33:23 If there is an angel beside him,
one mediator 1 out of a thousand,
to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; 2
33:24 and if 3 God 4 is gracious to him and says,
‘Spare 5 him from going down
to the place of corruption,
I have found a ransom for him,’ 6
19:14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight, 7
O Lord, my sheltering rock 8 and my redeemer. 9
54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –
the Lord who commands armies is his name.
He is your protector, 10 the Holy One of Israel. 11
He is called “God of the entire earth.”
59:20 “A protector 12 comes to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” 13 says the Lord.
59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to 14 them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” 15 says the Lord.
1 sn The verse is describing the way God can preserve someone from dying by sending a messenger (translated here as “angel”), who could be human or angelic. This messenger will interpret/mediate God’s will. By “one … out of a thousand” Elihu could have meant either that one of the thousands of messengers at God’s disposal might be sent or that the messenger would be unique (see Eccl 7:28; and cp. Job 9:3).
2 tn This is a smoother reading. The MT has “to tell to a man his uprightness,” to reveal what is right for him. The LXX translated this word “duty”; the choice is adopted by some commentaries. However, that is too far from the text, which indicates that the angel/messenger is to call the person to uprightness.
3 tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).
6 sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.
7 tn Heb “may the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart be acceptable before you.” The prefixed verbal form at the beginning of the verse is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate the form as an imperfect continuing the thought of v. 14b: “[Then] the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart will be acceptable before you.”
8 tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
9 tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.
10 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
11 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
12 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
13 tn Heb “and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob.”
14 tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”
15 tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”
16 tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.
17 sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.