Psalms 33:9-10

33:9 For he spoke, and it ¹  came into existence,

he issued the decree, ²  and it stood firm.

33:10 The Lord frustrates ³  the decisions of the nations;

he nullifies the plans ⁴  of the peoples.

Lamentations 3:37

מ (Mem)

3:37 Whose command was ever fulfilled ⁵ 

unless the Lord ⁶  decreed it?

Amos 9:3

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ⁷  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ⁸  I would command the Sea Serpent ⁹  to bite them.

[33:9]  ¹ tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).

[33:9]  ² tn Heb “he commanded.”

[33:10]  ³ tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the Lord’s activity.

[33:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “thoughts.”

[3:37]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who is this, he spoke and it came to pass?” The general sense is to ask whose commands are fulfilled. The phrase “he spoke and it came to pass” is taken as an allusion to the creation account (see Gen 1:3).

[3:37]  ⁶ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[9:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ⁹ sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.