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
66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place. 6
68:2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. 7
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
78:21 When 8 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 9 against Israel,
79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? 10
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage 11 burn like fire?
118:12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly 12 as a fire among thorns. 13
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
140:10 May he rain down 14 fiery coals upon them!
May he throw them into the fire!
From bottomless pits they will not escape. 15
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
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.
6 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
7 tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”
8 tn Heb “therefore.”
9 tn Heb “and also anger went up.”
10 tn Heb “How long, O
11 tn Or “jealous anger.”
12 tn Heb “were extinguished.”
13 tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.
14 tn The verb form in the Kethib (consonantal Hebrew text) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוּט (mut, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in Ps 55:3, where it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). In Ps 140:10 the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read.
15 tn Heb “into bottomless pits, they will not arise.” The translation assumes that the preposition -בְּ (bet) has the nuance “from” here. Another option is to connect the line with what precedes, take the final clause as an asyndetic relative clause, and translate, “into bottomless pits [from which] they cannot arise.” The Hebrew noun מַהֲמֹרָה (mahamorah, “bottomless pit”) occurs only here in the OT.