Isaiah 31:5

31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, ¹ 

so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. ² 

He will protect and deliver it;

as he passes over ³  he will rescue it.

Isaiah 46:4

46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, ⁴ 

even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.

I made you and I will support you;

I will carry you and rescue you. ⁵ 

Daniel 3:17

3:17 If ⁶  our God whom we are serving exists, ⁷  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.

Daniel 3:28

3:28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, ⁸  “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel ⁹  and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring ¹⁰  the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than ¹¹  serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!

Daniel 6:23

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.

[31:5]  ¹ tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:5]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:5]  ³ tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.

[46:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”

[46:4]  ⁵ sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.

[3:17]  ⁶ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

[3:17]  ⁷ tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.

[3:28]  ⁸ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[3:28]  ⁹ sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).

[3:28]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”

[3:28]  ¹¹ tn Aram “so that they might not.”