The Division and Syntax of Ps. 45:6

Introduction

Ps 45:6 (MT) reads as follows:

חִצֶּ֗יךָ שְׁנ֫וּנִ֥ים עַ֭מִּים תַּחְתֶּ֣יךָ יִפְּל֑וּ בְּ֝לֵ֗ב אוֹיְבֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

Rendered word-for-word, this can be translated as: "Your arrows [are] sharp. Nations fall under you, in the heart of the enemies of the king.

Although the general theme of the king's military strength is clear in this verse, determining its precise meaning is more difficult. The main difficulty lies in the final prepositional phrase, "in the heart of the enemies of the king." It is unclear what the phrase modifies. In other words, the relationship of this phrase––both syntactically and semantically––to its context is unclear. Many modern versions choose to reorder the constituents of the verse. For example, the RSV places the second element ("the peoples fall under you") at the end of the verse: "Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you."

There are several additional related issues:

• What are the most appropriate line divisions (stichometry)?
• Is this verse a statement or a wish (mood)?
• What is the meaning of לֵב ("heart") in its context (lexical semantics)?
• Why is the verb יִפְּלוּ ("they will fall") a contextual form in the MT? Because this verb takes the major disjunctive accent atnach, you would expect the pausal form יִפֹּלוּ (orthography).

One commentator went so far as to say that “the last line of v 6 defies final solution." While this may be true, a case will be made below for a preferred interpretation.

Several possible solutions and representative translations are as follows:

1. Textual emendation: “May your pointed arrows frighten (יָחֵתו) nations, May the enemies of the king lose heart."
2. Unit redivision: either as a) Verse re-division (i.e. does not follow MT versification): [v. 5b] "Then may your right hand show you wondrous deeds, [v. 6] your arrows sharpened; peoples shall fall beneath you, in the midst of the king’s enemies." or as b) Clause re-division (does not follow MT accentuation): the vb. יִפְּלוּ belongs to the phrase that follows, "Your arrow are sharp. Peoples are under you. They [the arrows] fall in the heart of the king's enemies."
3. Elided phrase:"Your arrows are sharp. Peoples fall beneath you, pierced through the heart of the enemies of the king."
4. Vertical grammar: "Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the enemies of the king; peoples fall beneath you."
5. Wordplay: "Your arrows are sharp. Peoples fall under you. The king's enemies lose heart."

Argument Map(s)

Option 1: Textual Emendation

The first possible solution is to emend the text: “May your pointed arrows frighten (יָחֵתו) nations, May the enemies of the king 'lose heart' (יפל לב)" (Kraus). This emendation reads תַּחְתֶּיךָ (under you) as יחתו (may they frighten), and יִפְּלוּ בְּלֵב (they fall / in heart) as יפל לב (it falls / heart).

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[Emendation]: The text of MT Ps 45:6 is corrupt: the PP תַּחְתֶּיךָ ("under you") should be emended to יָחֵתו ("frighten," from the root חתת) and יִפְּלוּ בְּלֵב ("will fall, in heart") should be emended to יפל לב ("heart will fall"); Kraus, 450 🄲. #dispreferred
 + <Contextually appropriate meaning>: The preceding verse (v. 5) mentions the king's נוֹרָאוֹת (fearful deeds), which uses a verbal root (ירא, to fear) that frequently co-occurs with the verbal root חתת (to frighten). #dispreferred
  + [Co-occurrences of verbal roots ירא (to fear) and חתת (to frighten)]: Deut 31:8; Josh 8:1; 1 Sam 17:11; Isa 51:7; etc. #dispreferred
 - <Unsupported by ancient witnesses>: None of the ancient witnesses preserve this reading.
 - <Odd word-order>: The emended text proposes a S-O-V word-order, with jussive-meaning verb at the end of a clause. 
 - <Extensive emendation>: The proposed emendation requires several consonantal and vocalic changes.
  _ <Unstable text>: The text of Ps 45 is generally unstable, which casts suspicion on this verse in particular. #dispreferred

Option 2: Line re-division

The second option for understanding this difficult verse is to divide the poetic lines differently than they are divided in the MT. Line re-division changes the syntax and meaning of the verse.

2.1 Verse re-division

The first possible line re-division (against the MT) is at the verse-level, represented by Dahood. This reading places the beginning of v. 6 with the preceding text in v. 5: "(5b–6) And let your right hand's awesome wonders, your sharpened arrows, point you out. The peoples shall fall at your feet, senseless the foes of the king."

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[Verse-level line re-division]: "Your sharp arrows" syntactically belongs with v. 5, not v. 6; Dahood 🄲. #dispreferred 
 - <Diverges from MT>: The Masoretes did not follow this reading.
 - <Unclear Syntax>: This reading retains difficult syntax.
  - <PP בְּלֵב functions as a partitive, "from"; Dahood 🄲.>: Like מִלֵּב (Ps 31:13), both בְּ and מִן denote "from." #dispreferred
   + [בְּ as "from" in Ps 45:3]: The same prep. (בְּ) functions partitively earlier in the psalm; Dahood 🄲. #dispreferred
 - <Verb ירה meaning>: The vb. usually means "to teach/show + acc." or "to shoot [an arrow]."

2.2 Clause re-division

2.2.1 "Arrows" as implied subject of verb

This option divides the text as follows:

חִצֶּ֗יךָ שְׁנ֫וּנִ֥ים
עַ֭מִּים תַּחְתֶּ֣יךָ
יִפְּל֑וּ בְּ֝לֵ֗ב אוֹיְבֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

"Your arrows are sharp.
Peoples are underneath you.
They [i.e. the arrows] fall in the heart of the king's enemies."

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[Clause re-division: vb. יִפְּלוּ ("they fall") is part of v. 6c]: The verb of v. 6 (יִפְּלוּ) belongs to the final clause and has "arrows" as the implied subject. #dispreferred
 + <Contextual vocalisation>: The vb. יִפְּלוּ is a contextual form; contextual forms do not end lines (Revell 1981). #dispreferred
 - <Diverges from MT>: The Masoretes did not follow this reading.
  + [Atnach]: MT places the main disjunctive accent after, not before the vb. יִפְּלוּ.

2.2.2 "King's enemies" as subject of verb (idiomatic)

Mulder represents a different line re-division within v. 6 (also against the MT). Instead of the vb. יִפְּלוּ (they fall) going with the preceding clause, Mulder places it with the following clause: "Your arrows are sharp. Peoples are underneath you. The enemies of the king lose heart."

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[Clause re-division: vb. יִפְּלוּ ("they fall") is part of v. 6c]: The verb of v. 6 (יִפְּלוּ) belongs to the final clause and has "the king's enemies" as the subject; Mulder 🄲. 
 + <Contextually appropriate meaning>: The preceding verse (v. 5) mentions the king's נוֹרָאוֹת (fearful deeds).
 + <Resolves syntactic difficulty>: V. 6c is no longer floating without main clause to modify. 
  _ <Creates a different syntactic difficulty>: While it's permissible for PPs to function as the predicate, the prep. תַּחַת (''under'') itself is consistently used to modify an explicit verb, i.e. is not part of a verbless clause. #dispreferred 
 + <Balanced line length>: Results in a bicolon, with 4 metrical words per colon; Mulder 🄲 
 - <Diverges from MT>: The Masoretes did not follow this reading (see the atnach). #dispreferred
 - <Unusual idiom>: The typical idiomatic use of לֵב ('heart') in reference to courage or resolve places the noun as the subject, not the obj. of a prep. as it is here. #dispreferred
  + ['Heart' as subject in reference to courage]: 1 Sam 17:32, אַל־יִפֹּ֥ל לֵב־אָדָ֖ם עָלָ֑יו (Let no man's "heart fall" on account of him (Goliath); cf. Gen 42:28; Jer 4:9; Ezek 21:12; 22:14).
  _ <Exceptions>: 2 Sam 7:27 has 'heart' as the object.
   + [2 Sam 7:27b]: עַל־כֵּ֗ן מָצָ֤א עַבְדְּךָ֙ אֶת־לִבּ֔וֹ לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל אֵלֶ֔יךָ אֶת־הַתְּפִלָּ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת, Therefore, your servant has found courage (lit. 'found his heart') to pray to you this prayer.
  _ <'Heart' as common idiom term>: The word לֵב/לֵבָב is used in several idiomatic expressions, so it its appearance in a unique expression is not surprising. 
   + ['Heart' in expressions (non-subject)]: 'Speak on someone's heart' = increase someone's confidence or hope; 'make heavy one's heart' = to refuse to obey; 'find one's heart' = have sufficient courage; 'touch on someone's heart' = create a desire in someone; 'turn the heart' = be loyal; 'steal someone's heart' = to deceive someone. (Van den Heever, 2013)

Option 3: Ellipsis

The third option proposes an elided constituent (verb/verbal idea or noun).

3.1 Verbal ellipsis

This option posits an elided word ("brachylogy") such as "smitten" or "pierced" through the heart": "Your arrows are sharp. Peoples fall beneath you, [pierced] through the heart of the enemies of the king." This reading is reflected in many Spanish versions (see "Modern Versions" below), although at least one English commentator tentatively suggests an elided phrase here.

3.2 Nominal ellipsis

Peoples fall beneath you. [Your arrows] are in the heart of the enemies of the king."]] This option posits an elided noun, repeated from the immediate context (חִצֶּיךָ, "your arrows"): "Your arrows are sharp. Peoples fall beneath you. [Your arrows] are in the heart of the enemies of the king." The meaning of this option is the same as that of option 4 (vertical grammar) below.

Option 4: Vertical grammar

A fourth option proposes that the third line syntactically modifies the first line, effectively "skipping over" the second line. Although English grammar does not allow this, an appeal to "vertical grammar" in Hebrew poetry explains the odd constituent order this way (“two parallel cola [AA] separated by an isolated line [B]” Watson 2001:181-182). For many modern languages, this will require re-ordering constituents, but this captures the sense. The majority of modern English versions reflect this reading.

Option 5: Wordplay

A fifth option posits wordplay, in particular the intentional ambiguity exploited by multidirectional polysemy (often called "Janus parallelism"). This type of parallelism employs a word with two different meanings; one meaning corresponds to the line that precedes, and the other meaning corresponds to the line that follows. A classic example of Janus parallelism in Biblical Hebrew poetry comes from Song of Songs 2:12

The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of zāmîr (pruning OR song) has come,
and the voice of the turtledove.

For Ps 45:6, such parallelism would require the verb to perform double-duty, and with different senses:

Your arrows are sharp.
Peoples fall under you.
The king's enemies lose heart.

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[Wordplay]: The vb. יִפְּלוּ ("they fall") is part of a Janus parallelism, intended to be read twice, each with a different sense.
 + <Contextually appropriate meaning>: The mention of 'sharp arrows' (v. 6a) is consistent with people 'falling' in battle (sense 1), and the mention of the king's נוֹרָאוֹת ('fearful deeds', v. 5) is consistent with the king's enemies losing courage (sense 2).
 + <Resolves syntactic difficulty>: V. 5c is not floating without main clause to modify.
 + <Helps explain contextual form>: The MT does not mark  יִפְּלוּ as a pausal form, even though it takes the atnach. Wordplay using ambiguity explains why the MT accentuation itself is ambiguous. 
 + <Similar wordplay elsewhere in Ps 45>: A similar device occurs at the close of the next strophe (v. 10), where the verb that begins colon B in the MT, ‘she stands’ (נצבה) may be construed as applying also to the preceding verbless line A (Wendland, 24).
 - <Unusual idiom>: The typical idiomatic use of לֵב ('heart') in reference to courage or resolve places the noun as the subject, not the obj. of a prep. as it is here. #dispreferred
  + ['Heart' as subject in reference to courage]: 1 Sam 17:32, אַל־יִפֹּ֥ל לֵב־אָדָ֖ם עָלָ֑יו (Let no man's "heart fall" on account of him (Goliath); cf. Gen 42:28; Jer 4:9; Ezek 21:12; 22:14).
  _ <Exceptions>: 2 Sam 7:27 has 'heart' as the object.
   + [2 Sam 7:27b]: עַל־כֵּ֗ן מָצָ֤א עַבְדְּךָ֙ אֶת־לִבּ֔וֹ לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל אֵלֶ֔יךָ אֶת־הַתְּפִלָּ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת, Therefore, your servant has found courage (lit. 'found his heart') to pray to you this prayer.
  _ <'Heart' as common idiom term>: The word לֵב/לֵבָב is used in several idiomatic expressions, so it its appearance in a unique expression is not surprising. 
   + ['Heart' in expressions (non-subject)]: 'Speak on someone's heart' = increase someone's confidence or hope; 'make heavy one's heart' = to refuse to obey; 'find one's heart' = have sufficient courage; 'touch on someone's heart' = create a desire in someone; 'turn the heart' = be loyal; 'steal someone's heart' = to deceive someone (Van den Heever, 2013)

In this reading, the poet exploits the polysemy of the hinge word (יִפְּלוּ, "they will fall"). The first use has the more common sense of falling in battle [refs]. The second use has the sense of losing courage, as in the expression lit. "fell with regard to heart." The noun לֵב (heart) here does not refer to the bodily organ, but rather to someone's inner fortitude, determination, or courage. This is consistent with the general tendency of parallelism to use the rarer word in the second colon of a bicolon.

This double-meaning reading of the verb in the verse results in a meaning that is consistent with the immediate context of the king's successful military campaign (vv. 4–5): the king rides out in battle, and various different peoples "fall" under him, meaning that he subjugates them. When the enemies of the king see his military advantage and his successful campaign, they "lose heart" (i.e. lose courage).

Conclusion

As a glance at the diverse versions shows, this is not an easy exegetical or translation issue to resolve. Moreover, even if the reading preferred here is taken, it does not lend itself to a simple rendering into other languages. Polyvalence such as double entendre and Janus parallelism is rarely reproducible in translation. The best solution is often to render the word twice, once in each sense. However, a freer translation may be able to bring out the word play. Here are some ideas in English:

Your arrows are sharp.
Under you, peoples lose the battle.
The king's enemies lose heart.

Your arrow are sharp.
Under you peoples fail.
The courage of the king's enemies fails.

Your sharp arrows: fallen.
Peoples under you: fallen.
Fortitude of the king's enemies: fallen.

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: τὰ βέλη σου ἠκονημένα, δυνατέ, –– λαοὶ ὑποκάτω σου πεσοῦνται –– ἐν καρδίᾳ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τοῦ βασιλέως.
  • NETS: Your arrows are sharp, O powerful one, ––peoples shall fall under you––in the heart of the king’s enemies.
  • The Göttingen Septuagint notes that some Greek manuscripts only have two cola.

• Ἄλλος: κατὰ καρδίας οἱ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ βασιλέως.
• Symmachus: κατὰ καρδίας τῶν ἐχθρῶν τοῦ βασιλέως.

• Jerome: sagittae tuae acutae populi sub te cadent in corde inimicorum regis
  • In Ep. LXV, 12, Jerome points out that potentissime is missing here in Hebrew.

• Targ: גִרְרָךְ שְׁלִיפִין עַמְמִין תְּחוֹתָךְ יִפְּלוּן וּבְנֵי קַשְׁתָּךְ יִשְׁתַּלְחוּן בְּלֵב סָנְאֵי מַלְכָּא
  • Your arrows are drawn to slay armies; peoples fall beneath you, and the sons of your bow are dispatched into the heart of those who hate the king. (translation by Stec; italics show variation or addition to MT)

• Peshitta: ܓܐܪ̈ܝܟ ܫܢܝܢܝܢ ܘܥܡ̈ܡܐ ܢܦܠܘܢ ܬܚܘܬܝܟ܂ ܒܠܒܐ ܕܒ̈ܥܠܕܒܒܘܗܝ ܕܡܠܟܐ

Modern

Option 1 (textual emendation)

• GNB: Schieße deine scharfen Pfeile, unterwirf dir die Völker, triff deine Feinde mitten ins Herz!

Option 2 (line re-division)

• TOB: Que ta droite lance la terreur:

6 tes flèches barbelées. Sous toi tomberont des peuples, les ennemis du roi frappés en plein cœur.

Option 3 (ellipsis)

• RV 1909: Tus saetas agudas Con que caerán pueblos debajo de ti, Penetrarán en el corazón de los enemigos del Rey.
• RV 1995: tus saetas agudas, con que caerán pueblos debajo de ti, penetrarán en el corazón de los enemigos del rey.
• DHH: Los pueblos caen a tus pies, oh rey;
tus flechas son agudas y se clavan
en el corazón de tus enemigos.
• NBV: Tus agudas saetas traspasan el corazón de tus enemigos. Las naciones ante ti se desploman, yacen bajo tus pies.
• NBS: Tes flèches sont aiguës: des peuples tomberont sous toi; elles pénétreront dans le cœur des ennemis du roi. (also NVS78P)
• LY17: Scharf sind deine Pfeile, dass Völker vor dir fallen; sie dringen ins Herz der Feinde des Königs.
• NGÜ: Deine Pfeile sind spitz und scharf – ganze Völker werden dir unterliegen. Deine Geschosse treffen deine Feinde mitten ins Herz.

Option 4 (reorder constituents)

• KJV: Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.
• RSV: Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
• HCSB: Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
• ESV: Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
• NET: Your arrows are sharp and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies. Nations fall at your feet.
• NLB: Your arrows are sharp, piercing your enemies’ hearts. The nations fall beneath your feet.
• NIV: Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.
• CEV: Let the peoples fall beneath you. May your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies.
• BDS: Tes flèches acérées atteindront en plein cœur les ennemis du roi et tu feras tomber des peuples sous tes pas.
• PDV2017: Tes flèches sont pointues, elles percent le cœur de tes ennemis. Oui, tout le monde tombe sous tes coups!
• Hfa: Deine spitzen Pfeile durchbohren das Herz deiner Feinde. Ja, du wirst die Völker unterwerfen!

Option 5 (wordplay/Janus Parallelism)

• BLPH: Tus flechas están afiladas,
se te somenten los pueblos,
desfallecen los enemigos del rey:

Word-for-word

• ASV: Thine arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under thee; [They are] in the heart of the king's enemies.
• DBY: Thine arrows are sharp -- peoples fall under thee -- in the heart of the king's enemies.
• LEB: Your arrows [are] sharp; peoples fall under you in the midst of the king's enemies.
• ELB: Deine geschärften Pfeile – Völker fallen unter dir – ins Herz der Feinde des Königs!

Secondary Literature

Kraus (Option 1: textual emendation): “May your pointed arrowed arrows frighten nations, May the enemies of the king ‘lose heart.’"

“It is hardly possible that, leaping over the parenthetical ,עמים תחתיך יפלו there can be reference to the victims of the arrows without a verbal modification. R. Kittel correctly refers יפלו to the sentence in v. 5b, but of course then we have to read, with Gunkel, יפל לב, ‘may the heart sink.’ V. 5a would then (with Gunkel) best be corrected to: חציך שנונים עמים יָחֵתו."

“In the battle against the enemies (v. 5) the nations should be frightened and despair under the missiles of the majestic warrior. The singer here sees the ruler in the midst of the tumult of battle (cf. Pss. 2:9; 21:8f., 12). All the adversaries should lose heart at his appearance.”

Dahood: "The prepositional phrase bᵉlēb equals Ps 31:13 [נִ֭שְׁכַּחְתִּי כְּמֵ֣ת מִלֵּ֑ב], milleb, inasmuch as both b and min denote 'from.'"

References

45:6