Mazmur 76:5

76:5 The bravehearted ¹  were plundered; ² 

they “fell asleep.” ³ 

All the warriors were helpless. ⁴ 

Mazmur 76:8

76:8 From heaven you announced what their punishment would be. ⁵ 

The earth ⁶  was afraid and silent

Mazmur 76:12

76:12 He humbles princes; ⁷ 

the kings of the earth regard him as awesome. ⁸ 

[76:5]  ¹ tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).

[76:5]  ² tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).

[76:5]  ³ tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”

[76:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”

[76:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “a [legal] decision,” or “sentence.”

[76:8]  ⁶ tn “The earth” stands here by metonymy for its inhabitants.

[76:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.

[76:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”