11:1 When King Jabin of Hazor 12 heard the news, he organized a coalition, including 13 King Jobab of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Acshaph, 11:2 and the northern kings who ruled in 14 the hill country, the Arabah south of Kinnereth, 15 the lowlands, and the heights of Dor to the west. 11:3 Canaanites came 16 from the east and west; Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites from the hill country; and Hivites from below Hermon in the area 17 of Mizpah. 11:4 These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots. 18 11:5 All these kings gathered and joined forces 19 at the Waters of Merom to fight Israel.
11:6 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn 20 their chariots.” 11:7 Joshua and his whole army caught them by surprise at the Waters of Merom and attacked them. 21 11:8 The Lord handed them over to Israel and they struck them down and chased them all the way to Greater Sidon, 22 Misrephoth Maim, 23 and the Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained. 11:9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned 24 their chariots.
11:10 At that time Joshua turned, captured Hazor, 25 and struck down its king with the sword, for Hazor was at that time 26 the leader of all these kingdoms. 11:11 They annihilated everyone who lived there with the sword 27 – no one who breathed remained – and burned 28 Hazor.
11:12 Joshua captured all these royal cities and all their kings and annihilated them with the sword, 29 as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded. 11:13 But Israel did not burn any of the cities located on mounds, 30 except for Hazor; 31 it was the only one Joshua burned. 11:14 The Israelites plundered all the goods of these cities and the cattle, but they totally destroyed all the people 32 and allowed no one who breathed to live. 11:15 Moses the Lord’s servant passed on the Lord’s commands to Joshua, and Joshua did as he was told. He did not ignore any of the commands the Lord had given Moses. 33
48:4 For 34 look, the kings assemble; 35
they advance together.
48:5 As soon as they see, 36 they are shocked; 37
they are terrified, they quickly retreat. 38
48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, 39
like a woman writhing in childbirth. 40
68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! 41
The lovely lady 42 of the house divides up the loot.
68:13 When 43 you lie down among the sheepfolds, 44
the wings of the dove are covered with silver
and with glittering gold. 45
68:14 When the sovereign judge 46 scatters kings, 47
let it snow 48 on Zalmon!
118:8 It is better to take shelter 49 in the Lord
than to trust in people.
118:9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
118:10 All the nations surrounded me. 50
Indeed, in the name of the Lord 51 I pushed them away. 52
118:11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
118:12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly 53 as a fire among thorns. 54
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
19:19 Then 59 I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army.
1 tn Heb “these five kings.”
2 tn Heb “they did so.”
3 tn Heb “these five kings.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.
6 tn Or “Draw near.”
7 tn Or “drew near.”
8 tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
9 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
10 sn For the legal background of the removal of the corpses before sundown, see Deut 21:22-23.
11 tn Heb “to this very day.” The words “They remain” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
12 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
13 tn Heb “he sent to.”
14 tn Heb “and to the kings who [are] from the north in.”
15 tn Heb “Chinneroth,” a city and plain located in the territory of Naphtali in Galilee (BDB 490 s.v. כִּנֶּרֶת, כִּנֲרוֹת).
16 tn The verb “came” is supplied in the translation (see v. 4).
17 tn Or “land.”
18 tn Heb “They and all their camps with them came out, a people as numerous as the sand which is on the edge of the sea in multitude, and [with] horses and chariots very numerous.”
19 tn Heb “and came and camped together.”
20 tn Heb “burn with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
21 tn Heb “Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them at the Waters of Merom suddenly and fell upon them.”
22 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
23 tn The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see HALOT 2:641).
24 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
25 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
26 tn Or “formerly.”
27 tn Heb “and they struck down all life which was in it with the edge of the sword, annihilating.”
28 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
29 tn Heb “and he struck them down with the edge of the sword, he annihilated them.”
30 tn Heb “standing on their mounds.”
31 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
32 tn Heb “but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword until they destroyed them.”
33 tn Heb “As the
34 tn The logical connection between vv. 3-4 seems to be this: God is the protector of Zion and reveals himself as the city’s defender – this is necessary because hostile armies threaten the city.
35 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 4-6 are understood as descriptive. In dramatic style (note הִנֵּה, hinneh, “look”) the psalm describes an enemy attack against the city as if it were occurring at this very moment. Another option is to take the perfects as narrational (“the kings assembled, they advanced”), referring to a particular historical event, such as Sennacherib’s siege of the city in 701
36 tn The object of “see” is omitted, but v. 3b suggests that the
37 tn Heb “they look, so they are shocked.” Here כֵּן (ken, “so”) has the force of “in the same measure.”
38 tn The translation attempts to reflect the staccato style of the Hebrew text, where the main clauses of vv. 4-6 are simply juxtaposed without connectives.
39 tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
40 tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”
41 tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.
42 tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.
43 tn Or “if.”
44 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “sheepfolds” is uncertain. There may be an echo of Judg 5:16 here.
45 tn Heb “and her pinions with the yellow of gold.”
46 tn The divine name used here is שַׁדַּי (“Shaddai”). Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life, blesses and kills, and judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses (protects) and takes away life and/or happiness.
47 tn The Hebrew text adds “in it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix may refer back to God’s community/dwelling place (v. 10).
48 tn The verb form appears to be a Hiphil jussive from שָׁלַג (shalag), which is usually understood as a denominative verb from שֶׁלֶג (sheleg, “snow”) with an indefinite subject. The form could be taken as a preterite, in which case one might translate, “when the sovereign judge scattered kings, it snowed on Zalmon” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The point of the image is unclear. Perhaps “snow” suggests fertility and blessing (see v. 9 and Isa 55:10), or the image of a snow-capped mountain suggests grandeur.
49 tn “Taking shelter” in the
50 sn The reference to an attack by the nations suggests the psalmist may have been a military leader.
51 tn In this context the phrase “in the name of the
52 tn Traditionally the verb has been derived from מוּל (mul, “to circumcise”) and translated “[I] cut [them] off” (see BDB 557-58 s.v. II מוּל). However, it is likely that this is a homonym meaning “to fend off” (see HALOT 556 s.v. II מול) or “to push away.” In this context, where the psalmist is reporting his past experience, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite. The phrase also occurs in vv. 11, 12.
53 tn Heb “were extinguished.”
54 tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.
55 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
56 tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.
57 tn The word “kings” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the referent.
58 tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.
59 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.