Psalms 46:9

46:9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ¹ 

he shatters ²  the bow and breaks ³  the spear;

he burns ⁴  the shields with fire. ⁵ 

Ezekiel 39:3

39:3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand.

Ezekiel 39:9-10

39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling ⁶  – the shields, ⁷  bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take ⁸  wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, ⁹  declares the sovereign Lord.

[46:9]  ¹ tn Heb “[the] one who causes wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” The participle continues the description begun in v. 8b and indicates that this is the Lord’s characteristic activity. Ironically, he brings peace to the earth by devastating the warlike, hostile nations (vv. 8, 9b).

[46:9]  ² tn The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Ps 29:5). In the OT it occurs 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). The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries along the generalizing emphasis of the preceding imperfect.

[46:9]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “wagons he burns with fire.” Some read “chariots” here (cf. NASB), but the Hebrew word refers to wagons or carts, not chariots, elsewhere in the OT. In this context, where military weapons are mentioned, it is better to revocalize the form as עֲגִלוֹת (’agilot, “round shields”), a word which occurs only here in the OT, but is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic.

[39:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”

[39:9]  ⁷ tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.

[39:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “they will not carry.”

[39:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”