18:34 He trains my hands for battle; 1
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 2
44:3 For they did not conquer 3 the land by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their strength, 4
but rather by your power, 5 strength 6 and good favor, 7
for you were partial to 8 them.
44:4 You are my 9 king, O God!
Decree 10 Jacob’s 11 deliverance!
60:12 By God’s power we will conquer; 12
he will trample down 13 our enemies.
60:2 You made the earth quake; you split it open. 14
Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall. 15
22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family 16 learned about it, they went down there to him. 22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented 17 gathered around 18 him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.
6:10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes 20 of the devil.
1 sn He trains my hands. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.
2 tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms”; or “my arms bend a bow of bronze.” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) apparently means “pull back, bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The third feminine singular verbal form appears to agree with the feminine singular noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”). In this case the verb must be taken as Niphal (passive). However, it is possible that “my arms” is the subject of the verb and “bow” the object. In this case the verb is Piel (active). For other examples of a feminine singular verb being construed with a plural noun, see GKC 464 §145.k.
sn The strongest bow (Heb “bow of bronze”) probably refers to a bow laminated with bronze strips, or to a purely ceremonial or decorative bow made entirely from bronze. In the latter case the language is hyperbolic, for such a weapon would not be functional in battle.
3 tn Or “take possession of.”
4 tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.
5 tn Heb “your right hand.” The
6 tn Heb “your arm.”
7 tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
8 tn Or “favorable toward.”
9 sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.
10 tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).
tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.
11 tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.
12 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15-16).
13 sn Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.
14 tn The verb פָּצַם (patsam, “split open”) occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “crack,” and an Aramaic cognate is used in Tg. Jer 22:14 with the meaning “break open, frame.” See BDB 822 s.v. and Jastrow 1205 s.v. פְּצַם.
sn You made the earth quake; you split it open. The psalmist uses the imagery of an earthquake to describe the nation’s defeat.
15 sn It is ready to fall. The earth is compared to a wall that has been broken by the force of the earthquake (note the preceding line) and is ready to collapse.
16 tn Heb “house.”
17 tn Heb “bitter of soul.”
18 tn Heb “to.”
19 tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).
20 tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.