Psalms 10:15

10:15 Break the arm ¹  of the wicked and evil man!

Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds, ² 

which he thought you would not discover. ³ 

Psalms 18:34

18:34 He trains my hands for battle; ⁴ 

my arms can bend even the strongest bow. ⁵ 

Psalms 37:17

37:17 for evil men will lose their power, ⁶ 

but the Lord sustains ⁷  the godly.

Psalms 77:15

77:15 You delivered ⁸  your people by your strength ⁹  –

the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)

Psalms 89:21

89:21 My hand will support him, ¹⁰ 

and my arm will strengthen him.

Psalms 136:12

136:12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his loyal love endures,

[10:15]  ¹ sn The arm symbolizes the strength of the wicked, which they use to oppress and exploit the weak.

[10:15]  ² tn Heb “you seek his wickedness.” As in v. 13, the verb דָרַשׁ (darash, “seek”) is used here in the sense of “seek an accounting.” One could understand the imperfect as describing a fact, “you hold him accountable,” or as anticipating divine judgment, “you will hold him accountable.” However, since the verb is in apparent parallelism with the preceding imperative (“break”), it is better to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s desire or request.

[10:15]  ³ tn Heb “you will not find.” It is uncertain how this statement relates to what precedes. Some take בַל (bal), which is used as a negative particle in vv. 4, 6, 11, 18, as asseverative here, “Indeed find (i.e., judge his wickedness).” The translation assumes that the final words are an asyndetic relative clause which refers back to what the wicked man boasted in God’s face (“you will not find [i.e., my wickedness]”). See v. 13.

[18:34]  ⁴ sn He trains my hands. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[18:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms”; or “my arms bend a bow of bronze.” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) apparently means “pull back, bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The third feminine singular verbal form appears to agree with the feminine singular noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”). In this case the verb must be taken as Niphal (passive). However, it is possible that “my arms” is the subject of the verb and “bow” the object. In this case the verb is Piel (active). For other examples of a feminine singular verb being construed with a plural noun, see GKC 464 §145.k.

[37:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”

[37:17]  ⁸ tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.

[77:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “redeemed.”

[77:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with [your] arm.”

[89:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “with whom my hand will be firm.”