Psalms 149:6

149:6 May they praise God

while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand, ¹ 

Psalms 89:43

89:43 You turn back ²  his sword from the adversary, ³ 

and have not sustained him in battle. ⁴ 

Psalms 133:2

133:2 It is like fine oil poured on the head

which flows down the beard ⁵  –

Aaron’s beard,

and then flows down his garments. ⁶ 

Psalms 73:2

73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me. ⁷ 

[149:6]  ¹ tn Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

[89:43]  ² tn The perfect verbal form predominates in vv. 38-45. The use of the imperfect in this one instance may be for rhetorical effect. The psalmist briefly lapses into dramatic mode, describing the king’s military defeat as if it were happening before his very eyes.

[89:43]  ³ tc Heb “you turn back, rocky summit, his sword.” The Hebrew term צוּר (tsur, “rocky summit”) makes no sense here, unless it is a divine title understood as vocative, “you turn back, O Rocky Summit, his sword.” Some emend the form to צֹר (tsor, “flint”) on the basis of Josh 5:2, which uses the phrase חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים (kharvot tsurim, “flint knives”). The noun צֹר (tsor, “flint”) can then be taken as “flint-like edge,” indicating the sharpness of the sword. Others emend the form to אָחוֹר (’akhor, “backward”) or to מִצַּר (mitsar, “from the adversary”). The present translation reflects the latter, assuming an original reading תָּשִׁיב מִצָּר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv mitsar kharbo), which was corrupted to תָּשִׁיב צָר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv tsar kharbo) by virtual haplography (confusion of bet/mem is well-attested) with צָר (tsar, “adversary”) then being misinterpreted as צוּר in the later tradition.

[89:43]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”

[133:2]  ³ tn Heb “[it is] like the good oil on the head, going down on the beard.”

[133:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “which goes down in accordance with his measured things.” The Hebrew phrase מִדּוֹתָיו (middotayv, “his measured things”) refers here to the robes worn by Aaron. HALOT 546 s.v. *מַד derives the form from מַד (midah, “robe”) rather than מִדָּה (middah, “measured thing”). Ugaritic md means “robe” and is pluralized mdt.

[73:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”