Deuteronomy 32:13

32:13 He enabled him ¹  to travel over the high terrain of the land,

and he ate of the produce of the fields.

He provided honey for him from the cliffs, ² 

and olive oil ³  from the hardest of ⁴  rocks, ⁵ 

Psalms 78:69

78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; ⁶ 

as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. ⁷ 

Isaiah 58:14

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ⁸ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ⁹ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ¹⁰ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ¹¹ 

Habakkuk 3:19

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹² 

He gives me the agility of a deer; ¹³ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ¹⁴ 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ¹⁵ 

[32:13]  ¹ tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.

[32:13]  ² tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”

[32:13]  ³ tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.

[32:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “flinty.”

[32:13]  ⁵ sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”

[78:69]  ⁶ tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.

[78:69]  ⁷ tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”

[58:14]  ⁸ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[3:19]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

[3:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

[3:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he makes me walk on my high places.”

[3:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”