1:1 In the beginning 1 God 2 created 3 the heavens and the earth. 4
“Blessed be Abram by 5 the Most High God,
Creator 6 of heaven and earth. 7
115:15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the creator 10 of heaven and earth!
115:16 The heavens belong to the Lord, 11
but the earth he has given to mankind. 12
42:5 This is what the true God, 13 the Lord, says –
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, 14
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it: 15
66:1 This is what the Lord says:
“The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
Where then is the house you will build for me?
Where is the place where I will rest?
10:10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
10:11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear 16 from the earth and from under the heavens.’ 17
10:12 The Lord is the one who 18 by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
4:34 But at the end of the appointed time 22 I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up 23 toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.
I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.
For his authority is an everlasting authority,
and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.
4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. 24
He does as he wishes with the army of heaven
and with those who inhabit the earth.
No one slaps 25 his hand
and says to him, ‘What have you done?’
1 tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.
2 sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”
3 tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).
4 tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).
5 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
6 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
7 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
8 tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”
9 tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
10 tn Or “maker.”
11 tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the
12 tn Heb “to the sons of man.”
13 tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.
14 tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”
15 tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).
16 tn Aram “The gods who did not make…earth will disappear…” The sentence is broken up in the translation to avoid a long, complex English sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
17 tn This verse is in Aramaic. It is the only Aramaic sentence in Jeremiah. Scholars debate the appropriateness of this verse to this context. Many see it as a gloss added by a postexilic scribe which was later incorporated into the text. Both R. E. Clendenen (“Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10,” JBL 106 [1987]: 401-8) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:324-25, 334-35) have given detailed arguments that the passage is not only original but the climax and center of the contrast between the
18 tn The words “The
19 tn Heb “by my great power and my outstretched arm.” Again “arm” is symbolical for “strength.” Compare the similar expression in 21:5.
20 sn See Dan 4:17 for a similar statement.
21 tn Aram “until.”
22 tn Aram “days.”
23 tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
24 tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew
25 tn Aram “strikes against.”