Isaiah 66:19

66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ¹  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ²  Lud ³  (known for its archers ⁴ ), Tubal, Javan, ⁵  and to the distant coastlands ⁶  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

Psalms 9:11

9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules ⁷  in Zion!

Tell the nations what he has done! ⁸ 

Psalms 22:31

22:31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds; ⁹ 

they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 40:5

40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;

you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. ¹¹ 

No one can thwart you! ¹² 

I want to declare them and talk about them,

but they are too numerous to recount! ¹³ 

Psalms 71:16-18

71:16 I will come and tell about ¹⁴  the mighty acts of the sovereign Lord.

I will proclaim your justice – yours alone.

71:17 O God, you have taught me since I was young,

and I am still declaring ¹⁵  your amazing deeds.

71:18 Even when I am old and gray, ¹⁶ 

O God, do not abandon me,

until I tell the next generation about your strength,

and those coming after me about your power. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 73:28

73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. ¹⁸ 

I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,

as ¹⁹  I declare all the things you have done.

Psalms 96:3

96:3 Tell the nations about his splendor!

Tell ²⁰  all the nations about his amazing deeds!

Psalms 107:22

107:22 Let them present thank offerings,

and loudly proclaim what he has done! ²¹ 

Psalms 145:4-6

145:4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,

and tell about your mighty acts! ²² 

145:5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,

and your amazing deeds! ²³ 

145:6 They will proclaim ²⁴  the power of your awesome acts!

I will declare your great deeds!

Jeremiah 50:2

50:2 “Announce ²⁵  the news among the nations! Proclaim it!

Signal for people to pay attention! ²⁶ 

Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say:

‘Babylon will be captured.

Bel ²⁷  will be put to shame.

Marduk will be dismayed.

Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.

Her disgusting images ²⁸  will be dismayed. ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 51:9-10

51:9 Foreigners living there will say, ³⁰ 

‘We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed.

Let’s leave Babylonia ³¹  and each go back to his own country.

For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions.

It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.’ ³² 

51:10 The exiles from Judah will say, ³³ 

‘The Lord has brought about a great deliverance for us! ³⁴ 

Come on, let’s go and proclaim in Zion

what the Lord our God has done!’

John 17:26

17:26 I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, ³⁵  so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”

[66:19]  ¹ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ² tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ³ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ⁵ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ⁶ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “sits” (i.e., enthroned, and therefore ruling – see v. 4). Another option is to translate as “lives” or “dwells.”

[9:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “declare among the nations his deeds.”

[22:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “his righteousness.” Here the noun צִדָקָה (tsidaqah) refers to the Lord’s saving deeds whereby he vindicates the oppressed.

[22:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to a people [to be] born that he has acted.” The words “they will tell” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[40:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O Lord my God, your amazing deeds and your thoughts toward us.” The precise meaning of the text is not clear, but the psalmist seems to be recalling the Lord’s miraculous deeds on Israel’s behalf (see Pss 9:1; 26:7), as well as his covenantal decrees and promises (see Ps 33:11).

[40:5]  ¹² tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (’arakh ’el, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).

[40:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”

[71:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will come with.”

[71:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and until now I am declaring.”

[71:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”

[71:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.

[73:28]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”

[73:28]  ¹⁹ tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).

[96:3]  ²⁰ tn The verb “tell” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[107:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “and let them proclaim his works with a ringing cry.”

[145:4]  ²² tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may one generation praise…and tell about.”

[145:5]  ²³ tn Heb “the splendor of the glory of your majesty, and the matters of your amazing deeds I will ponder.”

[145:6]  ²⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as an imperfect, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they proclaim.”

[50:2]  ²⁵ tn The verbs are masculine plural. Jeremiah is calling on other unnamed messengers to spread the news.

[50:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Raise a signal flag.”

[50:2]  ²⁷ sn Bel was originally the name or title applied to the Sumerian storm god. During the height of Babylon’s power it became a title that was applied to Marduk who was Babylon’s chief deity. As a title it means “Lord.” Here it is a poetical parallel reference to Marduk mentioned in the next line.

[50:2]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew word used here (גִּלּוּלִים, gillulim) is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as “worthless things” (אַלִילִים, ’alilim), “vanities,” or “empty winds” (הֲבָלִים, havalim).

[50:2]  ²⁹ tn The verbs here are all in the tense that views the actions as though they were already done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The verbs in the next verse are a mixture of prophetic perfects and imperfects which announce future actions.

[51:9]  ³⁰ tn The words “Foreigners living there will say” are not in the text but are implicit from the third line. These words are generally assumed by the commentaries and are explicitly added in TEV and NCV which are attempting to clarify the text for the average reader.

[51:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “Leave/abandon her.” However, it is smoother in the English translation to make this verb equivalent to the cohortative that follows.

[51:9]  ³² tn This is an admittedly very paraphrastic translation that tries to make the figurative nuance of the Hebrew original understandable for the average reader. The Hebrew text reads: “For her judgment [or punishment (cf. BDB 1078 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f) = ‘execution of judgment’] touches the heavens, and is lifted up as far as the clouds.” The figure of hyperbole or exaggeration is being used here to indicate the vastness of Babylon’s punishment which is the reason to escape (vv. 6, 9c). For this figure see Deut 1:28 in comparison with Num 13:28 and see also Deut 9:1. In both of the passages in Deut it refers to an exaggeration about the height of the walls of fortified cities. The figure also may be a play on Gen 11:4 where the nations gather in Babylon to build a tower that reaches to the skies. The present translation has interpreted the perfects here as prophetic because it has not happened yet or they would not be encouraging one another to leave and escape. For the idea here compare 50:16.

[51:10]  ³³ tn The words “The exiles from Judah will say” are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation to clearly identify for the reader the referent of “us.”

[51:10]  ³⁴ tn There is some difference of opinion as to the best way to render the Hebrew expression here. Literally it means “brought forth our righteousnesses.” BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 7.b interprets this of the “righteous acts” of the people of Judah and compares the usage in Isa 64:6; Ezek 3:20; 18:24; 33:13. However, Judah’s acts of righteousness (or more simply, their righteousness) was scarcely revealed in their deliverance. Most of the English versions and commentaries refer to “vindication” i.e., that the Lord has exonerated or proven Israel’s claims to be true. However, that would require more explanation than the idea of “deliverance” which is a perfectly legitimate usage of the term (cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6.a and compare the usage in Isa 46:13; 51:6, 8; 56:1). The present translation interprets the plural form here as a plural of intensity or amplification (GKC 397-98 §124.e) and the suffix as a genitive of advantage (IBHS 147 §9.5.2e). This interpretation is also reflected in REB and God’s Word.

[17:26]  ³⁵ tn The translation “will continue to make it known” is proposed by R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:773).