21:15 Who is the Almighty, that 1 we should serve him?
What would we gain
if we were to pray 2 to him?’ 3
21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction; 4
let him drink of the anger of the Almighty.
34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. 5
Far be it from 6 God to do wickedness,
from the Almighty to do evil.
34:11 For he repays a person for his work, 7
and according to the conduct of a person,
he causes the consequences to find him. 8
34:12 Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly,
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
35:13 Surely it is an empty cry 9 – God does not hear it;
the Almighty does not take notice of it.
40:2 “Will the one who contends 10 with the Almighty correct him? 11
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”
99:4 The king is strong;
he loves justice. 12
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; 13
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful! 17
Just 18 and true are your ways,
King over the nations! 19
16:7 Then 20 I heard the altar reply, 21 “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, 22 your judgments are true and just!”
1 tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”
2 tn The verb פָּגַע (paga’) means “to encounter; to meet,” but also “to meet with request; to intercede; to interpose.” The latter meaning is a derived meaning by usage.
3 tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.
4 tc This word occurs only here. The word כִּיד (kid) was connected to Arabic kaid, “fraud, trickery,” or “warfare.” The word is emended by the commentators to other ideas, such as פִּיד (pid, “[his] calamity”). Dahood and others alter it to “cup”; Wright to “weapons.” A. F. L. Beeston argues for a meaning “condemnation” for the MT form, and so makes no change in the text (Mus 67 [1954]: 315-16). If the connection to Arabic “warfare” is sustained, or if such explanations of the existing MT can be sustained, then the text need not be emended. In any case, the sense of the line is clear.
5 tn Heb “men of heart.” The “heart” is used for the capacity to understand and make the proper choice. It is often translated “mind.”
6 tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.
7 tn Heb “for the work of man, he [= God] repays him.”
8 tn Heb “he causes it to find him.” The text means that God will cause a man to find (or receive) the consequences of his actions.
9 tn Heb “surely – vanity, he does not hear.” The cry is an empty cry, not a prayer to God. Dhorme translates it, “It is a pure waste of words.”
10 tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”
11 tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”
12 tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the
13 tn Heb “you establish fairness.”
14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
15 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
16 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
17 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
18 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
19 tc Certain
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
21 tn Grk “the altar saying.”
22 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”