Psalms 66:6

66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; ¹ 

they passed through the river on foot. ² 

Let us rejoice in him there! ³ 

Psalms 66:1

Psalm 66 ⁴ 

For the music director; a song, a psalm.

66:1 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!

Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4 ⁵ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me! ⁶ 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ⁷ 

Have mercy on me ⁸  and respond to ⁹  my prayer!

Hebrews 6:13-18

6:13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” ¹⁰  6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham ¹¹  inherited the promise. 6:16 For people ¹²  swear by something greater than themselves, ¹³  and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. ¹⁴  6:17 In the same way ¹⁵  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹⁶  and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him ¹⁷  may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.

[66:6]  ¹ sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[66:6]  ² tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).

[66:6]  ³ tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[66:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 66. The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.

[4:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “hear.”

[6:14]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.

[6:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.

[6:16]  ¹² tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”

[6:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.

[6:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”

[6:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

[6:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.