But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. He saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth - This is rather a harsh construction. To avoid this, some have proposed to render מחרב mechereb, which we translate from the sword, the persecuted, but, I am afraid, on very slender authority. Instead of מחרב מפיהם mechereb mippihem, "from the sword, from their mouth," eleven of Kennicott and De Rossi's MSS. read מחרב פיהם mechereb pihem, from the sword of their mouth; and with these MSS. the Chaldee, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic agree. The verse, therefore, may be translated thus: -
He saveth from the sword of their mouth;
The poor from the hand of the mighty.
Or thus: -
He saveth from the sword of their mouth;
And with a strong hand the impoverished.