Deuteronomy 32:26-27

The Weakness of Other Gods

32:26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces. ¹ 

I want to make people forget they ever existed.

32:27 But I fear the reaction ²  of their enemies,

for ³  their adversaries would misunderstand

and say, “Our power is great, ⁴ 

and the Lord has not done all this!”’

Psalms 106:6-8

106:6 We have sinned like ⁵  our ancestors; ⁶ 

we have done wrong, we have done evil.

106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,

they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,

and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. ⁷ 

106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, ⁸ 

that he might reveal his power.

Ezekiel 20:9

20:9 I acted for the sake of my reputation, ⁹  so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, ¹⁰  before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹¹ 

Ezekiel 36:22-23

36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation ¹²  which you profaned among the nations where you went. 36:23 I will magnify ¹³  my great name that has been profaned among the nations, that you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the sovereign Lord, when I magnify myself among you in their sight.

Joel 2:17

2:17 Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep

from the vestibule all the way back to the altar. ¹⁴ 

Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people;

please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,

to become a proverb ¹⁵  among the nations.

Why should it be said ¹⁶  among the peoples,

“Where is their God?”

John 12:28

12:28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, ¹⁷  “I have glorified it, ¹⁸  and I will glorify it ¹⁹  again.”

[32:26]  ¹ tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).

[32:27]  ² tn Heb “anger.”

[32:27]  ³ tn Heb “lest.”

[32:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “Our hand is high.” Cf. NAB “Our own hand won the victory.”

[106:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “with.”

[106:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).

[106:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[106:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[20:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”

[20:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”

[20:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.

[36:22]  ¹² sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.

[36:23]  ¹³ tn Or “sanctify,” Heb “make holy.”

[2:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “between the vestibule and the altar.” The vestibule was located at the entrance of the temple and the altar was located at the other end of the building. So “between the vestibule and the altar” is a merism referring to the entire structure. The priestly lament permeates the entire house of worship.

[2:17]  ¹⁵ tn For the MT reading לִמְשָׁל (limshol, an infinitive, “to rule”), one should instead read לְמָשָׁל (lÿmashal, a noun, “to a byword”). While the consonantal Hebrew text permits either, the context suggests that the concern here is more one of not wanting to appear abandoned by God to ongoing economic depression rather than one of concern over potential political subjection of Israel (cf. v. 19). The possibility that the form in the MT is an infinitive construct of the denominative verb II מָשַׁל (mashal, “to utter a proverb”) does not seem likely because of the following preposition (Hebrew בְּ [bÿ], rather than עַל [’al]).

[2:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Why will they say?”

[12:28]  ¹⁷ tn Or “from the sky” (see note on 1:32).

[12:28]  ¹⁸ tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[12:28]  ¹⁹ tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.