Psalm 76:5-7 New English Translation
5 The bravehearted[a] were plundered;[b]
they “fell asleep.”[c]
All the warriors were helpless.[d]
6 At the sound of your battle cry,[e] O God of Jacob,
both rider[f] and horse “fell asleep.”[g]
7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?[h]
Footnotes
- Psalm 76:5 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).
- Psalm 76:5 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”).
- Psalm 76:5 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.”
- Psalm 76:5 tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”
- Psalm 76:6 tn Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb גָּעַר (gaʿar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
- Psalm 76:6 tn Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.
- Psalm 76:6 tn Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.
- Psalm 76:7 tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (meʾaz, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (meʾoz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).
New English Translation (NET)
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