Psalms 18:14

18:14 He shot his ¹  arrows and scattered them, ² 

many lightning bolts ³  and routed them. ⁴ 

Psalms 18:16

18:16 He reached down ⁵  from above and took hold of me;

he pulled me from the surging water. ⁶ 

Psalms 74:7

74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire;

they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground. ⁷ 

Psalms 78:25

78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. ⁸ 

He sent them more than enough to eat. ⁹ 

Psalms 80:11

80:11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, ¹⁰ 

and its shoots the Euphrates River. ¹¹ 

Psalms 105:26

105:26 He sent his servant Moses,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

Psalms 105:28

105:28 He made it dark; ¹² 

they did not disobey his orders. ¹³ 

Psalms 110:2

110:2 The Lord ¹⁴  extends ¹⁵  your dominion ¹⁶  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Psalms 135:9

135:9 He performed awesome deeds ¹⁷  and acts of judgment ¹⁸ 

in your midst, O Egypt,

against Pharaoh and all his servants.

Psalms 147:15

147:15 He ¹⁹  sends his command through the earth; ²⁰ 

swiftly his order reaches its destination. ²¹ 

Psalms 147:18

147:18 He then orders it all to melt; ²² 

he breathes on it, ²³  and the water flows.

[18:14]  ¹ tn 2 Sam 22:15 omits the pronominal suffix (“his”).

[18:14]  ² tn The pronominal suffixes on the verbs “scattered” and “routed” (see the next line) refer to the psalmist’s enemies. Some argue that the suffixes refer to the arrows, in which case one might translate “shot them far and wide” and “made them move noisily,” respectively. They argue that the enemies have not been mentioned since v. 4 and are not again mentioned until v. 17. However, usage of the verbs פוּץ (puts, “scatter”) and הָמַם (hamam, “rout”) elsewhere in Holy War accounts suggests the suffixes refer to enemies. Enemies are frequently pictured in such texts as scattered and/or routed (see Exod 14:24; 23:27; Num 10:35; Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15; 1 Sam 7:10; 11:11; Ps 68:1).

[18:14]  ³ sn Lightning is a common motif in in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 190-92.

[18:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “lightning bolts, many.” 2 Sam 22:15 has simply “lightning” (בָּרָק, baraq). The identity of the word רָב (rav) in Ps 18:14 is problematic. (1) It may be a form of a rare verb רָבַב (ravav, “to shoot”), perhaps attested in Gen 49:23 as well. In this case one might translate, “he shot lightning bolts and routed them.” Other options include (2) understanding רָב (rav) as an adverbial use of the adjective, “lightning bolts in abundance,” or (3) emending the form to רַבּוּ (rabbu), from רָבַב (ravav, “be many”) or to רָבוּ (ravu), from רָבָה (ravah, “be many”) – both a haplography of the vav (ו); note the initial vav on the immediately following form – and translating “lightning bolts were in abundance.”

[18:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[18:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).

[74:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”

[78:25]  ¹³ sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[78:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”

[80:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.

[80:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to [the] river.” The “river” is the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Israel expanded both to the west and to the east.

[105:28]  ²¹ tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”

[105:28]  ²² tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.

[110:2]  ²⁵ tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

[110:2]  ²⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

[110:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

[135:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).

[135:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “portents”; “omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are alluded to here.

[147:15]  ³³ tn Heb “the one who.”

[147:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the one who sends his word, the earth.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) is an adverbial accusative; one must supply a preposition before it (such as “through” or “to”) in the English translation.

[147:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.”

[147:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.”

[147:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he blows his breath.”