Genesis 15:1-21

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ³  what will you give me since ⁴  I continue to be ⁵  childless, and my heir ⁶  is ⁷  Eliezer of Damascus?” ⁸  15:3 Abram added, ⁹  “Since ¹⁰  you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” ¹¹ 

15:4 But look, ¹²  the word of the Lord came to him: “This man ¹³  will not be your heir, ¹⁴  but instead ¹⁵  a son ¹⁶  who comes from your own body will be ¹⁷  your heir.” ¹⁸  15:5 The Lord ¹⁹  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

15:6 Abram believed ²⁰  the Lord, and the Lord ²¹  considered his response of faith ²²  as proof of genuine loyalty. ²³ 

15:7 The Lord said ²⁴  to him, “I am the Lord ²⁵  who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ²⁶  to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But ²⁷  Abram ²⁸  said, “O sovereign Lord, ²⁹  by what ³⁰  can I know that I am to possess it?”

15:9 The Lord ³¹  said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram ³²  took all these for him and then cut them in two ³³  and placed each half opposite the other, ³⁴  but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, ³⁵  and great terror overwhelmed him. ³⁶  15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ³⁷  that your descendants will be strangers ³⁸  in a foreign country. ³⁹  They will be enslaved and oppressed ⁴⁰  for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ⁴¹  Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, ⁴²  you will go to your ancestors ⁴³  in peace and be buried at a good old age. ⁴⁴  15:16 In the fourth generation ⁴⁵  your descendants ⁴⁶  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ⁴⁷ 

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch ⁴⁸  passed between the animal parts. ⁴⁹  15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ⁵⁰  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ⁵¹  this land, from the river of Egypt ⁵²  to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land ⁵³  of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” ⁵⁴ 

Genesis 19:6

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him.

Genesis 19:11-21

19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ⁵⁵  with blindness. The men outside ⁵⁶  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ⁵⁷  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ⁵⁸  Do you have ⁵⁹  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ⁶⁰  Get them out of this ⁶¹  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ⁶²  it. The outcry against this place ⁶³  is so great before the Lord that he ⁶⁴  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ⁶⁵  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ⁶⁶  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ⁶⁷ 

19:15 At dawn ⁶⁸  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ⁶⁹  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁷⁰  19:16 When Lot ⁷¹  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ⁷²  They led them away and placed them ⁷³  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁷⁴  said, “Run ⁷⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁷⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁷⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ⁷⁸  19:19 Your ⁷⁹  servant has found favor with you, ⁸⁰  and you have shown me great ⁸¹  kindness ⁸²  by sparing ⁸³  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁸⁴  this disaster will overtake ⁸⁵  me and I’ll die. ⁸⁶  19:20 Look, this town ⁸⁷  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ⁸⁸  Let me go there. ⁸⁹  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁹⁰  Then I’ll survive.” ⁹¹ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁹²  “I will grant this request too ⁹³  and will not overthrow ⁹⁴  the town you mentioned.

Genesis 20:1-3

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁹⁵  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁹⁶  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ⁹⁷  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ⁹⁸  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ⁹⁹ 

Psalms 21:13

21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength! ¹⁰⁰ 

We will sing and praise ¹⁰¹  your power!

Psalms 57:11

57:11 Rise up ¹⁰²  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹⁰³ 

Psalms 64:9-10

64:9 and all people will fear. ¹⁰⁴ 

They will proclaim ¹⁰⁵  what God has done,

and reflect on his deeds.

64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord

and take shelter in him.

All the morally upright ¹⁰⁶  will boast. ¹⁰⁷ 

Psalms 98:1-3

Psalm 98 ¹⁰⁸ 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ¹⁰⁹ 

for he performs ¹¹⁰  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ¹¹¹ 

98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; ¹¹² 

in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.

98:3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. ¹¹³ 

All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us. ¹¹⁴ 

Psalms 102:13

102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. ¹¹⁵ 

For it is time to have mercy on her,

for the appointed time has come.

Isaiah 51:9-11

51:9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ¹¹⁶ 

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash ¹¹⁷  the Proud One? ¹¹⁸ 

Did you not ¹¹⁹  wound the sea monster? ¹²⁰ 

51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,

the waters of the great deep?

Did you not make ¹²¹  a path through the depths of the sea,

so those delivered from bondage ¹²²  could cross over?

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ¹²³ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ¹²⁴  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ¹²⁵ 

Isaiah 52:10

52:10 The Lord reveals ¹²⁶  his royal power ¹²⁷ 

in the sight of all the nations;

the entire ¹²⁸  earth sees

our God deliver. ¹²⁹ 

[15:1]  ¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[15:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”

[15:2]  ⁴ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “I am going.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”

[15:2]  ⁷ tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).

[15:2]  ⁸ sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.

[15:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “And Abram said.”

[15:3]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).

[15:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “is inheriting me.”

[15:4]  ¹² tn The disjunctive draws attention to God’s response and the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, translated “look”) mirrors Abram’s statement in v. 3 and highlights the fact that God responded to Abram.

[15:4]  ¹³ tn The subject of the verb is the demonstrative pronoun, which can be translated “this one” or “this man.” That the Lord does not mention him by name is significant; often in ancient times the use of the name would bring legitimacy to inheritance and adoption cases.

[15:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “inherit you.”

[15:4]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew כִּי־אִם (ki-’im) forms a very strong adversative.

[15:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he who”; the implied referent (Abram’s unborn son who will be his heir) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:4]  ¹⁷ tn The pronoun could also be an emphatic subject: “whoever comes out of your body, he will inherit you.”

[15:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “will inherit you.”

[15:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ²⁰ tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50-98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.

[15:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ²² tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440-41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him – [namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259-89.

[15:6]  ²³ tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12-13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962).

[15:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And he said.”

[15:7]  ²⁵ sn I am the Lord. The Lord initiates the covenant-making ceremony with a declaration of who he is and what he has done for Abram. The same form appears at the beginning of the covenant made at Sinai (see Exod 20:1).

[15:7]  ²⁶ sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.

[15:8]  ²⁷ tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”

[15:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:8]  ²⁹ tn See note on the phrase “sovereign Lord” in 15:2.

[15:8]  ³⁰ tn Or “how.”

[15:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ³³ tn Heb “in the middle.”

[15:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”

[15:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”

[15:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”

[15:13]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.

[15:13]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.

[15:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”

[15:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.

[15:14]  ⁴¹ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[15:15]  ⁴² tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.

[15:15]  ⁴³ sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.

[15:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “in a good old age.”

[15:16]  ⁴⁵ sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

[15:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

[15:17]  ⁴⁸ sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).

[15:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “these pieces.”

[15:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[15:18]  ⁵¹ tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).

[15:18]  ⁵² sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

[15:19]  ⁵³ tn The words “the land” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Each of the names in the list has the Hebrew definite article, which is used here generically for the class of people identified.

[19:11]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:12]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

[19:12]  ⁵⁹ tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

[19:12]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

[19:13]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

[19:13]  ⁶³ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:13]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

[19:14]  ⁶⁵ sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ⁶⁶ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[19:15]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

[19:15]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

[19:15]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:16]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ⁷² tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ⁷³ tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

[19:17]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁷⁶ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:18]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:19]  ⁷⁹ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ⁸² sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ⁸³ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ⁸⁵ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ⁸⁶ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[19:20]  ⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”

[19:20]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ⁹² tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ⁹³ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ⁹⁴ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

[20:1]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[20:3]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.

[20:3]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[21:13]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.

[21:13]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “sing praise.”

[57:11]  ¹⁰² tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:11]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[64:9]  ¹⁰⁴ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read וַיִּרְאוּ (vayyir’u, “and they will see”) instead of וַיִּירְאוּ (vayyirÿ’u, “and they will proclaim”).

[64:9]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.

[64:10]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “upright in heart.”

[64:10]  ¹⁰⁷ tn That is, about the Lord’s accomplishments on their behalf.

[98:1]  ¹⁰⁸ sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ¹⁰⁹ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ¹¹⁰ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.

[98:2]  ¹¹² tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”

[98:3]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”

[98:3]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).

[102:13]  ¹¹⁵ tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”

[51:9]  ¹¹⁶ tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.

[51:9]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”

[51:9]  ¹¹⁸ tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).

[51:9]  ¹¹⁹ tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”

[51:9]  ¹²⁰ tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.

[51:10]  ¹²¹ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”

[51:10]  ¹²² tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”

[51:11]  ¹²³ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[51:11]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

[51:11]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

[52:10]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “lays bare”; NLT “will demonstrate.”

[52:10]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “his holy arm.” This is a metonymy for his power.

[52:10]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “the remote regions,” which here stand for the extremities and everything in between.

[52:10]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “the deliverance of our God.” “God” is a subjective genitive here.