Let them disappear ¹  like water that flows away! ²  Let them wither like grass! ³ 

They ¹  sharpen their tongues like a sword; they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ² 

Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are prepared. ¹  The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, ²  and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. ³ 

Look, ¹  the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place! He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! ² 

The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹  He gives me the agility of a deer; ²  he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ³  (This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ⁴ 

I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. ¹ 

They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ¹  squeezed out the juice, ²  and celebrated. They came to the temple ³  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.

(For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple step on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.)

The sons of Ulam were warriors who were adept archers. ¹  They had many sons and grandsons, a total of 150. All these were the descendants of Benjamin.

For look, the wicked ¹  prepare ²  their bows, ³  they put their arrows on the strings, to shoot in the darkness ⁴  at the morally upright. ⁵ 

The Lord will divide ¹  the gulf ²  of the Egyptian Sea; ³  he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ⁴  and send a strong wind, ⁵  he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ⁶  and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

For they flee from the swords – from the drawn sword and from the battle-ready bow and from the severity of the battle.

This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹  says, the Holy One of Israel: ²  “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who leads you in the way you should go.

They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. ¹  They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. ² 

Go ahead and ¹  charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia ²  who are armed with the bow. ³ 

Joy and gladness will disappear from the fruitful land of Moab. ¹  I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses. No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy. ²  The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers, not the shouts of those making wine. ³ 

“Take up your battle positions all around Babylon, all you soldiers who are armed with bows. ¹  Shoot ²  all your arrows at her! Do not hold any back! ³  For she has sinned against the Lord.

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Fair Babylon ¹  will be like a threshing floor which has been trampled flat for harvest. The time for her to be cut down and harvested will come very soon.’ ² 

ס (Samek) He rounded up ¹  all my mighty ones; ²  The Lord ³  did this ⁴  in ⁵  my midst. He summoned an assembly ⁶  against me to shatter my young men. The Lord has stomped like grapes ⁷  the virgin daughter, Judah. ⁸ 

ד (Dalet) He prepared his bow ¹  like an enemy; his right hand was ready to shoot. ²  Like a foe he killed everyone, even our strong young men; ³  he has poured out his anger like fire on the tent ⁴  of Daughter Zion.