16:14 He breaks through against me, time and time again; 1
he rushes 2 against me like a warrior.
29:5 The Lord’s shout breaks 3 the cedars,
the Lord shatters 4 the cedars of Lebanon. 5
42:7 One deep stream calls out to another 6 at the sound of your waterfalls; 7
all your billows and waves overwhelm me. 8
83:15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify 9 them with your windstorm.
28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, 10
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
23:19 But just watch! 11 The wrath of the Lord
will come like a storm! 12
Like a raging storm it will rage down 13
on the heads of those who are wicked.
13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury.
12:20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,
until he brings justice to victory.
1 tn The word פָּרַץ (parats) means “to make a breach” in a wall (Isa 5:5; Ps 80:13). It is used figuratively in the birth and naming of Peres in Gen 38:29. Here the image is now of a military attack that breaks through a wall. The text uses the cognate accusative, and then with the addition of עַל־פְּנֵי (’al-pÿne, “in addition”) it repeats the cognate noun. A smooth translation that reflects the three words is difficult. E. Dhorme (Job, 237) has “he batters me down, breach upon breach.”
2 tn Heb “runs.”
3 tn The Hebrew participial form draws attention to the durative nature of the action being described.
4 tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive here and in v. 6a carry on the descriptive function of the preceding participle (see GKC 329 §111.u). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar) appears in the Qal in the first line of the verse, and in the Piel in the second line. The verb, which means “break” in the Qal, appears thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).
5 sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size. Here they may symbolize the arrogant enemies of God (see Isa 2:12-13).
6 tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).
7 tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.
8 tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.
9 tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 15 express the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
10 tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.
11 tn Heb “Behold!”
12 tn The syntax of this line has generally been misunderstood, sometimes to the point that some want to delete the word wrath. Both here and in 30:23 where these same words occur the word “anger” stands not as an accusative of attendant circumstance but an apposition, giving the intended referent to the figure. Comparison should be made with Jer 25:15 where “this wrath” is appositional to “the cup of wine” (cf. GKC 425 §131.k).
13 tn The translation is deliberate, intending to reflect the repetition of the Hebrew root which is “swirl/swirling.”
14 tn Grk “and great was its fall.”