Psalms 58:6

58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!

Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!

Job 16:10

16:10 People ¹  have opened their mouths against me,

they have struck my cheek in scorn; ² 

they unite ³  together against me.

Job 29:17

29:17 I broke the fangs ⁴  of the wicked,

and made him drop ⁵  his prey from his teeth.

Lamentations 3:30

3:30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him; ⁶ 

let him have his fill of insults.

[16:10]  ¹ tn “People” is supplied; the Hebrew verb is third plural. The colon reads, “they have opened against me with [the preposition is instrumental] their mouth.” The gestures here follow the animal imagery; they reflect destructive opposition and attack (see Ps 22:13 among others).

[16:10]  ² tn This is an “insult” or a “reproach.”

[16:10]  ³ tn The verb יִתְמַלָּאוּן (yitmalla’un) is taken from מָלֵא (male’), “to be full,” and in this stem, “to pile up; to press together.” The term has a military connotation, such as “to mobilize” (see D. W. Thomas, “ml'w in Jeremiah 4:5 : a military term,” JJS 3 [1952]: 47-52). Job sees himself surrounded by enemies who persecute him and mock him.

[29:17]  ⁴ tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.

[29:17]  ⁵ tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).

[3:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the smiter.”