Discovery BoxEzekiel 29:3
Context29:3 Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against 1 you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster 2 lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.” 3
Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Context8:17 Be careful 4 not to say, “My own ability and skill 5 have gotten me this wealth.” 8:18 You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, 6 even as he has to this day.
Proverbs 18:11
Context18:11 The wealth 7 of a rich person is like 8 a strong city, 9
and it is like a high wall in his imagination. 10
Proverbs 23:4-5
Context23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself. 11
23:5 When you gaze upon riches, 12 they are gone,
for they surely make wings for themselves,
and fly off into the sky like an eagle! 13
Ecclesiastes 9:11
Context9:11 Again, 14 I observed this on the earth: 15
the race is not always 16 won by the swiftest,
the battle is not always won by the strongest;
prosperity 17 does not always belong to those who are the wisest,
wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,
nor does success 18 always come to those with the most knowledge –
for time and chance may overcome 19 them all.
Habakkuk 1:16
Context1:16 Because of his success 20 he offers sacrifices to his throw net
and burns incense to his dragnet; 21
for because of them he has plenty of food, 22
and more than enough to eat. 23
Zechariah 9:2-4
Context9:2 as are those of Hamath also, which adjoins Damascus, and Tyre 24 and Sidon, 25 though they consider themselves to be very wise. 9:3 Tyre built herself a fortification and piled up silver like dust and gold like the mud of the streets! 9:4 Nevertheless the Lord will evict her and shove her fortifications 26 into the sea – she will be consumed by fire.
[29:3] 1 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[29:3] 2 tn Heb “jackals,” but many medieval Hebrew
[29:3] 3 sn In Egyptian theology Pharaoh owned and controlled the Nile. See J. D. Currid, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 240-44.
[8:17] 4 tn For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 17 in the translation and the words “be careful” supplied to indicate the connection.
[8:17] 5 tn Heb “my strength and the might of my hand.”
[8:18] 6 tc Smr and Lucian add “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the standard way of rendering this almost stereotypical formula (cf. Deut 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4). The MT’s harder reading presumptively argues for its originality, however.
[18:11] 7 sn This proverb forms a contrast with the previous one. The rich, unlike the righteous, trust in wealth and not in God.
[18:11] 8 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
[18:11] 9 tn Heb “city of his strength”; NIV “fortified city.” This term refers to their place of refuge, what they look to for security and protection in time of trouble.
[18:11] 10 tc The MT reads בְּמַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (bÿmaskito, “in his imaginations”). The LXX, Tg. Prov 18:11, and the Latin reflect בִּמְשֻׂכָּתוֹ (bimsukato, “like a fence [or, high wall]”) that is, wealth provides protection. The MT reading, on the other hand, suggests that this security is only in the mind.
[23:4] 11 tn Heb “from your understanding cease.” In the context this means that the person should have enough understanding to stop wearing himself out trying to be rich (cf. NRSV “be wise enough to desist”).
[23:5] 12 tc The Kethib is הֲתָעוּף (hata’uf), “do your eyes fly [light] on it?” The Qere is the Hiphil, הֲתָעִיף (hata’if) “do you cause your eyes to fly on it?” But the line is difficult. The question may be indirect: If you cast your eyes on it, it is gone – when you think you are close, it slips away.
[23:5] 13 sn This seventh saying warns people not to expend all their energy trying to get rich because riches are fleeting (cf. Instruction of Amememope, chap. 7, 9:10-11 which says, “they have made themselves wings like geese and have flown away to heaven”). In the ancient world the symbol of birds flying away signified fleeting wealth.
[9:11] 14 tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”
[9:11] 15 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[9:11] 16 tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.
[1:16] 21 sn The fishing implements (throw net and dragnet) represent Babylonian military might. The prophet depicts the Babylonians as arrogantly worshiping their own power (sacrifices…burns incense, see also v. 11b).
[1:16] 22 tn Heb “for by them his portion is full [or, “fat”].”
[1:16] 23 tn Heb “and his food is plentiful [or, “fat”].”
[9:2] 24 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[9:2] 25 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[9:4] 26 tn The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength, wealth”) can, with certain suffixes, look exactly like חֵל (khel, “fortress, rampart”). The chiastic pattern here suggests that not Tyre’s riches but her defenses will be cast into the sea. Thus the present translation renders the term “fortifications” (so also NLT) rather than “wealth” (NASB, NRSV, TEV) or “power” (NAB, NIV).
