Numbers 23:19

23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being, ¹  that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? ² 

Numbers 23:2

23:2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each ³  altar a bull and a ram.

Numbers 19:1

The Red Heifer Ritual

19:1 ⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

Isaiah 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ⁵ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ⁶ 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ⁷ 

establishing it ⁸  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ⁹ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ¹⁰  will accomplish this.

Isaiah 14:24-26

14:24 ¹¹ The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:

“Be sure of this:

Just as I have intended, so it will be;

just as I have planned, it will happen.

14:25 I will break Assyria ¹²  in my land,

I will trample them ¹³  underfoot on my hills.

Their yoke will be removed from my people,

the burden will be lifted from their shoulders. ¹⁴ 

14:26 This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;

my hand is ready to strike all the nations.” ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 37:32

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ¹⁶  will accomplish this.

Matthew 24:35

24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ¹⁷ 

[23:19]  ¹ tn Heb “son of man.”

[23:19]  ² tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.

[23:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has “on the altar,” but since there were seven of each animal and seven altars, the implication is that this means on each altar.

[19:1]  ⁴ sn In the last chapter the needs of the priests and Levites were addressed. Now the concern is for the people. This provision from the sacrifice of the red heifer is a precaution to ensure that the purity of the tabernacle was not violated by pollutions of impurity or death. This chapter has two main parts, both dealing with ceremonial purity: the ritual of the red heifer (vv. 1-10), and the purification from uncleanness (vv. 11-22). For further study see J. Milgrom, “The Paradox of the Red Cow (Num 19),” VT 31 (1981): 62-72.

[9:7]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

[9:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

[9:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:7]  ⁸ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

[9:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

[9:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.

[14:24]  ¹¹ sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.

[14:25]  ¹² tn Heb “to break Assyria.”

[14:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “him.” This is a collective singular referring to the nation, or a reference to the king of Assyria who by metonymy stands for the entire nation.

[14:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and his [i.e., Assyria’s] yoke will be removed from them [the people?], and his [Assyria’s] burden from his [the nation’s?] shoulder will be removed.” There are no antecedents in this oracle for the suffixes in the phrases “from them” and “from his shoulder.” Since the Lord’s land and hills are referred to in the preceding line and the statement seems to echo 10:27, it is likely that God’s people are the referents of the suffixes; the translation uses “my people” to indicate this.

[14:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and this is the hand that is outstretched over all the nations.”

[37:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[24:35]  ¹⁷ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.