Psalms 74:13

You destroyed ¹  the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster ²  in the water.

It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

You split the sea by your strength and smashed the sea monster’s heads.

With one blow you split the sea in two, you made mincemeat of the dragon Tannin.

The sea was parted in two by your strength; the heads of the great sea-beasts were broken.

You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.

You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.

You destroyed ¹  the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster ²  in the water.

¹ tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”

² tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.