35:10 With all my strength I will say, 1
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue 2 the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; 3
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” 4
86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!
Your exploits are incomparable! 5
89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, 6
89:7 a God who is honored 7 in the great angelic assembly, 8
and more awesome than 9 all who surround him?
89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! 10
Who is strong like you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
15:11 Who is like you, 11 O Lord, among the gods? 12
Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, 13 working wonders?
40:18 To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One. 14
10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, 15
because you deserve to be revered. 16
For there is no one like you
among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. 17
1 tn Heb “all my bones will say.”
2 tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.
3 tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.
4 tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.
5 tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”
6 tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the
7 tn Heb “feared.”
8 tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”
9 tn Or perhaps “feared by.”
10 tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the
11 tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.
12 sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.
13 tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).
14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
15 tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.
16 tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”
17 tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substitution of the abstract for the concrete “royalty, royal power” for “kings” who exercise it.