Nehemiah 9:5

9:5 The Levites – Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah – said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God!”

“May you be blessed, O LORD our God, from age to age. ¹  May your glorious name ²  be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise.

Psalms 21:13

21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength! ³ 

We will sing and praise ⁴  your power!

Psalms 46:10

46:10 He says, ⁵  “Stop your striving and recognize ⁶  that I am God!

I will be exalted ⁷  over ⁸  the nations! I will be exalted over ⁹  the earth!”

Psalms 47:9

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ¹⁰ 

for God has authority over the rulers ¹¹  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ¹² 

Psalms 57:5

57:5 Rise up ¹³  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 57:11

57:11 Rise up ¹⁵  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 97:9

97:9 For you, O Lord, are the sovereign king ¹⁷  over the whole earth;

you are elevated high above all gods.

Isaiah 2:11

2:11 Proud men will be brought low,

arrogant men will be humiliated; ¹⁸ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ¹⁹ 

in that day.

Isaiah 12:4

12:4 At that time ²⁰  you will say:

“Praise the Lord!

Ask him for help! ²¹ 

Publicize his mighty acts among the nations!

Make it known that he is unique! ²² 

[9:5]  ¹ tc The MT reads here only “from age to age,” without the preceding words “May you be blessed, O LORD our God” which are included in the present translation. But apparently something has dropped out of the text. This phrase occurs elsewhere in the OT as a description of the Lord (see Ps 41:13; 106:48), and it seems best to understand it here in that light. The LXX adds “And Ezra said” at the beginning of v. 6 as a transition: “And Ezra said, ‘You alone are the LORD.” Without this addition (which is not included by most modern English translations) the speakers of vv. 9:5b-10:1 continue to be the Levites of v. 5a.

[9:5]  ² tn Heb “the name of your glory.”

[21:13]  ³ tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.

[21:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “sing praise.”

[46:10]  ⁵ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[46:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “do nothing/be quiet (see 1 Sam 15:16) and know.” This statement may be addressed to the hostile nations, indicating they should cease their efforts to destroy God’s people, or to Judah, indicating they should rest secure in God’s protection. Since the psalm is an expression of Judah’s trust and confidence, it is more likely that the words are directed to the nations, who are actively promoting chaos and are in need of a rebuke.

[46:10]  ⁷ tn Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 18:46; 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 57:5, 11).

[46:10]  ⁸ tn Or “among.”

[46:10]  ⁹ tn Or “in.”

[47:9]  ¹⁰ tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.

[47:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.

[47:9]  ¹² tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.

[57:5]  ¹³ tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[57:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[97:9]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the eyes of the pride of men will be brought low, and the arrogance of men will be brought down.” The repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Or “elevated”; CEV “honored.”

[12:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “call in his name,” i.e., “invoke his name.”

[12:4]  ²² tn Heb “bring to remembrance that his name is exalted.” The Lord’s “name” stands here for his character and reputation.