Ezekiel 1:24

1:24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings – it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, ¹  or the tumult ²  of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

Ezekiel 10:5

10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God ³  when he speaks.

Amos 9:1

9:1 I saw the sovereign One ⁴  standing by the altar ⁵  and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, ⁶  so the thresholds shake!

Knock them down on the heads of all the people, ⁷ 

and I will kill the survivors ⁸  with the sword.

No one will be able to run away; ⁹ 

no one will be able to escape. ¹⁰ 

[1:24]  ¹ tn Heb “Shaddai” (probably meaning “one of the mountain”), a title that depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world who dispenses justice. The Old Greek translation omitted the phrase “voice of the Almighty.”

[1:24]  ² tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew word translated “tumult” is in Jer 11:16. It indicates a noise like that of the turmoil of a military camp or the sound of an army on the march.

[10:5]  ³ tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:1]  ⁵ sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.

[9:1]  ⁶ tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut them off on the head of all of them.” The translation assumes the objective suffix on the verb refers to the tops of the pillars and that the following prepositional phrase refers to the people standing beneath. Another option is to take this phrase as referring to the pillars, in which case one could translate, “Knock all the tops of the pillars off.”

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the remnant of them.” One could possibly translate, “every last one of them” (cf. NEB “to the last man”). This probably refers to those who survive the collapse of the temple, which may symbolize the northern kingdom.

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”

[9:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”