Psa 21:8-12 | NET2full | STEP | You prevail over all your enemies ; your power is too great for those who hate you.

‏ Psalms 21:8-12

8 You ^{▼▼tn The king is now addressed. One could argue that the Lord is still being addressed, but v. 9 militates against this proposal, for there the Lord is mentioned in the third person and appears to be distinct from the addressee (unless, of course, one takes “Lord” in v. 9 as vocative; see the note on “them” in v. 9b). Verse 7 begins this transition to a new addressee by referring to both the king and the Lord in the third person (in vv. 1-6 the Lord is addressed and only the king referred to in the third person).} prevail over ^{▼▼tn Heb “your hand finds.” The idiom pictures the king grabbing hold of his enemies and defeating them (see 1 Sam 23:17). The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 8-12 may be translated with the future tense, as long as the future is understood as generalizing.} all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you. ^{▼▼tn Heb “your right hand finds those who hate you.”}
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace ^{▼▼tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).} when you appear. ^{▼▼tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.}
The Lord angrily devours them; ^{▼▼tn Heb “the Lord, in his anger he swallows them, and fire devours them.” Some take “the Lord” as a vocative, in which case he is addressed in vv. 8-9a. But this makes the use of the third person in v. 9b rather awkward, though the king could be the subject (see vv. 1-7).}
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring ^{▼▼tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.} from the earth,
their descendants ^{▼▼tn Heb “seed.”} from among the human race. ^{▼▼tn Heb “sons of man.”}
11 Yes, ^{▼▼tn Or “for.”} they intend to do you harm; ^{▼▼tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).}
they dream up a scheme, ^{▼▼sn See Ps 10:2.} but they do not succeed. ^{▼▼tn Heb “they lack ability.”}
12 For you make them retreat ^{▼▼tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”}
when you aim your arrows at them. ^{▼▼tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”}