Psalms 7:12-17

Context

7:12 If a person¹ does not repent, God sharpens his sword²

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

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ⁶

7:15 he digs a pit⁷

and then falls into the hole he has made.⁸

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans⁹

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.¹⁰

7:17 I will thank the Lord for¹¹ his justice;

I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord!¹²

[7:12] ¹tn 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] ²tn 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] ³tn 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] ⁴tn Heb “and for him he prepares the weapons of death.”

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

[7:14] ⁶tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[7:15] ⁷tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.

[7:15] ⁸tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.

[7:16] ⁹tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16] ¹⁰tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[7:17] ¹¹tn Heb “according to.”

[7:17] ¹²tn Heb “[to] the name of the Lord Most High.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case the compound “Lord Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.