78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 1 in the desert!
9:3 The Lord says, 2
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 3
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 4
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 5
and do not pay attention to me. 6
1 tn Or “caused him pain.”
2 tn The words “The
3 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
4 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
5 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
6 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).