Psalm 78:9
New International Version
The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;

New Living Translation
The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.

English Standard Version
The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.

Berean Standard Bible
The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.

King James Bible
The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

New King James Version
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

New American Standard Bible
The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, Yet they turned back on the day of battle.

NASB 1995
The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle.

NASB 1977
The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle.

Legacy Standard Bible
The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle.

Amplified Bible
The sons of Ephraim were armed as archers and carrying bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle.

Christian Standard Bible
The Ephraimite archers turned back on the day of battle.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Ephraimite archers turned back on the day of battle.

American Standard Version
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

Contemporary English Version
The warriors from Ephraim were armed with arrows, but they ran away when the battle began.

English Revised Version
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The men of Ephraim, well-equipped with bows [and arrows], turned [and ran] on the day of battle.

Good News Translation
The Ephraimites, armed with bows and arrows, ran away on the day of battle.

International Standard Version
The descendants of Ephraim were sharp shooters with the bow, but they retreated in the day of battle.

Majority Standard Bible
The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.

NET Bible
The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle.

New Heart English Bible
The people of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

Webster's Bible Translation
The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

World English Bible
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Sons of Ephraim—armed bearers of bow, "" Have turned in a day of conflict.

Young's Literal Translation
Sons of Ephraim -- armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.

Smith's Literal Translation
The sons of Ephraim bending, lifting up the bow, turned in the day of the encounter.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The sons of Ephraim who bend and shoot with the bow: they have turned back in the day of battle.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, have been turned back in the day of battle.

New American Bible
The ranks of Ephraimite archers, retreated on the day of battle.

New Revised Standard Version
The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The children of Ephraim, being armed and throwing forth bows, turned back in the day of battle.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The children of Ephraim strung and cast away the bow when they were attacked and they turned back in the day of war.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The children of Ephraim were as archers handling the bow, That turned back in the day of battle.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The children of Ephraim, bending and shooting with the bow, turned back in the day of battle.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
8Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle. 10They failed to keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law.…

Cross References
Judges 20:16
Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.

1 Chronicles 5:18
The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 warriors—valiant men who carried the shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for battle.

1 Samuel 31:1-7
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. / The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. / When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically. ...

2 Chronicles 14:8
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.

2 Kings 17:20
So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.

Hosea 7:16
They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.

1 Samuel 4:1-11
Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. / The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield. / When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.” ...

1 Chronicles 12:2
they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):

2 Kings 13:14-19
When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” / Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows. / Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. ...

Isaiah 7:2
When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

1 Samuel 13:19-22
And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.” / Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles. / The charge was a pim for sharpening a plowshare or mattock, a third of a shekel for sharpening a pitchfork or an axe, and a third of a shekel for repointing an oxgoad. ...

1 Samuel 17:20-24
So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry. / And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other. / Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. ...

2 Samuel 1:21-22
O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil. / From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not retreat, and the sword of Saul did not return empty.

1 Samuel 31:8-13
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. / They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people. / They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. ...

2 Chronicles 25:5-6
Then Amaziah gathered the people of Judah and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he numbered those twenty years of age or older throughout Judah and Benjamin and found 300,000 chosen men able to serve in the army, bearing the spear and shield. / He also hired 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.


Treasury of Scripture

The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

the children.

1 Chronicles 7:20-22
And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, …

Deuteronomy 1:41-44
Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill…

Joshua 17:16-18
And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel…

carrying.

Judges 9:28,38-40
And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? …

Luke 22:33
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

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Psalm 78
1. An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9. The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67. The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David.














The Ephraimites
The tribe of Ephraim was one of the prominent tribes of Israel, descended from Joseph's son Ephraim. Historically, Ephraim held a place of leadership among the tribes, often representing the northern kingdom of Israel. The mention of Ephraim here symbolizes not just a single tribe but can be seen as a representation of the collective failure of Israel to remain faithful to God. In a broader sense, it serves as a reminder of the responsibilities that come with leadership and the consequences of failing to uphold them.

Armed with bows
This phrase indicates that the Ephraimites were well-equipped for battle. In ancient warfare, bows were significant weapons, providing an advantage in combat due to their range and lethality. The imagery of being "armed with bows" suggests readiness and preparation. However, the subsequent failure despite being well-armed highlights a spiritual lesson: physical preparedness is insufficient without spiritual fortitude and reliance on God.

Turned back
The act of turning back in battle is a powerful metaphor for retreat and failure. In the context of faith, it signifies a lack of trust and courage in God's promises and power. Historically, turning back in battle was seen as a disgrace, indicating fear or lack of resolve. Spiritually, it serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of not standing firm in faith, especially when faced with challenges.

On the day of battle
This phrase underscores the critical moment of testing. The "day of battle" is not just a literal day of conflict but can be interpreted as any moment of trial or decision in one's spiritual journey. It is a reminder that faith is often tested in moments of crisis, and it is during these times that one's true reliance on God is revealed. The historical context of Israel's battles serves as a backdrop for understanding the importance of steadfastness and trust in God during life's challenges.

(9) Armed, and carrying bows.--Following Jeremiah 4:29, and from analogy with Jeremiah 44:9 ("handle and bend the bow") we get as literal rendering of the Hebrew here, drawing and shooting with the bow. LXX. and Vulgate, "bending and shooting with the bow." But a close comparison of this verse with Psalm 78:57 of this psalm, and with Hosea 7:16, has suggested to a recent commentator a much more satisfactory explanation, The sons of Ephraim (are like men) drawing slack bowstrings which turn back in the day of battle. "Both the disappointment on the day of battle and the cause of the disappointment, which are mentioned in the text, will be appreciated by the English reader who remembers that the result of the battle of Crecy was determined at the outset by a shower of rain which relaxed the strings of our enemy's bows" (Burgess, Notes on the Hebrew Psalms.)[15]

[15] This translation assumes that the primitive meaning of the verb r?mah is was slack. Certainly the root idea of the word (comp. the cognate r?phah and the meaning of the derivation in Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 12:24) seems to have been relaxation. That turned back, both here and in Psalm 78:57, refers to the recoil of a bow, seems indubitable. . . .

Verses 9-72. - The historical portion of the psalm now follows. It commences with some general remarks on the transgressions of Ephraim, i.e. of Israel while under the guidance of Ephraim - from Joshua to Samuel (vers. 9-11). It then proceeds to details, and sketches the Israelite history. from the deliverance out of Egypt to the establishment of David's kingdom (vers, 12-72). Verse 9. - The children of Ephraim (comp. ver. 67). Ephraim was the leading tribe, from the appointment of Joshua to succeed Moses until the establishment of Saul as king. Hence the tabernacle was set up within the territory of Ephraim (Joshua 18:1). The importance of Ephraim appears in Judges 3:27; Judges 7:24; Judges 8:1, 2; Judges 10:9; Judges 12:1-6. Being armed, and carrying bows. There is no "and" in the original. "Carrying bows" is exegetical of "being armed" (comp. 2 Chronicles 17:17). Turned back in the day of battle. The allusion is not to any one particular occasion, but to the ill success of Israel under the leadership of Ephraim during the whole period of the Judges (see Judges 2:14; Judges 3:8, 13, 31; Judges 4:2; Judges 6:1; Judges 10:7, 12, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The archers
נוֹשְׁקֵ֥י (nō·wō·šə·qê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5401: To kiss, to equip with weapons

of Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֗יִם (’ep̄·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

turned back
הָ֝פְכ֗וּ (hā·p̄ə·ḵū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2015: To turn about, over, to change, overturn, return, pervert

on the day
בְּי֣וֹם (bə·yō·wm)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of battle.
קְרָֽב׃ (qə·rāḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7128: Hostile encounter


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OT Poetry: Psalm 78:9 The children of Ephraim being armed (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 78:8
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