Job 34:29

34:29 But if God ¹  is quiet, who can condemn ²  him?

If he hides his face, then who can see him?

Yet ³  he is over the individual and the nation alike, ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 32:27

32:27 But I fear the reaction ⁵  of their enemies,

for ⁶  their adversaries would misunderstand

and say, “Our power is great, ⁷ 

and the Lord has not done all this!”’

Deuteronomy 32:1

Invocation of Witnesses

32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Deuteronomy 6:9

6:9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates. ⁸ 

Psalms 90:7

90:7 Yes, ⁹  we are consumed by your anger;

we are terrified by your wrath.

Isaiah 45:7

45:7 I am ¹⁰  the one who forms light

and creates darkness; ¹¹ 

the one who brings about peace

and creates calamity. ¹² 

I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

Lamentations 3:38

3:38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes –

both calamity and blessing? ¹³ 

Amos 3:6

3:6 If an alarm sounds ¹⁴  in a city, do people not fear? ¹⁵ 

If disaster overtakes a ¹⁶  city, is the Lord not responsible? ¹⁷ 

[34:29]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:29]  ² tn The verb in this position is somewhat difficult, although it does make good sense in the sentence – it is just not what the parallelism would suggest. So several emendations have been put forward, for which see the commentaries.

[34:29]  ³ tn The line simply reads “and over a nation and over a man together.” But it must be the qualification for the points being made in the previous lines, namely, that even if God hides himself so no one can see, yet he is still watching over them all (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 222).

[34:29]  ⁴ tn The word translated “alike” (Heb “together”) has bothered some interpreters. In the reading taken here it is acceptable. But others have emended it to gain a verb, such as “he visits” (Beer), “he watches over” (Duhm), “he is compassionate” (Kissane), etc. But it is sufficient to say “he is over.”

[32:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “anger.”

[32:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest.”

[32:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “Our hand is high.” Cf. NAB “Our own hand won the victory.”

[6:9]  ⁸ sn The Hebrew term מְזוּזֹת (mÿzuzot) refers both to the door frames and to small cases attached on them containing scripture texts (always Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21; and sometimes the decalogue; Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; and Num 10:35-36). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 443-44.

[90:7]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[45:7]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.

[45:7]  ¹¹ tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”

[45:7]  ¹² sn This verses affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).

[3:38]  ¹³ tn Heb “From the mouth of the Most High does it not go forth, both evil and good?”

[3:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”

[3:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”

[3:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”

[3:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”