Psalms 46:9

He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ¹  he shatters ²  the bow and breaks ³  the spear; he burns ⁴  the shields with fire. ⁵ 

biblegateway Psa 46:9

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.

biblegateway Psa 46:9

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

biblegateway Psa 46:9

and causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear in two; he burns the shields with fire.

biblegateway Psa 46:9

Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee.

SABDAweb Psa 46:9

He puts an end to wars over all the earth; by him the bow is broken, and the spear cut in two, and the carriage burned in the fire.

bibleoremus Psa 46:9

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

biblegateway Psa 46:9

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.

biblegateway Psa 46:9

He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ¹  he shatters ²  the bow and breaks ³  the spear; he burns ⁴  the shields with fire. ⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “[the] one who causes wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” The participle continues the description begun in v. 8b and indicates that this is the Lord’s characteristic activity. Ironically, he brings peace to the earth by devastating the warlike, hostile nations (vv. 8, 9b).

² tn The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Ps 29:5). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3). The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries along the generalizing emphasis of the preceding imperfect.

⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

⁵ tn Heb “wagons he burns with fire.” Some read “chariots” here (cf. NASB), but the Hebrew word refers to wagons or carts, not chariots, elsewhere in the OT. In this context, where military weapons are mentioned, it is better to revocalize the form as עֲגִלוֹת (’agilot, “round shields”), a word which occurs only here in the OT, but is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic.