44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! 1
Let him announce it and explain it to me –
since I established an ancient people – 2
let them announce future events! 3
46:10 who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand 4 what has not yet occurred,
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’
48:3 “I announced events beforehand, 5
I issued the decrees and made the predictions; 6
suddenly I acted and they came to pass.
48:4 I did this 7 because I know how stubborn you are.
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze. 8
48:5 I announced them to you beforehand;
before they happened, I predicted them for you,
so you could never say,
‘My image did these things,
my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’
48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence! 9
Will you not admit that what I say is true? 10
From this point on I am announcing to you new events
that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about. 11
48:7 Now they come into being, 12 not in the past;
before today you did not hear about them,
so you could not say,
‘Yes, 13 I know about them.’
32:7 Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind 14 the years of past generations. 15
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
32:8 When the Most High 16 gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind, 17
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 18
1 tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”
2 tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.
3 tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”
4 tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”
5 tn Heb “the former things beforehand I declared.”
6 tn Heb “and from my mouth they came forth and I caused them to be heard.”
7 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
8 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
9 tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”
10 tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”
11 tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”
12 tn Heb “are created” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “They are brand new.”
13 tn Heb “look”; KJV, NASB “Behold.”
14 tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read 2nd person masculine singular whereas the MT has 2nd person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.
15 tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.
16 tn The Hebrew term עֶליוֹן (’elyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Ps 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.
17 tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).
18 tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bÿney yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelwn qeou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bÿney ’el) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (beney ’elim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.
19 sn Who makes these things known. The remark emphasizes how God’s design of these things reaches back to the time he declared them.
20 sn An allusion to Isa 45:21.
21 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
22 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
23 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
24 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
25 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.