59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson. 1
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us! 2
68:30 Sound your battle cry 3 against the wild beast of the reeds, 4
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! 5
They humble themselves 6 and offer gold and silver as tribute. 7
God 8 scatters 9 the nations that like to do battle.
144:6 Hurl lightning bolts and scatter them!
Shoot your arrows and rout them! 10
24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
1 tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”
2 tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”
3 tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) 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 such as Ps 68 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 Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
4 sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.
5 tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”
6 tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.
7 tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).
10 sn Arrows and lightning bolts are associated in other texts (see Pss 18:14; 77:17-18; Zech 9:14), as well as in ancient Near Eastern art (see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” [Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983], 187).