Psalm 7:12
New International Version
If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.

New Living Translation
If a person does not repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.

English Standard Version
If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;

Berean Standard Bible
If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.

King James Bible
If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

New King James Version
If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready.

New American Standard Bible
If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and taken aim.

NASB 1995
If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.

NASB 1977
If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.

Legacy Standard Bible
If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and prepared it.

Amplified Bible
If a man does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has strung and bent His [mighty] bow and made it ready.

Christian Standard Bible
If anyone does not repent, he will sharpen his sword; he has strung his bow and made it ready.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If anyone does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has strung His bow and made it ready.

American Standard Version
If a man turn not, he will whet his sword; He hath bent his bow, and made it ready;

Contemporary English Version
Whenever your enemies refuse to change their ways, you sharpen your sword and string your bow.

English Revised Version
If a man turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If a person does not change, God sharpens his sword. By bending his bow, he makes it ready [to shoot].

Good News Translation
If they do not change their ways, God will sharpen his sword. He bends his bow and makes it ready;

International Standard Version
If the ungodly one doesn't repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will string his bow and prepare it.

Majority Standard Bible
If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.

NET Bible
If a person does not repent, God sharpens his sword and prepares to shoot his bow.

New Heart English Bible
If a man doesn't relent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.

Webster's Bible Translation
If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

World English Bible
If a man doesn’t repent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
If [one] does not turn, "" He sharpens His sword, "" He has bent His bow [and] He prepares it,

Young's Literal Translation
If one turn not, His sword he sharpeneth, His bow he hath trodden -- He prepareth it,

Smith's Literal Translation
If he shall not turn back, he will sharpen his sword; he bent his bow and he will be prepared.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword: he hath bent his bow and made it ready.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Unless you will be converted, he will brandish his sword. He has extended his bow and made it ready.

New American Bible
If one does not repent, God sharpens his sword, strings and readies the bow,

New Revised Standard Version
If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
If he turn not from his anger, he will whet his sword and bend his bow and make it ready.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
If he does not turn, he sharpens his sword, he bends his bow; he is ready.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If a man turn not, He will whet His sword, He hath bent His bow, and made it ready;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
If ye will not repent, he will furbish his sword; he has bent his bow, and made it ready.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Take Refuge in You
11God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day. 12If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow. 13He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.…

Cross References
Ezekiel 18:30
Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.

Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

Jeremiah 18:7-10
At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed. / But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring. / And if at another time I announce that I will build up and establish a nation or kingdom, ...

Hebrews 10:26-27
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, / but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

Romans 2:5
But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

Revelation 2:16
Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.

Isaiah 1:20
But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Luke 13:3
No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

2 Chronicles 7:14
and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Acts 17:30-31
Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. / For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

Job 36:10-12
He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity. / If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. / But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

Matthew 3:10
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”


Treasury of Scripture

If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he has bent his bow, and made it ready.

If

Psalm 85:4
Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

Isaiah 55:6,7
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: …

Jeremiah 31:18,19
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God…

he will

Deuteronomy 32:41
If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Isaiah 34:5
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

Jump to Previous
Bend Bent Bow Evil Prepareth Ready Relent Repent Sharp Sharpen Sharpeneth String Strung Sword Trodden Turn Turned Whet
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Bend Bent Bow Evil Prepareth Ready Relent Repent Sharp Sharpen Sharpeneth String Strung Sword Trodden Turn Turned Whet
Psalm 7
1. David prays against the malice of his enemies, professing his innocence
10. By faith he sees his defense, and the destruction of his enemies














If one does not repent
The phrase emphasizes the necessity of repentance, a central theme in both the Old and New Testaments. The Hebrew word for "repent" is "שׁוּב" (shuv), which means to turn back or return. This implies a complete change of direction, not just a feeling of remorse. In the biblical context, repentance is a turning away from sin and a return to God. Historically, the call to repentance was a common message of the prophets, urging Israel to return to covenant faithfulness. This phrase underscores the urgency and importance of repentance as a means to avert divine judgment.

God will sharpen His sword
This vivid imagery portrays God as a divine warrior preparing for battle. The "sword" symbolizes judgment and the execution of justice. In ancient Near Eastern culture, a sharpened sword was a sign of readiness for combat. Theologically, this reflects God's righteousness and His intolerance of sin. The sharpening of the sword indicates that God's patience has limits, and His justice will eventually be enacted if repentance is not forthcoming. This serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of unrepentant sin.

He has bent and strung His bow
Continuing the martial imagery, this phrase depicts God as an archer ready to release His arrows. The bending and stringing of a bow was a preparatory action before shooting, symbolizing imminent action. In the Hebrew context, the bow often represents God's power and readiness to act against evil. This imagery is consistent with other biblical passages where God is depicted as a warrior defending His people and upholding justice. The phrase serves as a warning of the certainty and swiftness of divine retribution against those who persist in wickedness without repentance.

(12) If he turn not.--The Hebrew is doubly idiomatic. Translate surely (see Hebrews 3:11, with Note in New Testament Commentary), He will again whet His sword. It is true that the verb to turn in the sense of repetition usually precedes the other verb immediately, without, as here, any other words intervening.

Bent.--Literally, trodden, showing that the foot was used by the Israelites to bend the bow, as by archers now. (Smith's Bible Dictionary, "Arms.")

Verse 12. - If he turn not, he (i.e. God) will whet his sword (comp. Deuteronomy 32:41; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 34:5). "Every new transgression," says Bishop Horne, "sets a fresh edge to God's sword" He hath bent his bow, and made it ready; rather, he hath bent his bow, and fixed it; i.e. held it in the position for taking aim.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

one does not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

repent,
יָ֭שׁוּב (yā·šūḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

God will sharpen
יִלְט֑וֹשׁ (yil·ṭō·wōš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3913: To hammer out, to sharpen

His sword;
חַרְבּ֣וֹ (ḥar·bōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

He has bent
דָ֝רַ֗ךְ (ḏā·raḵ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1869: To tread, to walk, to string a, bow

and strung
וַֽיְכוֹנְנֶֽהָ׃ (way·ḵō·wn·ne·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 3559: To be erect

His bow.
קַשְׁתּ֥וֹ (qaš·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7198: A bow, for, shooting, the iris


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OT Poetry: Psalm 7:12 If a man doesn't relent he will (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 7:11
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