64:3 They 1 sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, 2
64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. 3
They plan how to hide 4 snares,
and boast, 5 “Who will see them?” 6
1 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “a bitter word.”
3 tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”
4 tn Heb “they report about hiding.”
5 tn Heb “they say.”
6 tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).