84:6 As they pass through the Baca Valley, 8
he provides a spring for them. 9
The rain 10 even covers it with pools of water. 11
107:35 As for his people, 12 he turned 13 a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; 14
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes
and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water
and the arid land into springs.
43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! 15 Do you not recognize 16 it?
Yes, I will make a road in the desert
and paths 17 in the wilderness.
43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
48:21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;
he makes water flow out of a rock for them;
he splits open a rock and water flows out.’ 18
1 tn Heb “at the offering up of the offering.”
2 tn The words “the altar” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “let it be known.”
4 tn Heb “the God.”
5 tn Heb “that you are turning their heart[s] back.”
6 tn The words “from the sky” are added for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “the God” (the phrase occurs twice in this verse).
8 tn The translation assumes that the Hebrew phrase עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא (’emeq habbakha’) is the name of an otherwise unknown arid valley through which pilgrims to Jerusalem passed. The term בָּכָא (bakha’) may be the name of a particular type of plant or shrub that grew in this valley. O. Borowski (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 130) suggests it is the black mulberry. Some take the phrase as purely metaphorical and relate בָּכָא to the root בָּכָה (bakhah, “to weep”). In this case one might translate, “the valley of weeping” or “the valley of affliction.”
9 tc The MT reads “a spring they make it,” but this makes little sense. Many medieval Hebrew
10 tn This rare word may refer to the early (or autumn) rains (see Joel 2:23).
11 tc The MT reads בְּרָכוֹת (bÿrakhot, “blessings”) but the preceding reference to a “spring” favors an emendation to בְּרֵכוֹת (bÿrekhot, “pools”).
12 tn The words “As for his people” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The psalmist contrasts God’s judgment on his enemies with his blessing of his people. See the note on the word “enemies” in v. 39 for further discussion.
13 tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. See the note on the word “turned” in v. 33.
14 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
15 tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”
16 tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”
17 tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has נתיבות (“paths”).
18 sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).