8:27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he marked out the horizon 1 over the face of the deep,
8:29 when he gave the sea his decree
that the waters should not pass over his command, 2
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,
and remove 3 from all the poor 4 their legal rights. 5
1 sn The infinitive construct בְּחוּקוֹ (bÿkhuqo, “to cut; to engrave; to mark”) and the noun חוּג (khug, “horizon; circle”) form a paronomasia in the line.
2 tn Heb “his mouth.”
3 tn The verb means “change,” perhaps expressed in reversing decisions or removing rights.
4 tn Heb “all the children of poverty.” This expression refers to the poor by nature. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the afflicted”; NIV “oppressed.”
5 sn The word is דִּין (din, “judgment”; so KJV). In this passage it refers to the cause or the plea for justice, i.e., the “legal rights.”