

Mazmur 7:14

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ¹¹ 

Mazmur 18:15

18:15 The depths ¹²  of the sea ¹³  were exposed;

the inner regions ¹⁴  of the world were uncovered

by ¹⁵  your battle cry, ¹⁶  Lord,

by the powerful breath from your nose. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 45:6

45:6 Your throne, ¹⁸  O God, is permanent. ¹⁹ 

The scepter ²⁰  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

Mazmur 77:18

77:18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;

the lightning bolts lit up the world;

the earth trembled and shook. ²¹ 

Mazmur 120:4

120:4 Here’s how! ²²  With the sharp arrows of warriors,

with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. ²³ 

Yesaya 5:28

5:28 Their arrows are sharpened,

and all their bows are prepared. ²⁴ 

The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, ²⁵ 

and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 49:2

49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

he hid me in the hollow of his hand;

he made me like a sharpened ²⁷  arrow,

he hid me in his quiver. ²⁸ 

Yehezkiel 5:16

5:16 I will shoot against them deadly, ²⁹  destructive ³⁰  arrows of famine, ³¹  which I will shoot to destroy you. ³²  I will prolong a famine on you and will remove the bread supply. ³³ 

Habakuk 3:9

3:9 Your bow is ready for action; ³⁴ 

you commission your arrows. ³⁵  Selah.

You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. ³⁶ 

Habakuk 3:11

3:11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; ³⁷ 

the flash of your arrows drives them away, ³⁸ 

the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. ³⁹ 

[32:42]  ¹ tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).

[32:2]  ² tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[22:15]  ³ tn Heb “set a matter against.”

[22:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “small or great.”

[6:4]  ⁵ sn Job uses an implied comparison here to describe his misfortune – it is as if God had shot poisoned arrows into him (see E. Dhorme, Job, 76-77 for a treatment of poisoned arrows in the ancient world).

[6:4]  ⁶ sn Job here clearly states that his problems have come from the Almighty, which is what Eliphaz said. But whereas Eliphaz said Job provoked the trouble by his sin, Job is perplexed because he does not think he did.

[6:4]  ⁷ tn Most commentators take “my spirit” as the subject of the participle “drinks” (except the NEB, which follows the older versions to say that the poison “drinks up [or “soaks in”] the spirit.”) The image of the poisoned arrow represents the calamity or misfortune from God, which is taken in by Job’s spirit and enervates him.

[6:4]  ⁸ tn The LXX translators knew that a liquid should be used with the verb “drink”; but they took the line to be “whose violence drinks up my blood.” For the rest of the verse they came up with, “whenever I am going to speak they pierce me.”

[6:4]  ⁹ tn The word translated “sudden terrors” is found only here and in Ps 88:16 [17]. G. R. Driver notes that the idea of suddenness is present in the root, and so renders this word as “sudden assaults” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 73).

[6:4]  ¹⁰ tn The verb עָרַךְ (’arakh) means “to set in battle array.” The suffix on the verb is dative (see GKC 369 §117.x). Many suggestions have been made for changing this word. These seem unnecessary since the MT pointing yields a good meaning: but for the references to these suggestions, see D. J. A. Clines, Job (WBC), 158. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 59), nonetheless, follows the suggestion of Driver that connects it to a root meaning “wear me down.” This change of meaning requires no change in the Hebrew text. The image is of a beleaguering army; the host is made up of all the terrors from God. The reference is to the terrifying and perplexing thoughts that assail Job (A. B. Davidson, Job, 44).

[7:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[7:14]  sn Pregnant with wickedness…gives birth to harmful lies. The psalmist metaphorically pictures the typical sinner as a pregnant woman, who is ready to give birth to wicked, destructive schemes and actions.

[18:15]  ¹² tn Or “channels.”

[18:15]  ¹³ tc Ps 18:15 reads “water” (cf. Ps 42:1); “sea” is the reading of 2 Sam 22:16.

[18:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “foundations.”

[18:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from.” The preposition has a causal sense here.

[18:15]  ¹⁶ tn The noun is derived from the verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[18:15]  ¹⁷ tn 2 Sam 22:16 reads “by the battle cry of the Lord, by the blast of the breath of his nose.” The phrase “blast of the breath” (Heb “breath of breath”) employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[45:6]  ¹⁸ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ¹⁹ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  sn O God. The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. Rather than taking the statement at face value, many prefer to emend the text because the concept of deifying the earthly king is foreign to ancient Israelite thinking (cf. NEB “your throne is like God’s throne, eternal”). However, it is preferable to retain the text and take this statement as another instance of the royal hyperbole that permeates the royal psalms. Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (see Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). Ps 45:6 and Isa 9:6 probably envision a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.

[45:6]  ²⁰ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[77:18]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

[77:18]  sn Verses 16-18 depict the Lord coming in the storm to battle his enemies and subdue the sea. There is no record of such a storm in the historical account of the Red Sea crossing. The language the psalmist uses here is stereotypical and originates in Canaanite myth, where the storm god Baal subdues the sea in his quest for kingship. The psalmist has employed the stereotypical imagery to portray the exodus vividly and at the same time affirm that it is not Baal who subdues the sea, but Yahweh.

[120:4]  ²² tn The words “here’s how” are supplied in the translation as a clarification. In v. 4 the psalmist answers the question he raises in v. 3.

[120:4]  ²³ tn Heb “with coals of the wood of the broom plant.” The wood of the broom plant was used to make charcoal, which in turn was used to fuel the fire used to forge the arrowheads.

[5:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”

[5:28]  ²⁵ tn Heb “regarded like flint.”

[5:28]  ²⁶ sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.

[49:2]  ²⁷ tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”

[49:2]  ²⁸ sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.

[5:16]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew word carries the basic idea of “bad, displeasing, injurious,” but when used of weapons has the nuance “deadly” (see Ps 144:10).

[5:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “which are/were to destroy.”

[5:16]  ³¹ tn The language of this verse may have been influenced by Deut 32:23.

[5:16]  ³² tn Or “which were to destroy those whom I will send to destroy you” (cf. NASB).

[5:16]  ³³ tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support. See 4:16, as well as the covenant curse in Lev 26:26.

[3:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “[into] nakedness your bow is laid bare.”

[3:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “sworn in are the arrow-shafts with a word.” The passive participle of שָׁבַע (shava’), “swear an oath,” also occurs in Ezek 21:23 ET (21:28 HT) referencing those who have sworn allegiance. Here the Lord’s arrows are personified and viewed as having received a commission which they have vowed to uphold. In Jer 47:6-7 the Lord’s sword is given such a charge. In the Ugaritic myths Baal’s weapons are formally assigned the task of killing the sea god Yam.

[3:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “[with] rivers you split open the earth.” A literal rendering like “You split the earth with rivers” (so NIV, NRSV) suggests geological activity to the modern reader, but in the present context of a violent thunderstorm, the idea of streams swollen to torrents by downpours better fits the imagery.

[3:9]  sn As the Lord comes in a thunderstorm the downpour causes streams to swell to river-like proportions and spread over the surface of the ground, causing flash floods.

[3:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in their lofty dwelling places.”

[3:11]  ³⁸ tn Or “at the light of your arrows they vanish.”

[3:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “at the brightness of the lightning of your spear.”