Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ¹ 

Who ²  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ³ 

Genesis 17:7-8

17:7 I will confirm ⁴  my covenant as a perpetual ⁵  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁶  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ⁷  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ⁸  possession. I will be their God.”

Deuteronomy 32:8

32:8 When the Most High ⁹  gave the nations their inheritance,

when he divided up humankind, ¹⁰ 

he set the boundaries of the peoples,

according to the number of the heavenly assembly. ¹¹ 

Acts 17:26

17:26 From one man ¹²  he made every nation of the human race ¹³  to inhabit the entire earth, ¹⁴  determining their set times ¹⁵  and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, ¹⁶ 

[41:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ³ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

[17:7]  ⁴ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ⁵ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:8]  ⁷ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

[17:8]  ⁸ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[32:8]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term עֶליוֹן (’elyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Ps 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.

[32:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).

[32:8]  ¹¹ tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bÿney yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelwn qeou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bÿney ’el) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (beney ’elim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.

[17:26]  ¹² sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

[17:26]  ¹³ tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

[17:26]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

[17:26]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

[17:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.