Ezekiel 1:16

1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ¹  was like gleaming jasper, ²  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ³ 

Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ⁴ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁵  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁶ 

Psalms 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ⁷ 

Psalms 104:24

104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! ⁸ 

You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; ⁹ 

the earth is full of the living things you have made.

Romans 11:33

11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

[1:16]  ¹ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning of this term is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB); “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV); or “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[1:16]  ³ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). The description given in v. 17 favors the latter idea.

[36:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁵ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁶ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[97:2]  ⁷ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[104:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.

[104:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”