Matthew 8:27

8:27 And the men ¹  were amazed and said, ²  “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!” ³ 

Job 38:8-11

38:8 “Who shut up ⁴  the sea with doors

when it burst forth, ⁵  coming out of the womb,

38:9 when I made ⁶  the storm clouds its garment,

and thick darkness its swaddling band, ⁷ 

38:10 when I prescribed ⁸  its limits,

and set ⁹  in place its bolts and doors,

38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come ¹⁰ 

and no farther, ¹¹ 

here your proud waves will be confined’? ¹² 

Psalms 65:7

65:7 You calm the raging seas ¹³ 

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 89:9

89:9 You rule over the proud sea. ¹⁵ 

When its waves surge, ¹⁶  you calm them.

Psalms 93:3-4

93:3 The waves ¹⁷  roar, O Lord,

the waves roar,

the waves roar and crash. ¹⁸ 

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ¹⁹ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ²⁰ 

Psalms 104:6-9

104:6 The watery deep covered it ²¹  like a garment;

the waters reached ²²  above the mountains. ²³ 

104:7 Your shout made the waters retreat;

at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off –

104:8 as the mountains rose up,

and the valleys went down –

to the place you appointed for them. ²⁴ 

104:9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,

so that they would not cover the earth again. ²⁵ 

Psalms 107:28-30

107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

107:29 He calmed the storm, ²⁶ 

and the waves ²⁷  grew silent.

107:30 The sailors ²⁸  rejoiced because the waves ²⁹  grew quiet,

and he led them to the harbor ³⁰  they desired.

Psalms 114:3-7

114:3 The sea looked and fled; ³¹ 

the Jordan River ³²  turned back. ³³ 

114:4 The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs. ³⁴ 

114:5 Why do you flee, O sea?

Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?

114:6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,

like lambs, O hills?

114:7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord –

before the God of Jacob,

Proverbs 8:28-29

8:28 when he established the clouds above,

when the fountains of the deep grew strong, ³⁵ 

8:29 when he gave the sea his decree

that the waters should not pass over his command, ³⁶ 

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

Isaiah 50:2-4

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ³⁷ 

Is my hand too weak ³⁸  to deliver ³⁹  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ⁴⁰  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ⁴¹ 

50:3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;

I can cover it with sackcloth.”

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ⁴² 

so that I know how to help the weary. ⁴³ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ⁴⁴ 

Isaiah 63:12

63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, ⁴⁵ 

who divided the water before them,

gaining for himself a lasting reputation, ⁴⁶ 

Nahum 1:4

1:4 He shouts a battle cry ⁴⁷  against the sea ⁴⁸  and makes it dry up; ⁴⁹ 

he makes all the rivers ⁵⁰  run dry.

Bashan and Carmel wither; ⁵¹ 

the blossom of Lebanon withers.

Habakkuk 3:8

3:8 Is the Lord mad at the rivers?

Are you angry with the rivers?

Are you enraged at the sea? ⁵² 

Is this why ⁵³  you climb into your horse-drawn chariots, ⁵⁴ 

your victorious chariots? ⁵⁵ 

Mark 4:39

4:39 So ⁵⁶  he got up and rebuked ⁵⁷  the wind, and said to the sea, ⁵⁸  “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then ⁵⁹  the wind stopped, and it was dead calm.

Mark 4:41

4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? ⁶⁰  Even the wind and sea obey him!” ⁶¹ 

Mark 6:48-51

6:48 He ⁶²  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ⁶³  he came to them walking on the sea, ⁶⁴  for ⁶⁵  he wanted to pass by them. ⁶⁶  6:49 When they saw him walking on the water ⁶⁷  they thought he was a ghost. They ⁶⁸  cried out, 6:50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them: ⁶⁹  “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 6:51 Then he went up with them into the boat, and the wind ceased. They were completely astonished,

Luke 8:24-25

8:24 They ⁷⁰  came ⁷¹  and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, ⁷²  we are about to die!” So ⁷³  he got up and rebuked ⁷⁴  the wind and the raging waves; ⁷⁵  they died down, and it was calm. 8:25 Then ⁷⁶  he said to them, “Where is your faith?” ⁷⁷  But they were afraid and amazed, ⁷⁸  saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, ⁷⁹  and they obey him!”

Revelation 10:2

10:2 He held ⁸⁰  in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.

[8:27]  ¹ tn It is difficult to know whether ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) should be translated as “men” or “people” (in a generic sense) here. At issue is whether (1) only the Twelve were with Jesus in the boat, as opposed to other disciples (cf. v. 23), and (2) whether any of those other disciples would have been women. The issue is complicated further by the parallel in Mark (4:35-41), where the author writes (4:36) that other boats accompanied them on this journey.

[8:27]  ² tn Grk “the men were amazed, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[8:27]  ³ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about his identity (What sort of person is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[38:8]  ⁴ tn The MT has “and he shut up.” The Vulgate has “Who?” and so many commentaries and editions adopt this reading, if not from the Vulgate, then from the sense of the sequence in the text itself.

[38:8]  ⁵ tn The line uses two expressions, first the temporal clause with גִּיחַ (giakh, “when it burst forth”) and then the finite verb יֵצֵא (yetse’, “go out”) to mark the concomitance of the two actions.

[38:9]  ⁶ tn The temporal clause here uses the infinitive from שִׂים (sim, “to place; to put; to make”). It underscores the sovereign placing of things.

[38:9]  ⁷ tn This noun is found only here. The verb is in Ezek 16:4, and a related noun is in Ezek 30:21.

[38:10]  ⁸ tc The MT has “and I broke,” which cannot mean “set, prescribed” or the like. The LXX and the Vulgate have such a meaning, suggesting a verb עֲשִׁית (’ashiyt, “plan, prescribe”). A. Guillaume finds an Arabic word with a meaning “measured it by span by my decree.” Would God give himself a decree? R. Gordis simply argues that the basic meaning “break” develops the connotation of “decide, determine” (2 Sam 5:24; Job 14:3; Dan 11:36).

[38:10]  ⁹ tn Dhorme suggested reversing the two verbs, making this the first, and then “shatter” for the second colon.

[38:11]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verb receives the permission nuance here.

[38:11]  ¹¹ tn The text has תֹסִיף (tosif, “and you may not add”), which is often used idiomatically (as in verbal hendiadys constructions).

[38:11]  ¹² tn The MT literally says, “here he will put on the pride of your waves.” The verb has no expressed subject and so is made a passive voice. But there has to be some object for the verb “put,” such as “limit” or “boundary”; the translations “confined; halted; stopped” all serve to paraphrase such an idea. The LXX has “broken” at this point, suggesting the verse might have been confused – but “breaking the pride” of the waves would mean controlling them. Some commentators have followed this, exchanging the verb in v. 11 with this one.

[65:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”

[65:7]  ¹⁴ sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).

[89:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the majesty of the sea.”

[89:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “rise up.”

[93:3]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).

[93:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”

[93:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[104:6]  ²¹ tc Heb “you covered it.” The masculine suffix is problematic if the grammatically feminine noun “earth” is the antecedent. For this reason some emend the form to a feminine verb with feminine suffix, כִּסַּתָּה (kisattah, “[the watery deep] covered it [i.e., the earth]”), a reading assumed by the present translation.

[104:6]  ²² tn Heb “stood.”

[104:6]  ²³ sn Verse 6 refers to the condition described in Gen 1:2 (note the use of the Hebrew term תְּהוֹם [tÿhom, “watery deep”] in both texts).

[104:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from your shout they fled, from the sound of your thunder they hurried off.”

[104:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a boundary you set up, they will not cross, they will not return to cover the earth.”

[107:29]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”

[107:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “their waves.” The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not readily apparent, unless it refers back to “waters” in v. 23.

[107:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.

[114:3]  ³¹ sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[114:3]  ³² tn Heb “the Jordan” (also in v. 5). The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[114:3]  ³³ sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 3:13, 16).

[114:4]  ³⁴ sn The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. This may recall the theophany at Sinai when the mountain shook before God’s presence (Exod 19:18).

[8:28]  ³⁵ tn To form a better parallel some commentators read this infinitive בַּעֲזוֹז (ba’azoz), “when [they] grew strong,” as a Piel causative, “when he made firm, fixed fast” (cf. NIV “fixed securely”; NLT “established”). But the following verse (“should not pass over”) implies the meaning “grew strong” here.

[8:29]  ³⁶ tn Heb “his mouth.”

[50:2]  ³⁷ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ³⁹ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”

[50:4]  ⁴² tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ⁴³ tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[63:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”

[63:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”

[1:4]  ⁴⁷ tn The term גָּעַר (ga’ar) often denotes “reprimand” and “rebuke” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). When it is used in the context of a military attack, it denotes an angry battle cry shouted by a mighty warrior to strike fear into his enemies to drive them away (e.g., 2 Sam 23:16; Isa 30:17; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 80:17; 104:7). For example, the parallel Ugaritic term is used when Baal utters a battle cry against Yamm before they fight to the death. For further study see, A. A. MacIntosh, “A Consideration of Hebrew g`r,” VT 14 (1969): 474; P. J. van Zijl, “A Consideration of the root ga’ar (“rebuke”),” OTWSA 12 (1969): 56-63; A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[1:4]  ⁴⁸ sn The “sea” is personified as an antagonistic enemy, representing the wicked forces of chaos (Pss 66:6; 72:8; 80:12; 89:26; 93:3-4; Isa 50:2; Mic 7:12; Hab 3:8; Zech 9:10).

[1:4]  ⁴⁹ tn This somewhat unusual use of the preterite (וַיַּבְּשֵׁהוּ, vayyabbÿshehu) follows a participle which depicts characteristic (present-time) action or imminent future action; the preterite depicts the subsequent present or future-time action (see IBHS 561-62 §33.3.5).

[1:4]  ⁵⁰ sn The Assyrians waged war every spring after the Tigris and Euphrates rivers dried up, allowing them to cross. As the Mighty Warrior par excellence, the Lord is able to part the rivers to attack Assyria.

[1:4]  ⁵¹ tn The term אֻמְלַל (’umlal, “withers”) occurs twice in this verse in MT. The repetition of אֻמְלַל is also supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The BHS editors suggest emending the first occurrence of אֻמְלַל (“withers”) to דָּלְלוּ (dollu, “languishes”) to recover the letter ד (dalet) in the partial acrostic. Several versions do, in fact, employ two different verbs in the line (LXX, Syr, Targum, and Vg). However, the first verb at the beginning of the line in all of the versions reflects a reading of אֻמְלַל. Although several elements of an acrostic are present in Nahum 1, the acrostic is incomplete (only א [alef] to כ [kaf] in vv. 2-8) and broken (several elements are missing within vv. 2-8). There is no textual evidence for a complete, unbroken acrostic throughout the book of Nahum in any ancient Hebrew mss or other textual versions; it is most prudent simply to leave the MT as it stands.

[3:8]  ⁵² sn The following context suggests these questions should be answered, “Yes.” The rivers and the sea, symbolizing here the hostile nations (v. 12), are objects of the Lord’s anger (vv. 10, 15).

[3:8]  ⁵³ tn Heb “so that.” Here כִּי (ki) is resultative. See the note on the phrase “make it” in 2:18.

[3:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “you mount your horses.” As the next line makes clear, the Lord is pictured here as a charioteer, not a cavalryman. Note NRSV here, “when you drove your horses, // your chariots to victory.”

[3:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “chariots of deliverance.”

[4:39]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[4:39]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[4:39]  ⁵⁸ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

[4:39]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:41]  ⁶⁰ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (Who then is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[4:41]  ⁶¹ sn This section in Mark (4:35-5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to Jairus’ daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years. All these miracles demonstrate Jesus’ right to proclaim the kingdom message and his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.

[6:48]  ⁶² tn This verse is one complete sentence in the Greek text, but it has been broken into two sentences in English for clarity.

[6:48]  ⁶³ tn Grk “about the fourth watch of the night,” between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

[6:48]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “on the lake.”

[6:48]  ⁶⁵ tn The καί (kai) was translated so as to introduce a subordinate clause, i.e., with the use of “for.” See BDF §442.9.

[6:48]  ⁶⁶ sn The statement he wanted to pass by them is somewhat difficult to understand. There are at least two common interpretations: (1) it refers to the perspective of the disciples, that is, from their point of view it seemed that Jesus wanted to pass by them; or (2) it refers to a theophany and uses the language of the Greek Old Testament (LXX) when God “passed by” Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 33:19, 22). According to the latter alternative, Jesus is “passing by” the disciples during their struggle, in order to assure them of his presence with them. See W L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 236.

[6:49]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “on the sea,” “on the lake.” The translation “water” has been used here for stylistic reasons (cf. the same phrase in v. 48).

[6:49]  ⁶⁸ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:50]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “he spoke with them, and said to them.”

[8:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:24]  ⁷¹ tn The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:24]  ⁷² tn The double vocative shows great emotion.

[8:24]  ⁷³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the connection to the preceding events.

[8:24]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:24]  ⁷⁵ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging waves he was making a statement about who he was.

[8:25]  ⁷⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:25]  ⁷⁷ sn “Where is your faith?” The call is to trust God and realize that those who exercise faith can trust in his care.

[8:25]  ⁷⁸ sn The combination of fear and respect (afraid and amazed) shows that the disciples are becoming impressed with the great power at work in Jesus, a realization that fuels their question. For a similar reaction, see Luke 5:9.

[8:25]  ⁷⁹ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (“Who then is this?”). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[10:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “and having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”