28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and observes everything under the heavens.
28:25 When he made 1 the force of the wind
and measured 2 the waters with a gauge.
65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior. 3
All the ends of the earth trust in you, 4
as well as those living across the wide seas. 5
65:6 You created the mountains by your power, 6
and demonstrated your strength. 7
65:7 You calm the raging seas 8
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations. 9
65:8 Even those living in the most remote areas are awestruck by your acts; 10
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you. 11
139:9 If I were to fly away 12 on the wings of the dawn, 13
and settle down on the other side 14 of the sea,
139:10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
1 tn Heb “he gave weight to the wind.” The form is the infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition. Some have emended it to change the preposition to the temporal בּ (bet) on the basis of some of the versions (e.g., Latin and Syriac) that have “who made.” This is workable, for the infinitive would then take on the finite tense of the previous verbs. An infinitive of purpose does not work well, for that would be saying God looked everywhere in order to give wind its proper weight (see R. Gordis, Job, 310).
2 tn The verb is the Piel perfect, meaning “to estimate the measure” of something. In the verse, the perfect verb continues the function of the infinitive preceding it, as if it had a ו (vav) prefixed to it. Whatever usage that infinitive had, this verb is to continue it (see GKC 352 §114.r).
3 tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”
4 tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”
5 tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.
6 tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”
7 tn Heb “one [who] is girded with strength”; or “one [who] girds himself with strength.”
8 tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”
9 sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).
10 tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.
11 tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.
12 tn Heb “rise up.”
13 sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.
14 tn Heb “at the end.”