Psalms 73:21

73:21 Yes, ¹  my spirit was bitter, ² 

and my insides felt sharp pain. ³ 

Psalms 120:4

120:4 Here’s how! ⁴  With the sharp arrows of warriors,

with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. ⁵ 

Psalms 45:5

45:5 Your arrows are sharp

and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.

Nations fall at your feet. ⁶ 

Psalms 64:3

64:3 They ⁷  sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ⁸ 

Psalms 140:3

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ⁹ 

a viper’s ¹⁰  venom is behind ¹¹  their lips. (Selah)

[73:21]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “when.”

[73:21]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.

[73:21]  ³ tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.

[120:4]  ⁴ tn The words “here’s how” are supplied in the translation as a clarification. In v. 4 the psalmist answers the question he raises in v. 3.

[120:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “with coals of the wood of the broom plant.” The wood of the broom plant was used to make charcoal, which in turn was used to fuel the fire used to forge the arrowheads.

[45:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “your arrows are sharp – peoples beneath you fall – in the heart of the enemies of the king.” The choppy style reflects the poet’s excitement.

[64:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[64:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a bitter word.”

[140:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

[140:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “under.”