Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ¹  and said ²  to himself, ³  “I will never again curse ⁴  the ground because of humankind, even though ⁵  the inclination of their minds ⁶  is evil from childhood on. ⁷  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Leviticus 26:31

26:31 I will lay your cities waste ⁸  and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas.

Psalms 119:1-8

Psalm 119 ⁹ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ¹⁰ 

who obey ¹¹  the law of the Lord.

119:2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,

and seek him with all their heart,

119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,

but follow in his footsteps. ¹² 

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ¹³ 

119:5 If only I were predisposed ¹⁴ 

to keep your statutes!

119:6 Then I would not be ashamed,

if ¹⁵  I were focused on ¹⁶  all your commands.

119:7 I will give you sincere thanks, ¹⁷ 

when I learn your just regulations.

119:8 I will keep your statutes.

Do not completely abandon me! ¹⁸ 

[8:21]  ¹ tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.

[8:21]  ² tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

[8:21]  ³ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[8:21]  ⁴ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

[8:21]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.

[8:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

[8:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “from his youth.”

[26:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “And I will give your cities a waste”; NLT “make your cities desolate.”

[119:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:3]  ¹² tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[119:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[119:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “when.”

[119:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I gaze at.”

[119:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will give you thanks with an upright heart.”

[119:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “do not abandon me to excess.” For other uses of the phrase עַד מְאֹד (’ad mÿ’od, “to excess”), see Ps 38:6, 8.