Isaiah 26:4

26:4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward, ¹ 

even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector! ² 

Exodus 15:2

15:2 The Lord ³  is my strength and my song, ⁴ 

and he has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise him, ⁵ 

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Psalms 83:18

83:18 Then they will know ⁶  that you alone are the Lord, ⁷ 

the sovereign king ⁸  over all the earth.

Psalms 118:14

118:14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me; ⁹ 

he has become my deliverer.” ¹⁰ 

Hosea 1:7

1:7 But I will have pity on the nation ¹¹  of Judah. ¹²  I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, ¹³  by chariot horses, or by chariots.” ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Or “forevermore.” For other uses of the phrase עֲדֵי־עַד (’ade-’ad) see Isa 65:18 and Pss 83:17; 92:7.

² tc The Hebrew text has “for in Yah, the Lord, an everlasting rock.” Some have suggested that the phrase בְּיָהּ (beyah, “in Yah”) is the result of dittography. A scribe seeing כִּי יְהוָה (ki yÿhvah) in his original text would somehow have confused the letters and accidentally inserted בְּיָהּ between the words (bet and kaf [ב and כ] can be confused in later script phases). A number of English versions retain both divine names for emphasis (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). One of the Qumran texts (1QIsa^a) confirms the MT reading as well.

³ tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”

⁴ tn The word וְזִמְרָת (vÿzimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength – “strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line – only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.

⁵ tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.

⁶ tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose (“so that they may know”) or result.

⁷ tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”

⁸ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

⁹ tn Heb “my strength and protection [is] the Lord.” The Hebrew term זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song” (“my strength and song [is] the Lord”) in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing). However, many recent commentators have argued that the noun זִמְרָת is here a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v.; cf. NEB “The Lord is my refuge and defence”; NRSV “my strength and my might.”

¹⁰ tn Or “salvation.”

¹¹ tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”

¹² tn The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it on Judah. The accusative direct object, which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם (vé’et-bet yéhudah ’arakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).

¹³ tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”

¹⁴ sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).