Psalms 76:5-6

Context

76:5 The bravehearted¹ were plundered;²

they “fell asleep.”³

All the warriors were helpless.⁴

76:6 At the sound of your battle cry,⁵ O God of Jacob,

both rider⁶ and horse “fell asleep.”⁷

Isaiah 37:36

Context

37:36 The Lord’s messenger⁸ went out and killed 185,000 troops⁹ in the Assyrian camp. When they¹⁰ got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!¹¹

[76:5] ¹tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).

[76:5] ²tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).

[76:5] ³tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”

[76:5] ⁴tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”

[76:6] ⁵tn Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew 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; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[76:6] ⁶tn Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.

[76:6] ⁷tn Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.

[37:36] ⁸tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[37:36] ⁹tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[37:36] ¹⁰tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.

[37:36] ¹¹tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”