Job 33:23-24

33:23 If there is an angel beside him,

one mediator ¹  out of a thousand,

to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; ² 

33:24 and if ³  God ⁴  is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare ⁵  him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’ ⁶ 

Psalms 19:14

19:14 May my words and my thoughts

be acceptable in your sight, ⁷ 

O Lord, my sheltering rock ⁸  and my redeemer. ⁹ 

Isaiah 54:5

54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –

the Lord who commands armies is his name.

He is your protector, ¹⁰  the Holy One of Israel. ¹¹ 

He is called “God of the entire earth.”

Isaiah 59:20-21

59:20 “A protector ¹²  comes to Zion,

to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” ¹³  says the Lord.

59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to ¹⁴  them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” ¹⁵  says the Lord.

Ephesians 1:7

1:7 In him ¹⁶  we have redemption through his blood, ¹⁷  the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

[33:23]  ¹ sn The verse is describing the way God can preserve someone from dying by sending a messenger (translated here as “angel”), who could be human or angelic. This messenger will interpret/mediate God’s will. By “one … out of a thousand” Elihu could have meant either that one of the thousands of messengers at God’s disposal might be sent or that the messenger would be unique (see Eccl 7:28; and cp. Job 9:3).

[33:23]  ² tn This is a smoother reading. The MT has “to tell to a man his uprightness,” to reveal what is right for him. The LXX translated this word “duty”; the choice is adopted by some commentaries. However, that is too far from the text, which indicates that the angel/messenger is to call the person to uprightness.

[33:24]  ³ tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.

[33:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:24]  ⁵ tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).

[33:24]  ⁶ sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.

[19:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “may the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart be acceptable before you.” The prefixed verbal form at the beginning of the verse is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate the form as an imperfect continuing the thought of v. 14b: “[Then] the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart will be acceptable before you.”

[19:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[19:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.

[54:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:5]  ¹¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[59:20]  ¹² tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[59:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob.”

[59:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”

[59:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.

[1:7]  ¹⁷ sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.