Discovery BoxPsalms 126:5-6
Context126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant
will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. 1
126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag 2 of seed,
will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. 3
Isaiah 10:24-25
Context10:24 So 4 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 5 10:25 For very soon my fury 6 will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.”
Isaiah 10:28-34
Context10:28 7 They 8 attacked 9 Aiath,
moved through Migron,
depositing their supplies at Micmash.
10:29 They went through the pass,
spent the night at Geba.
Ramah trembled,
Gibeah of Saul ran away.
10:30 Shout out, daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah!
Answer her, Anathoth! 10
10:31 Madmenah flees,
the residents of Gebim have hidden.
10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,
they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain 11 –
at the hill of Jerusalem.
10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. 12
The tallest trees 13 will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall. 14
Luke 16:25
Context16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, 15 remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. 16
James 5:11
Context5:11 Think of how we regard 17 as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 18
James 5:1
Context5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud 19 over the miseries that are coming on you.
James 1:13
Context1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, 20 and he himself tempts no one.
[126:5] 1 sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.
[126:6] 2 tn The noun occurs only here and in Job 28:18 in the OT. See HALOT 646 s.v. I מֶשֶׁךְ which gives “leather pouch” as the meaning.
[126:6] 3 tn The Hebrew noun אֲלֻמָּה (’alummah, “sheaf”) occurs only here and in Gen 37:7 in the OT.
[10:24] 4 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
[10:24] 5 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
[10:25] 6 tc The Hebrew text has simply “fury,” but the pronominal element can be assumed on the basis of what immediately follows (see “my anger” in the clause). It is possible that the suffixed yod (י) has been accidentally dropped by virtual haplography. Note that a vav (ו) is prefixed to the form that immediately follows; yod and vav are very similar in later script phases.
[10:28] 7 sn Verses 28-31 display a staccato style; the statements are short and disconnected (no conjunctions appear in the Hebrew text). The translation to follow strives for a choppy style that reflects the mood of the speech.
[10:28] 8 tn Heb “he,” that is, the Assyrians (as the preceding context suggests). Cf. NCV “The army of Assyria.”
[10:28] 9 tn Heb “came against,” or “came to.”
[10:30] 10 tc The Hebrew text reads “Poor [is] Anathoth.” The parallelism is tighter if עֲנִיָּה (’aniyyah,“poor”) is emended to עֲנִיהָ (’aniha, “answer her”). Note how the preceding two lines have an imperative followed by a proper name.
[10:32] 11 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “a mountain of a house (בֵּית, bet), Zion,” but the marginal reading (Qere) correctly reads “the mountain of the daughter (בַּת, bat) of Zion.” On the phrase “Daughter Zion,” see the note on the same phrase in 1:8.
[10:33] 12 tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.
[10:33] 13 tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[10:34] 14 tn The Hebrew text has, “and Lebanon, by/as [?] a mighty one, will fall.” The translation above takes the preposition בְּ (bet) prefixed to “mighty one” as indicating identity, “Lebanon, as a mighty one, will fall.” In this case “mighty one” describes Lebanon. (In Ezek 17:23 and Zech 11:2 the adjective is used of Lebanon’s cedars.) Another option is to take the preposition as indicating agency and interpret “mighty one” as a divine title (see Isa 33:21). One could then translate, “and Lebanon will fall by [the agency of] the Mighty One.”
[16:25] 15 tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.
[16:25] 16 tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.
[5:11] 17 tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”
[5:11] 18 sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.
