Psalms 7:12-13

7:12 If a person ¹  does not repent, God sharpens his sword ² 

and prepares to shoot his bow. ³ 

7:13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; ⁴ 

he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. ⁵ 

Exodus 15:3

15:3 The Lord is a warrior, ⁶ 

the Lord is his name. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 32:41-42

32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,

and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; ⁸ 

I will execute vengeance on my foes,

and repay those who hate me! ⁹ 

32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh –

the blood of the slaughtered and captured,

the chief ¹⁰  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

Isaiah 13:5

13:5 They come from a distant land,

from the horizon. ¹¹ 

It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, ¹² 

coming to destroy the whole earth. ¹³ 

Isaiah 42:13

42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero,

like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; ¹⁴ 

he shouts, yes, he yells,

he shows his enemies his power. ¹⁵ 

[7:12]  ¹ tn Heb “If he”; the referent (a person who is a sinner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The subject of the first verb is understood as the sinner who fails to repent of his ways and becomes the target of God’s judgment (vv. 9, 14-16).

[7:12]  ² tn Heb “if he does not return, his sword he sharpens.” The referent (God) of the pronominal subject of the second verb (“sharpens”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ³ tn Heb “his bow he treads and prepares it.” “Treading the bow” involved stepping on one end of it in order to string it and thus prepare it for battle.

[7:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and for him he prepares the weapons of death.”

[7:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “his arrows into flaming [things] he makes.”

[15:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “man of war” (so KJV, ASV). “Warrior” is now the preferred translation since “man of war” is more commonly known today as a warship. The expression indicates that Yahweh is one who understands how to fight and defeat the enemy. The word “war” modifies “man” to reveal that Yahweh is a warrior. Other passages use similar descriptions: Isa 42:13 has “man of wars”; Ps 24:8 has “mighty man of battle.” See F. Cross, “The Divine Warrior in Israel’s Early Cult,” Biblical Motifs, 11-30.

[15:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh is his name.” As throughout, the name “Yahweh” is rendered as “the Lord” in the translation, as is typically done in English translations.

[32:41]  ⁸ tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.

[32:41]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).

[32:42]  ¹⁰ tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).

[13:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”

[13:5]  ¹² tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”

[13:5]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.

[42:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).

[42:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”