78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 1
He sent them more than enough to eat. 2
78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past. 3
For the music director; a psalm of David.
19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; 5
the sky displays his handiwork. 6
2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders 9 as he leads his army. 10
Indeed, his warriors 11 are innumerable; 12
Surely his command is carried out! 13
Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome 14
and very terrifying – who can survive 15 it?
1 sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).
2 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
3 tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).
4 sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.
5 sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.
6 tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.
7 tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.
8 sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.
9 tn Heb “the
10 tn Heb “before his army.”
11 tn Heb “military encampment.”
12 tn Heb “very large.”
13 tn Heb “he makes his word powerful.”
14 tn Or “powerful.” Heb “great.”
15 tn Heb “endure.” The MT and LXX read “endure,” while one of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXIIc) has “bear.”
16 sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.