Isaiah 24:14

24:14 They ¹  lift their voices and shout joyfully;

they praise ²  the majesty of the Lord in the west.

Isaiah 52:8-9

52:8 Listen, ³  your watchmen shout;

in unison they shout for joy,

for they see with their very own eyes ⁴ 

the Lord’s return to Zion.

52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,

O ruins of Jerusalem!

For the Lord consoles his people;

he protects ⁵  Jerusalem.

Job 29:13

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁶ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁷ 

Psalms 66:4

66:4 All the earth worships ⁸  you

and sings praises to you!

They sing praises to your name!” (Selah)

Jeremiah 31:7

31:7 Moreover, ⁹  the Lord says,

“Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.

Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. ¹⁰ 

Make your praises heard. ¹¹ 

Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people.

Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’ ¹² 

James 5:13

Prayer for the Sick

5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises.

[24:14]  ¹ sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.

[24:14]  ² tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”

[52:8]  ³ tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.

[52:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”

[52:9]  ⁵ tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[29:13]  ⁶ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁷ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[66:4]  ⁸ tn Or “bows down to.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are taken (1) as imperfects expressing what is typical. Another option (2) is to interpret them as anticipatory (“all the earth will worship you”) or (3) take them as jussives, expressing a prayer or wish (“may all the earth worship you”).

[31:7]  ⁹ tn See the translator’s notes on 30:5, 12.

[31:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for the head/chief of the nations.” See BDB 911 s.v. רֹאשׁ 3.c and compare usage in Ps 18:44 referring to David as the “chief” or “foremost ruler” of the nations.

[31:7]  ¹¹ tn It is unclear who the addressees of the masculine plural imperatives are in this verse. Possibly they are the implied exiles who are viewed as in the process of returning and praying for their fellow countrymen.

[31:7]  ¹² tc Or “The Lord will rescue his people. He will deliver those of Israel who remain alive.” The translation used in the text follows the Hebrew: “Rescue your people, O Lord, the remnant of Israel.” The alternate translation which is preferred by several modern English versions (e.g., REB, TEV) and a majority of modern commentaries (see, e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 569; J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 273, n. s-s) follows the reading of the Greek version and the Aramaic Targum and appears more appropriate to the context of praise presupposed by the preceding imperatives. The difference in the two readings are the omission of one vowel letter and the confusion of a final ךְ (kaf) and a וֹ (holem-vav) which are very similar in form. (The Greek presupposes הוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה אֶת־עַמּוֹ [hoshi’a yÿhvah ’et-’ammo] for the Hebrew הוֹשַׁע יְהוָה אֶת־עַמְּךְ [hosha’ yÿhvah ’et-’ammÿkh].) The key to a decision here is the shift from the verbs of praise to the imperative “say” which introduces the quotation; there is a shift from praise to petition. The shift in mood is not uncommon, occurring, for example, in Ps 118:25 and 126:4; it is the shift in mood between praise for what has begun to petition for what is further hoped for. It is easier to explain the origin contextually of the Greek and Targum than it is the Hebrew text, thus the Greek and Targum are probably a secondary smoothing of the text (this is the decision of the D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 4:263). The mood of prayer also shows up in v. 9 and again in vv. 17-18.