Exodus 32:17

32:17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, ¹  he said to Moses, “It is the sound of war in the camp!”

Job 15:21-22

15:21 Terrifying sounds fill ²  his ears;

in a time of peace marauders ³  attack him.

15:22 He does not expect ⁴  to escape from darkness; ⁵ 

he is marked for the sword; ⁶ 

Psalms 73:18-20

73:18 Surely ⁷  you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down ⁸  to ruin.

73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ⁹ 

73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. ¹⁰ 

O Lord, when you awake ¹¹  you will despise them. ¹² 

[32:17]  ¹ sn See F. C. Fensham, “New Light from Ugaritica V on Ex, 32:17 (br’h),” JNSL 2 (1972): 86-7.

[15:21]  ² tn The word “fill” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[15:21]  ³ tn The word שׁוֹדֵד (shoded) means “a robber; a plunderer” (see Job 12:6). With the verb bo’ the sentence means that the robber pounces on or comes against him (see GKC 373 §118.f). H. H. Rowley observes that the text does not say that he is under attack, but that the sound of fears is in his ears, i.e., that he is terrified by thoughts of this.

[15:22]  ⁴ tn This is the meaning of the Hiphil imperfect negated: “he does not believe” or “he has no confidence.” It is followed by the infinitive construct functioning as the direct object – he does not expect to return (to escape) from darkness.

[15:22]  ⁵ sn In the context of these arguments, “darkness” probably refers to calamity, and so the wicked can expect a calamity that is final.

[15:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “he is watched [or waited for] by the sword.” G. R. Driver reads it, “he is marked down for the sword” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 78). Ewald suggested “laid up for the sword.” Ball has “looks for the sword.” The MT has a passive participle from צָפָה (tsafah, “to observe, watch”) which can be retained in the text; the meaning of the form can then be understood as the result of the inspection (E. Dhorme, Job, 217).

[73:18]  ⁷ tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.

[73:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “cause them to fall.”

[73:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

[73:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.

[73:20]  ¹¹ sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.

[73:20]  ¹² tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.