1:14 You made people like fish in the sea,
like animals in the sea 1 that have no ruler.
3:14 You pierce the heads of his warriors 2 with a spear. 3
They storm forward to scatter us; 4
they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. 5
1 tn The Hebrew word רֶמֶשׂ (remesh) usually refers to animals that creep, but here the referent seems to be marine animals that glide through the water (note the parallelism in the previous line). See also Ps 104:25.
2 tn Some take “warriors” with the following line, in which case one should translate, “you pierce [his] head with a spear; his warriors storm forward to scatter us” (cf. NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew term פְּרָזוֹ (pÿrazo), translated here “his warriors,” is uncertain.
3 tc Heb “his shafts.” Some emend to “your shafts.” The translation above assumes an emendation to מַטֶּה (matteh, “shaft, spear”), the vav-yod (ו-י) sequence being a corruption of an original he (ה).
4 tn Heb “me,” but the author speaks as a representative of God’s people.
5 tn Heb “their rejoicing is like devouring the poor in secret.”