Jeremiah 10:12-13

10:12 The Lord is the one who ¹  by his power made the earth.

He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.

And by his understanding he spread out the skies.

10:13 When his voice thunders, ²  the heavenly ocean roars.

He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. ³ 

He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.

He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. ⁴ 

Job 37:2-11

37:2 Listen carefully ⁵  to the thunder of his voice,

to the rumbling ⁶  that proceeds from his mouth.

37:3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,

even his lightning to the far corners ⁷  of the earth.

37:4 After that a voice roars;

he thunders with an exalted voice,

and he does not hold back his lightning bolts ⁸ 

when his voice is heard.

37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; ⁹ 

he does great things beyond our understanding. ¹⁰ 

37:6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall ¹¹  to earth,’

and to the torrential rains, ¹²  ‘Pour down.’ ¹³ 

37:7 He causes everyone to stop working, ¹⁴ 

so that all people ¹⁵  may know ¹⁶  his work.

37:8 The wild animals go to their lairs,

and in their dens they remain.

37:9 A tempest blows out from its chamber,

icy cold from the driving winds. ¹⁷ 

37:10 The breath of God produces ice,

and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.

37:11 He loads the clouds with moisture; ¹⁸ 

he scatters his lightning through the clouds.

Job 40:9

40:9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s, ¹⁹ 

and can you thunder with a voice like his?

Psalms 18:13

18:13 The Lord thundered ²⁰  in ²¹  the sky;

the sovereign One ²²  shouted. ²³ 

Psalms 29:3-10

29:3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; ²⁴ 

the majestic God thunders, ²⁵ 

the Lord appears over the surging water. ²⁶ 

29:4 The Lord’s shout is powerful, ²⁷ 

the Lord’s shout is majestic. ²⁸ 

29:5 The Lord’s shout breaks ²⁹  the cedars,

the Lord shatters ³⁰  the cedars of Lebanon. ³¹ 

29:6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf

and Sirion ³²  like a young ox. ³³ 

29:7 The Lord’s shout strikes ³⁴  with flaming fire. ³⁵ 

29:8 The Lord’s shout shakes ³⁶  the wilderness,

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. ³⁷ 

29:9 The Lord’s shout bends ³⁸  the large trees ³⁹ 

and strips ⁴⁰  the leaves from the forests. ⁴¹ 

Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!” ⁴² 

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ⁴³ 

the Lord sits enthroned ⁴⁴  as the eternal king.

Psalms 46:6

46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. ⁴⁵ 

God ⁴⁶  gives a shout, ⁴⁷  the earth dissolves. ⁴⁸ 

Psalms 68:33

68:33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times! ⁴⁹ 

Look! He thunders loudly. ⁵⁰ 

Psalms 104:7

104:7 Your shout made the waters retreat;

at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off –

Ezekiel 10:5

10:5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God ⁵¹  when he speaks.

[10:12]  ¹ tn The words “The Lord is” are not in the text. They are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation here because of the possible confusion of who the subject is due to the parenthetical address to the people of Israel in v. 11. The first two verbs are participles and should not merely be translated as the narrative past. They are predicate nominatives of an implied copula intending to contrast the Lord as the one who made the earth with the idols which did not.

[10:13]  ² tn Heb “At the voice of his giving.” The idiom “to give the voice” is often used for thunder (cf. BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.1.x).

[10:13]  ³ tn Heb “from the ends of the earth.”

[10:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “he brings out the winds from his storehouses.”

[37:2]  ³ tn The imperative is followed by the infinitive absolute from the same root to express the intensity of the verb.

[37:2]  ⁴ tn The word is the usual word for “to meditate; to murmur; to groan”; here it refers to the low building of the thunder as it rumbles in the sky. The thunder is the voice of God (see Ps 29).

[37:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “wings,” and then figuratively for the extremities of garments, of land, etc.

[37:4]  ⁵ tn The verb simply has the pronominal suffix, “them.” The idea must be that when God brings in all the thunderings he does not hold back his lightning bolts either.

[37:5]  ⁶ tn The form is the Niphal participle, “wonders,” from the verb פָּלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary”). Some commentators suppress the repeated verb “thunders,” and supply other verbs like “shows” or “works,” enabling them to make “wonders” the object of the verb rather than leaving it in an adverbial role. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 236) notes, no change is needed, for one is not surprised to find repetition in Elihu’s words.

[37:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and we do not know.”

[37:6]  ⁷ tn The verb actually means “be” (found here in the Aramaic form). The verb “to be” can mean “to happen, to fall, to come about.”

[37:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [to the] shower of rain and shower of rains, be strong.” Many think the repetition grew up by variant readings; several Hebrew mss delete the second pair, and so many editors do. But the repetition may have served to stress the idea that the rains were heavy.

[37:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “Be strong.”

[37:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “by the hand of every man he seals.” This line is intended to mean with the heavy rains God suspends all agricultural activity.

[37:7]  ⁹ tc This reading involves a change in the text, for in MT “men” is in the construct. It would be translated, “all men whom he made” (i.e., all men of his making”). This is the translation followed by the NIV and NRSV. Olshausen suggested that the word should have been אֲנָשִׁים (’anashim) with the final ם (mem) being lost to haplography.

[37:7]  ¹⁰ tn D. W. Thomas suggested a meaning of “rest” for the verb, based on Arabic. He then reads אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) for man, and supplies a ם (mem) to “his work” to get “that every man might rest from his work [in the fields].”

[37:9]  ⁹ tn The “driving winds” reflects the Hebrew “from the scatterers.” This refers to the north winds that bring the cold air and the ice and snow and hard rains.

[37:11]  ¹⁰ tn The word “moisture” is drawn from רִי (ri) as a contraction for רְוִי (rÿvi). Others emended the text to get “hail” (NAB) or “lightning,” or even “the Creator.” For these, see the various commentaries. There is no reason to change the reading of the MT when it makes perfectly good sense.

[40:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do you have an arm like God?” The words “as powerful as” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.

[18:13]  ¹² sn Thunder is a common motif in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83.

[18:13]  ¹³ tn 2 Sam 22:14 has “from.”

[18:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[18:13]  ¹⁵ tc The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.

[29:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] over the water.” As the next line makes clear, the “voice of the Lord” is here the thunder that accompanies a violent storm. The psalm depicts the Lord in the role of a warrior-king, so the thunder is his battle cry, as it were.

[29:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form is probably descriptive. In dramatic fashion the psalmist portrays the Lord coming in the storm to do battle with his enemies and to vindicate his people.

[29:3]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally “many waters.” The geographical references in the psalm (Lebanon, Sirion, Kadesh) suggest this is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (see Ezek 26:19; 27:26). The psalmist describes a powerful storm moving in from the sea and sweeping over the mountainous areas north of Israel. The “surging waters” may symbolize the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy his people (see Pss 18:17; 32:6; 77:20; 93:4; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). In this case the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over the raging waters.

[29:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] accompanied by strength.”

[29:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] accompanied by majesty.”

[29:5]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew participial form draws attention to the durative nature of the action being described.

[29:5]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive here and in v. 6a carry on the descriptive function of the preceding participle (see GKC 329 §111.u). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar) appears in the Qal in the first line of the verse, and in the Piel in the second line. The verb, which means “break” in the Qal, appears thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).

[29:5]  ¹⁷ sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size. Here they may symbolize the arrogant enemies of God (see Isa 2:12-13).

[29:6]  ¹⁶ sn Sirion is another name for Mount Hermon (Deut 3:9).

[29:6]  ¹⁷ sn Lebanon and Sirion are compared to frisky young animals (a calf…a young ox) who skip and jump. The thunderous shout of the Lord is so powerful, one can see the very mountains shake on the horizon.

[29:7]  ¹⁷ tn The verb normally means “to hew [stone or wood],” or “to hew out.” In Hos 6:5 it seems to mean “cut in pieces,” “knock down,” or perhaps “hack” (see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea [AB], 428). The Ugaritic cognate can mean “assault.” In v. 7 the verb seems to have a similar meaning, perhaps “attack, strike.” The phrase “flames of fire” is an adverbial accusative; the Lord’s shout is accompanied by “flames of fire,” that is, lightning bolts.

[29:7]  ¹⁸ sn The Lord’s shout strikes with flaming fire. The short line has invited textual emendation, but its distinct, brief form may highlight the statement, which serves as the axis of a chiastic structure encompassing vv. 5-9: (A) the Lord’s shout destroys the forest (v. 5); (B) the Lord’s shout shakes the terrain (v. 6); (C) the Lord’s shout is accompanied by destructive lightning (v. 7); (B´) the Lord’s shout shakes the terrain (v. 8); (A´) the Lord’s shout destroys the forest (v. 9).

[29:8]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms are descriptive in function; the psalmist depicts the action as underway.

[29:8]  ¹⁹ sn Kadesh. The references to Lebanon and Sirion in v. 6 suggest this is a reference to the northern Kadesh, located north of Damascus, not the southern Kadesh mentioned so often in the OT. See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:178.

[29:9]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form is descriptive in function; the psalmist depicts the action as underway.

[29:9]  ²⁰ tc Heb “the deer.” Preserving this reading, some translate the preceding verb, “causes [the deer] to give premature birth” (cf. NEB, NASB). But the Polel of חוּל/חִיל (khul/khil) means “give birth,” not “cause to give birth,” and the statement “the Lord’s shout gives birth to deer” is absurd. In light of the parallelism (note “forests” in the next line) and v. 5, it is preferable to emend אַיָּלוֹת (’ayyalot, “deer”) to אֵילוֹת (’elot, “large trees”) understanding the latter as an alternate form of the usual plural form אַיָּלִים (’ayyalim).

[29:9]  ²¹ tn The verb is used in Joel 1:7 of locusts stripping the leaves from a tree. The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.

[29:9]  ²² tn The usual form of the plural of יַעַר (ya’ar, “forest”) is יְעָרִים (yÿ’arim). For this reason some propose an emendation to יְעָלוֹת (yÿ’alot, “female mountain goats”) which would fit nicely in the parallelism with “deer” (cf. NEB “brings kids early to birth”). In this case one would have to understand the verb חָשַׂף (khasaf) to mean “cause premature birth,” an otherwise unattested homonym of the more common חָשַׂף (“strip bare”).

[29:9]  ²³ tn Heb “In his temple, all of it says, ‘Glory.’”

[29:10]  ²⁰ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[46:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “nations roar, kingdoms shake.” The Hebrew verb הָמָה (hamah, “roar, be in uproar”) is used in v. 3 of the waves crashing, while the verb מוֹט (mot, “overthrown”) is used in v. 2 of mountains tumbling into the sea (see also v. 5, where the psalm affirms that Jerusalem “cannot be moved”). The repetition of the verbs suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[46:6]  ²² tn Heb “He.” God is the obvious referent here (see v. 5), and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[46:6]  ²³ tn Heb “offers his voice.” In theophanic texts the phrase refers to God’s thunderous shout which functions as a battle cry (see Pss 18:13; 68:33).

[46:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “melts.” See Amos 9:5. The image depicts the nation’s helplessness before Jerusalem’s defender, who annihilates their armies (see vv. 8-9). The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the characteristic nature of the action described.

[68:33]  ²² tc Heb “to the one who rides through the skies of skies of ancient times.” If the MT is retained, one might translate, “to the one who rides through the ancient skies.” (שְׁמֵי [shÿmey, “skies of”] may be accidentally repeated.) The present translation assumes an emendation to בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִקֶּדֶם (bashamayim miqqedem, “[to the one who rides] through the sky from ancient times”), that is, God has been revealing his power through the storm since ancient times.

[68:33]  ²³ tn Heb “he gives his voice a strong voice.” In this context God’s “voice” is the thunder that accompanies the rain (see vv. 8-9, as well as Deut 33:26).

[10:5]  ²³ tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.