55:22 Throw your burden 1 upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you. 2
He will never allow the godly to be upended. 3
49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpened 4 arrow,
he hid me in his quiver. 5
1 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.
2 tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.
3 tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”
4 tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”
5 sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.