45:5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet. 1
76:3 There he shattered the arrows, 2
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war. 3 (Selah)
120:4 Here’s how! 4 With the sharp arrows of warriors,
with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. 5
1 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.
2 tn Heb “flames of the bow,” i.e., arrows.
3 tn Heb “shield and sword and battle.” “Battle” probably here stands by metonymy for the weapons of war in general.
sn This verse may allude to the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians in 701
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.
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.