Job 5:23

5:23 For you will have a pact with the stones ¹  of the field,

and the wild animals ²  will be at peace ³  with you.

Psalms 91:1-13

Psalm 91 ⁴ 

91:1 As for you, the one who lives ⁵  in the shelter of the sovereign One, ⁶ 

and resides in the protective shadow ⁷  of the mighty king ⁸  –

91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,

my God in whom I trust –

91:3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter ⁹ 

and from the destructive plague.

91:4 He will shelter you ¹⁰  with his wings; ¹¹ 

you will find safety under his wings.

His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. ¹² 

91:5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, ¹³ 

the arrow that flies by day,

91:6 the plague that comes in the darkness,

or the disease that comes at noon. ¹⁴ 

91:7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,

and a multitude on your right side,

it ¹⁵  will not reach you.

91:8 Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes –

you will see the wicked paid back. ¹⁶ 

91:9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord,

my shelter, the sovereign One. ¹⁷ 

91:10 No harm will overtake ¹⁸  you;

no illness ¹⁹  will come near your home. ²⁰ 

91:11 For he will order his angels ²¹ 

to protect you in all you do. ²² 

91:12 They will lift you up in their hands,

so you will not slip and fall on a stone. ²³ 

91:13 You will subdue ²⁴  a lion and a snake; ²⁵ 

you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.

Isaiah 11:6-9

11:6 A wolf will reside ²⁶  with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together, ²⁷ 

as a small child leads them along.

11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together. ²⁸ 

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

11:8 A baby ²⁹  will play

over the hole of a snake; ³⁰ 

over the nest ³¹  of a serpent

an infant ³²  will put his hand. ³³ 

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ³⁴ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 65:25

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ³⁶ 

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ³⁷ 

and a snake’s food will be dirt. ³⁸ 

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” ³⁹  says the Lord.

Ezekiel 34:25

34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely ⁴⁰  in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. ⁴¹ 

[5:23]  ¹ tn Heb “your covenant is with the stones of the field.” The line has been variously interpreted and translated. It is omitted in the LXX. It seems to mean there is a deep sympathy between man and nature. Some think it means that the boundaries will not be violated by enemies; Rashi thought it represented some species of beings, like genii of the field, and so read אֲדֹנֵי (’adone, “lords”) for אַבְנֵי (’avne, “stones”). Ball takes the word as בְּנֵי (bÿne, “sons”), as in “sons of the field,” to get the idea that the reference is to the beasts. E. Dhorme (Job, 71) rejects these ideas as too contrived; he says to have a pact with the stones of the field simply means the stones will not come and spoil the ground, making it less fertile.

[5:23]  ² tn Heb “the beasts of the field.”

[5:23]  ³ tn This is the only occurrence of the Hophal of the verb שָׁלֵם (shalem, “to make or have peace” with someone). Compare Isa 11:6-9 and Ps 91:13. The verb form is the perfect; here it is the perfect consecutive following a noun clause (see GKC 494 §159.g).

[91:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.

[91:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”

[91:1]  ⁶ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[91:1]  ⁷ sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).

[91:1]  ⁸ sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the mighty king (sovereign judge) of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.

[91:3]  ⁹ tn The word refers specifically to a fowler (or hunter of birds).

[91:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “put a cover over you” (see Ps 5:11).

[91:4]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural should be read. The final yod (י) of the suffix, which indicates the plural, has dropped off by haplography (note the yod [י] at the beginning of the next word).

[91:4]  ¹² tn Traditionally the Hebrew term סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the OT, has been understood to refer to a buckler or small shield (see BDB 695 s.v.). But HALOT 750 s.v., on the basis of evidence from the cognate languages, proposes the meaning “wall.”

[91:5]  ¹³ tn This probably alludes to a sneak attack by enemies in the darkness of night (see Song 3:8).

[91:6]  ¹⁴ sn As in Deut 32:23-24, vv. 5-6 closely associate military attack and deadly disease. Perhaps the latter alludes to one of the effects of siege warfare on the population of an entrapped city, which was especially vulnerable to the outbreak of epidemics.

[91:7]  ¹⁵ tn Apparently the deadly disease mentioned in v. 6b is the understood subject here.

[91:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “retribution on the wicked.”

[91:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for you, the Lord, my shelter, the Most High, you have made your dwelling place.”

[91:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “confront.”

[91:10]  ¹⁹ tn For this sense of the Hebrew term נגע see Ps 38:11.

[91:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your tent.”

[91:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ²² tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[91:12]  ²³ tn Heb “so your foot will not strike a stone.”

[91:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “walk upon.”

[91:13]  ²⁵ tn Or perhaps “cobra” (see Ps 58:4).

[11:6]  ²⁶ tn The verb גּוּר (gur) normally refers to living as a dependent, resident alien in another society.

[11:6]  ²⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads, “and an ox, and a young lion, and a fatling together.” Since the preceding lines refer to two animals and include a verb, many emend וּמְרִיא (umÿri’, “and the fatling”) to an otherwise unattested verb יִמְרְאוּ (yimrÿ’u, “they will graze”); cf. NAB, TEV, CEV. One of the Qumran copies of Isaiah confirms this suggestion (1QIsa^a). The present translation assumes this change.

[11:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and a cow and a bear will graze – together – they will lie down, their young.” This is a case of pivot pattern; יַחְדָּו (yakhddav, “together”) goes with both the preceding and following statements.

[11:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “one sucking,” i.e., still being nursed by his mother.

[11:8]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps, “cobra” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “asp.”

[11:8]  ³¹ tc The Hebrew text has the otherwise unattested מְאוּרַת (mÿ’urat, “place of light”), i.e., opening of a hole. Some prefer to emend to מְעָרַת (mÿ’arat, “cave, den”).

[11:8]  ³² tn Heb “one who is weaned” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[11:8]  ³³ sn The transformation of the animal kingdom depicted here typifies what will occur in human society under the just rule of the ideal king (see vv. 3-5). The categories “predator-prey” (i.e., oppressor-oppressed) will no longer exist.

[11:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[65:25]  ³⁶ sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.

[65:25]  ³⁷ sn These words also appear in 11:7.

[65:25]  ³⁸ sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)

[65:25]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.

[34:25]  ⁴⁰ tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).

[34:25]  ⁴¹ sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).