Psalms 78:9

78:9 The Ephraimites ¹  were armed with bows, ² 

but they retreated in the day of battle. ³ 

Psalms 55:18

55:18 He will rescue ⁴  me and protect me from those who attack me, ⁵ 

even though ⁶  they greatly outnumber me. ⁷ 

Psalms 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ⁸ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ⁹ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 144:1

Psalm 144 ¹¹ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ¹²  deserves praise ¹³  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ¹⁴ 

and my fingers for war,

Psalms 68:30

68:30 Sound your battle cry ¹⁵  against the wild beast of the reeds, ¹⁶ 

and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! ¹⁷ 

They humble themselves ¹⁸  and offer gold and silver as tribute. ¹⁹ 

God ²⁰  scatters ²¹  the nations that like to do battle.

[78:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.

[78:9]  ² tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.

[78:9]  ³ sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).

[55:18]  ⁴ tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).

[55:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”

[55:18]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[55:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (’immad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.

[55:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[144:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ¹² tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ¹³ sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[68:30]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[68:30]  ¹⁴ sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.

[68:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”

[68:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.

[68:30]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).

[68:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[68:30]  ¹⁹ tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).