55:8 “Indeed, 1 my plans 2 are not like 3 your plans,
and my deeds 4 are not like 5 your deeds,
2:14 However, in the future I will allure her; 11
I will lead 12 her back into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
1 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
2 tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).
3 tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.
4 tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).
5 tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.
6 tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.
7 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.
8 tn See Exod 33:19.
9 sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.
10 sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.
11 tn The participle מְפַתֶּיהָ (méfatteha, Piel participle masculine singular + 3rd feminine singular suffix from פָּתָה, patah, “to allure”) following the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “Now!”) describes an event that will occur in the immediate or near future.
12 tn Following the future-time referent participle (מְפַתֶּיהָ, méfatteha) there is a string of perfects introduced by vav consecutive that refer to future events.
13 tn Grk “slipped in.”
14 tn Or “trespass.”
15 sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.
16 sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
17 tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”
18 sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.
19 sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.
20 sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
21 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”