Discovery BoxPsalms 44:1-3
ContextFor the music director; by the Korahites, a well-written song. 2
44:1 O God, we have clearly heard; 3
our ancestors 4 have told us
what you did 5 in their days,
in ancient times. 6
44:2 You, by your power, 7 defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land; 8
you crushed 9 the people living there 10 and enabled our ancestors to occupy it. 11
44:3 For they did not conquer 12 the land by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their strength, 13
but rather by your power, 14 strength 15 and good favor, 16
for you were partial to 17 them.
Psalms 136:13-20
Context136:13 to the one who divided 18 the Red Sea 19 in two, 20
for his loyal love endures,
136:14 and led Israel through its midst,
for his loyal love endures,
136:15 and tossed 21 Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his loyal love endures,
136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,
for his loyal love endures,
136:17 to the one who struck down great kings,
for his loyal love endures,
136:18 and killed powerful kings,
for his loyal love endures,
136:19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his loyal love endures,
136:20 Og, king of Bashan,
for his loyal love endures,
Isaiah 63:9-12
Context63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 22
The messenger sent from his very presence 23 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 24 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 25
63:10 But they rebelled and offended 26 his holy Spirit, 27
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. 28
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of 29 his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, 30
63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, 31
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation, 32
Daniel 9:15
Context9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power 33 and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly.
Micah 6:4-5
Context6:4 In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I delivered you from that place of slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. 34
6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, 35
how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.
Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,
so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” 36
Micah 7:15
Context7:15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,
[44:1] 1 sn Psalm 44. The speakers in this psalm (the worshiping community within the nation Israel) were disappointed with God. The psalm begins on a positive note, praising God for leading Israel to past military victories. Verses 1-8 appear to be a song of confidence and petition which the people recited prior to battle. But suddenly the mood changes as the nation laments a recent defeat. The stark contrast between the present and the past only heightens the nation’s confusion. Israel trusted in God for victory, but the Lord rejected them and allowed them to be humiliated in battle. If Israel had been unfaithful to God, their defeat would make sense, but the nation was loyal to the Lord. Comparing the Lord to a careless shepherd, the nation urges God to wake up and to extend his compassion to his suffering people.
[44:1] 2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.
[44:1] 3 tn Heb “with our ears we have heard.”
[44:1] 4 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 2; the same Hebrew word may be translated either “fathers” or “ancestors” depending on the context.
[44:1] 5 tn Heb “the work you worked.”
[44:1] 6 tn Heb “in the days of old.” This refers specifically to the days of Joshua, during Israel’s conquest of the land, as vv. 2-3 indicate.
[44:2] 7 tn Heb “you, your hand.”
[44:2] 8 tn Heb “dispossessed nations and planted them.” The third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1). See Ps 80:8, 15.
[44:2] 9 tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Hiphil preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive) from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil; be bad”). If retained it apparently means, “you injured; harmed.” Some prefer to derive the verb from רָעַע (“break”; cf. NEB “breaking up the peoples”), in which case the form must be revocalized as Qal (since this verb is unattested in the Hiphil).
[44:2] 11 tn Heb “and you sent them out.” The translation assumes that the third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1), as in the preceding parallel line. See Ps 80:11, where Israel, likened to a vine, “spreads out” its tendrils to the west and east. Another option is to take the “peoples” as the referent of the pronoun and translate, “and you sent them away,” though this does not provide as tight a parallel with the corresponding line.
[44:3] 12 tn Or “take possession of.”
[44:3] 13 tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.
[44:3] 14 tn Heb “your right hand.” The
[44:3] 16 tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[44:3] 17 tn Or “favorable toward.”
[136:13] 19 tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in v. 15). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.
[136:13] 20 tn Heb “into pieces.”
[136:15] 21 tn Or “shook off.”
[63:9] 22 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
[63:9] 23 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
[63:9] 24 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
[63:9] 25 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
[63:10] 26 tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”
[63:10] 27 sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.
[63:11] 28 tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.
[63:11] 29 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.
[63:11] 30 sn See the note at v. 10.
[63:12] 31 tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”
[63:12] 32 tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”
[9:15] 33 tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”
[6:5] 35 tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”
[6:5] 36 tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the
[7:15] 37 tn Heb “him.” This probably refers to Israel in a collective sense. Because the switch from direct address to the third person is awkward, some prefer to emend the suffix to a second person form. In any case, it is necessary to employ a second person pronoun in the translation to maintain the connection for the English reader.
[7:15] 38 sn I will show you miraculous deeds. In this verse the
