8:1 3 Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem 4 Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). 5
41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise 9
in the future and forevermore! 10
We agree! We agree! 11
68:4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds! 12
For the Lord is his name! 13
Rejoice before him!
68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God!
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
68:33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times! 14
Look! He thunders loudly. 15
68:34 Acknowledge God’s power, 16
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies! 17
68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! 18
It is the God of Israel 19 who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise! 20
72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! 21
He alone accomplishes amazing things! 22
72:19 His glorious name deserves praise 23 forevermore!
May his majestic splendor 24 fill the whole earth!
We agree! We agree! 25
1:68 “Blessed 26 be the Lord God of Israel,
because he has come to help 27 and has redeemed 28 his people.
1:69 For 29 he has raised up 30 a horn of salvation 31 for us in the house of his servant David, 32
1:3 Blessed 33 is 34 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed 35 us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.
1 tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his hand.”
2 tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his mouth.”
3 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: “It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his own house, after twenty years.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the
6 tn Or “bodyguard” (Heb “mighty men”).
7 tc Many Hebrew
8 tn Heb “the eyes of all Israel are upon you to declare to them who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him.”
9 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
10 tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.
11 tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.
12 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term עֲרָבוֹת (’aravot) is taken as “steppe-lands” (often rendered “deserts”), but here the form is probably a homonym meaning “clouds.” Verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky” strongly favors this (see as well Deut 33:26), as does the reference in v. 9 to God as the source of rain. The term עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “cloud”) is cognate with Akkadian urpatu/erpetu and with Ugaritic ’rpt. The phrase rkb ’rpt (“one who rides on the clouds”) appears in Ugaritic mythological texts as an epithet of the storm god Baal. The nonphonemic interchange of the bilabial consonants b and p is attested elsewhere in roots common to Hebrew and Ugaritic, though the phenomenon is relatively rare.
13 tc Heb “in the
14 tc Heb “to the one who rides through the skies of skies of ancient times.” If the MT is retained, one might translate, “to the one who rides through the ancient skies.” (שְׁמֵי [shÿmey, “skies of”] may be accidentally repeated.) The present translation assumes an emendation to בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִקֶּדֶם (bashamayim miqqedem, “[to the one who rides] through the sky from ancient times”), that is, God has been revealing his power through the storm since ancient times.
15 tn Heb “he gives his voice a strong voice.” In this context God’s “voice” is the thunder that accompanies the rain (see vv. 8-9, as well as Deut 33:26).
16 tn Heb “give strength to God.”
17 sn The language of v. 34 echoes that of Deut 33:26.
18 tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).
19 tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”
20 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
21 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.
22 tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”
23 tn Heb “[be] blessed.”
24 tn Or “glory.”
25 tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response of agreement to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.
26 sn The traditional name of this psalm, the “Benedictus,” comes from the Latin wording of the start of the hymn (“Blessed be…”).
27 sn The verb come to help can refer to a visit, but can also connote concern or assistance (L&N 85.11).
28 tn Or “has delivered”; Grk “has accomplished redemption.”
29 tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.
30 sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.
31 sn The horn of salvation is a figure that refers to the power of Messiah and his ability to protect, as the horn refers to what an animal uses to attack and defend (Ps 75:4-5, 10; 148:14; 2 Sam 22:3). Thus the meaning of the figure is “a powerful savior.”
32 sn In the house of his servant David is a reference to Messiah’s Davidic descent. Zechariah is more interested in Jesus than his own son John at this point.
33 sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.
34 tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.
35 tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”