9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity 7 – do not regard as inconsequential 8 all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!
A song, a psalm by the Korahites.
48:1 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise
in the city of our God, 10 his holy hill.
96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods. 11
145:3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise!
No one can fathom his greatness! 12
147:5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power; 13
there is no limit to his wisdom. 14
12:6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel 15 acts mightily 16 among you!”
4:3 “How great are his signs!
How mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom will last forever, 17
and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”
4:34 But at the end of the appointed time 18 I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up 19 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.
1 tn Or “to thousands of generations.” The contrast of showing steadfast love to “thousands” to the limitation of punishing the third and fourth generation of children for their parents’ sins in Exod 20:5-6; Deut 5:9-10; Exod 34:7 has suggested to many commentators and translators (cf., e.g., NRSV, TEV, NJPS) that reference here is to “thousands of generations.” The statement is, of course, rhetorical emphasizing God’s great desire to bless as opposed to the reluctant necessity to punish. It is part of the attributes of God spelled out in Exod 34:6-7.
2 tn Heb “pays back into the bosom of their children the sin of their parents.”
3 tn Heb “Nothing is too hard for you who show…and who punishes…the great [and] powerful God whose name is Yahweh of armies, [you who are] great in counsel…whose eyes are open…who did signs…” Jer 32:18-22 is a long series of relative clauses introduced by participles or relative pronouns in vv. 18-20a followed by second person vav consecutive imperfects carrying on the last of these relative clauses in vv. 20b-22. This is typical of hymnic introductions to hymns of praise (cf., e.g., Ps 136) but it is hard to sustain the relative subordination which all goes back to the suffix on “hard for you.” The sentences have been broken up but the connection with the end of v. 17 has been sacrificed for conformity to contemporary English style.
4 tn Heb “And I saw.”
5 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
6 tn Heb “houses.”
7 tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.
8 tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”
9 sn Psalm 48. This so-called “Song of Zion” celebrates the greatness and glory of the Lord’s dwelling place, Jerusalem. His presence in the city elevates it above all others and assures its security.
10 sn The city of our God is Jerusalem, which is also referred to here as “his holy hill,” that is, Zion (see v. 2, as well as Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; 87:1; Dan 9:16).
11 tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.
12 tn Heb “and concerning his greatness there is no searching.”
13 tn Heb “and great of strength.”
14 tn Heb “to his wisdom there is no counting.”
15 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
16 tn Or “is great” (TEV). However, the context emphasizes his mighty acts of deliverance (cf. NCV), not some general or vague character quality.
17 tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
18 tn Aram “days.”
19 tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
20 sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the