Psalms 105:33

105:33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,

and broke the trees throughout their territory.

Psalms 121:6

121:6 The sun will not harm you by day,

or the moon by night. ¹ 

Psalms 135:8

135:8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

including both men and animals.

Psalms 135:10

135:10 He defeated many nations,

and killed mighty kings –

Psalms 136:10

136:10 to the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 136:17

136:17 to the one who struck down great kings,

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 78:51

78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power ²  in the tents of Ham.

Psalms 78:66

78:66 He drove his enemies back;

he made them a permanent target for insults. ³ 

Psalms 105:36

105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power. ⁴ 

Psalms 69:26

69:26 For they harass ⁵  the one whom you discipline; ⁶ 

they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish. ⁷ 

Psalms 102:4

102:4 My heart is parched ⁸  and withered like grass,

for I am unable ⁹  to eat food. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 3:7

3:7 Rise up, ¹¹  Lord!

Deliver me, my God!

Yes, ¹²  you will strike ¹³  all my enemies on the jaw;

you will break the teeth ¹⁴  of the wicked. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 78:20

78:20 Yes, ¹⁶  he struck a rock and water flowed out,

streams gushed forth.

But can he also give us food?

Will he provide meat for his people?”

Psalms 60:1

Psalm 60 ¹⁷ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ¹⁸  a prayer ¹⁹  of David written to instruct others. ²⁰  It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down ²¹  12,000 Edomites ²²  in the Valley of Salt. ²³ 

60:1 O God, you have rejected us. ²⁴ 

You suddenly turned on us in your anger. ²⁵ 

Please restore us! ²⁶ 

[121:6]  ¹ sn One hardly thinks of the moon’s rays as being physically harmful, like those of the sun. The reference to the moon may simply lend poetic balance to the verse, but it is likely that the verse reflects an ancient, primitive belief that the moon could have an adverse effect on the mind (note the English expression “moonstruck,” which reflects such a belief). Another possibility is that the sun and moon stand by metonymy for harmful forces characteristic of the day and night, respectively.

[78:51]  ¹ tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).

[78:66]  ¹ tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”

[105:36]  ¹ tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).

[69:26]  ¹ tn Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”

[69:26]  ² tn Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”

[69:26]  ³ tn Heb “they announce the pain of your wounded ones” (i.e., “the ones whom you wounded,” as the parallel line makes clear).

[102:4]  ¹ tn Heb “struck, attacked.”

[102:4]  ² tn Heb “I forget.”

[102:4]  ³ sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.

[3:7]  ¹ tn In v. 2 the psalmist describes his enemies as those who “confront” him (קָמִים [qamim], literally, “rise up against him”). Now, using the same verbal root (קוּם, qum) he asks the Lord to rise up (קוּמָה, qumah) in his defense.

[3:7]  ² tn Elsewhere in the psalms the particle כִּי (ki), when collocated with a perfect verbal form and subordinated to a preceding imperative directed to God, almost always has an explanatory or causal force (“for, because”) and introduces a motivating argument for why God should respond positively to the request (see Pss 5:10; 6:2; 12:1; 16:1; 41:4; 55:9; 56:1; 57:1; 60:2; 69:1; 74:20; 119:94; 123:3; 142:6; 143:8). (On three occasions the כִּי is recitative after a verb of perception [“see/know that,” see Pss 4:3; 25:19; 119:159]). If כִּי is taken as explanatory here, then the psalmist is arguing that God should deliver him now because that is what God characteristically does. However, such a motivating argument is not used in the passages cited above. The motivating argument usually focuses on the nature of the psalmist’s dilemma or the fact that he trusts in the Lord. For this reason it is unlikely that כִּי has its normal force here. Most scholars understand the particle כִּי as having an asseverative (emphasizing) function here (“indeed, yes”; NEB leaves the particle untranslated).

[3:7]  ³ tn If the particle כִּי (ki) is taken as explanatory, then the perfect verbal forms in v. 7b would describe God’s characteristic behavior. However, as pointed out in the preceding note on the word “yes,” the particle probably has an asseverative force here. If so, the perfects may be taken as indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s assault on his enemies as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm, as expressed before (vv. 3-6) and after this (v. 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“Strike all my enemies on the jaw, break the teeth of the wicked”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[3:7]  ⁴ sn The expression break the teeth may envision violent hand-to hand combat, though it is possible that the enemies are pictured here as a dangerous animal (see Job 29:17).

[3:7]  ⁵ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.

[78:20]  ¹ tn Heb “look.”

[60:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.

[60:1]  ² tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.

[60:1]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[60:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to teach.”

[60:1]  ⁵ tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.

[60:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).

[60:1]  ⁷ sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.

[60:1]  ⁸ sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.

[60:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”

[60:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.