Psalms 107:16

107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,

and hacked through the iron bars. ¹ 

Psalms 136:13

136:13 to the one who divided ²  the Red Sea ³  in two, ⁴ 

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 149:6

149:6 May they praise God

while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand, ⁵ 

Psalms 46:9

46:9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ⁶ 

he shatters ⁷  the bow and breaks ⁸  the spear;

he burns ⁹  the shields with fire. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 129:4

129:4 The Lord is just;

he cut the ropes of the wicked.” ¹¹ 

Psalms 62:11

62:11 God has declared one principle;

two principles I have heard: ¹² 

God is strong, ¹³ 

Psalms 74:13

74:13 You destroyed ¹⁴  the sea by your strength;

you shattered the heads of the sea monster ¹⁵  in the water.

Psalms 78:13

78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;

he made the water stand in a heap.

Psalms 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. ¹⁶ 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 105:28

105:28 He made it dark; ¹⁸ 

they did not disobey his orders. ¹⁹ 

[107:16]  ¹ sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.

[136:13]  ² tn Or “cut.”

[136:13]  ³ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in v. 15). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[136:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “into pieces.”

[149:6]  ³ tn Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

[46:9]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries along the generalizing emphasis of the preceding imperfect.

[46:9]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ⁸ 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.

[129:4]  ⁵ tn The background of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Perhaps the “ropes” are those used to harness the ox for plowing (see Job 39:10). Verse 3 pictures the wicked plowing God’s people as if they were a field. But when God “cut the ropes” of their ox, as it were, they could no longer plow. The point of the metaphor seems to be that God took away the enemies’ ability to oppress his people. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 187.

[62:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “one God spoke, two which I heard.” This is a numerical saying utilizing the “x” followed by “x + 1” pattern to facilitate poetic parallelism. (See W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament [VTSup], 55-56.) As is typical in such sayings, a list corresponding to the second number (in this case “two”) follows. Another option is to translate, “God has spoken once, twice [he has spoken] that which I have heard.” The terms אַחַת (’akhat, “one; once”) and שְׁתַּיִם (shÿtayim, “two; twice”) are also juxtaposed in 2 Kgs 6:10 (where they refer to an action that was done more than “once or twice”) and in Job 33:14 (where they refer to God speaking “one way” and then in “another manner”).

[62:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “that strength [belongs] to God.”

[74:13]  ⁷ tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”

[74:13]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.

[89:14]  ⁸ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[89:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

[105:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”

[105:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.