Ezekiel 28:25-26

28:25 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power ¹  over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely ²  when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Ezekiel 28:1

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28:1 The word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 2:10

2:10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front ³  and back; ⁴  written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.

Psalms 92:10

92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. ⁵ 

I am covered ⁶  with fresh oil.

Psalms 112:9

112:9 He generously gives ⁷  to the needy;

his integrity endures. ⁸ 

He will be vindicated and honored. ⁹ 

Psalms 132:17

132:17 There I will make David strong; ¹⁰ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ¹¹ 

Psalms 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ¹² 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ¹³ 

Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ¹⁴ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ¹⁵  will fill the surface of the world. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 23:5

23:5 “I, the Lord, promise ¹⁷  that a new time will certainly come ¹⁸ 

when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, ¹⁹  a descendant of David.

He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding ²⁰ 

and will do what is just and right in the land. ²¹ 

Luke 1:69

1:69 For ²²  he has raised up ²³  a horn of salvation ²⁴  for us in the house of his servant David, ²⁵ 

[28:25]  ¹ tn Or “reveal my holiness.” See verse 22.

[28:26]  ² sn This promise was given in Lev 25:18-19.

[2:10]  ³ tn Heb “on the face.”

[2:10]  ⁴ sn Written on the front and back. While it was common for papyrus scrolls to have writing on both sides the same was not true for leather scrolls.

[92:10]  ⁵ sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).

[92:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”

[112:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”

[112:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[112:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[132:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[148:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ¹³ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.

[27:6]  ¹⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ¹⁶ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

[23:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”

[23:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a righteous sprig to David” or “a righteous shoot” (NAB).

[23:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he will reign as king and act wisely.” This is another example of the use of two verbs joined by “and” where one becomes the adverbial modifier of the other (hendiadys). For the nuance of the verb “act wisely” rather than “prosper” see Amos 5:13; Ps 2:10 (cf. BDB 968 s.v. שָׂכַל Hiph.5).

[23:5]  ²¹ sn This has been the constant emphasis in this section. See 22:3 for the demand, 22:15 for its fulfillment, and 22:13 for its abuse. The ideal king would follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor David (2 Sam 8:15) who set this forth as an ideal for his dynasty (2 Sam 23:3) and prayed for it to be true of his son Solomon (Ps 72:1-2).

[1:69]  ²² tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ²³ sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ²⁴ sn The horn of salvation is a figure that refers to the power of Messiah and his ability to protect, as the horn refers to what an animal uses to attack and defend (Ps 75:4-5, 10; 148:14; 2 Sam 22:3). Thus the meaning of the figure is “a powerful savior.”

[1:69]  ²⁵ sn In the house of his servant David is a reference to Messiah’s Davidic descent. Zechariah is more interested in Jesus than his own son John at this point.