Psalms 7:12

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

and prepares to shoot his bow. ³ 

Psalms 17:13

17:13 Rise up, Lord!

Confront him! ⁴  Knock him down! ⁵ 

Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! ⁶ 

Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ⁷  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ⁸ 

Psalms 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ⁹ 

for they say, ¹⁰ 

“Who hears?”

Psalms 64:3

64:3 They ¹¹  sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ¹² 

Psalms 76:3

76:3 There he shattered the arrows, ¹³ 

the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war. ¹⁴  (Selah)

Psalms 144:10

144:10 the one who delivers ¹⁵  kings,

and rescued David his servant from a deadly ¹⁶  sword.

[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.

[17:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”

[17:13]  ⁵ tn Or “bring him to his knees.”

[17:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”

[37:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[59:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ¹¹ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[64:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[64:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a bitter word.”

[76:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “flames of the bow,” i.e., arrows.

[76:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “shield and sword and battle.” “Battle” probably here stands by metonymy for the weapons of war in general.

[144:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “grants deliverance to.”

[144:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “harmful.”