103:9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry. 1
103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, 2
and is faithful to their descendants, 3
26:20 Go, my people! Enter your inner rooms!
Close your doors behind you!
Hide for a little while,
until his angry judgment is over! 4
54:7 “For a short time I abandoned 5 you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
54:8 In a burst 6 of anger I rejected you 7 momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your protector, 8 the Lord.
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 9 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 10
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 11
57:16 For I will not be hostile 12 forever
or perpetually angry,
for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me, 13
the life-giving breath I created.
57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;
they rest on their beds. 14
1 tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
2 tn Heb “but the loyal love of the
3 tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”
4 tn Heb “until anger passes by.”
5 tn Or “forsook” (NASB).
6 tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”
7 tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”
8 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
9 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
10 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
11 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”
12 tn Or perhaps, “argue,” or “accuse” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
13 tn Heb “for a spirit from before me would be faint.”
14 tn Heb “he enters peace, they rest on their beds, the one who walks straight ahead of himself.” The tomb is here viewed in a fairly positive way as a place where the dead are at peace and sleep undisturbed.