Discovery BoxPsalms 68:22
Context68:22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them 1 from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
Psalms 78:12-72
Context78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 2
78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. 3
78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the sovereign One 4 in the desert.
78:18 They willfully challenged God 5
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 6
“Is God really able to give us food 7 in the wilderness?
78:20 Yes, 8 he struck a rock and water flowed out,
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
78:21 When 9 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 10 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 11
78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven. 12
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 13
He sent them more than enough to eat. 14
78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. 15
78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; 16
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 17
their food was still in their mouths,
78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
78:32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things. 18
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 19
and filled with terror. 20
78:34 When he struck them down, 21 they sought his favor; 22
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 23
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 24
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 25
and lied to him. 26
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 27
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
78:38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury. 28
78:39 He remembered 29 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 30
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 31 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 32
and offended 33 the Holy One of Israel. 34
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 35
how he delivered them from the enemy, 36
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 37 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 38 in the region of Zoan.
78:44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, 39
as well as frogs that overran their land. 40
78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle, 41
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 42
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 43
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 44
78:50 He sent his anger in full force; 45
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction. 46
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 47 in the tents of Ham.
78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
78:53 He guided them safely along,
while the sea covered their enemies.
78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land 48 which his right hand 49 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 50
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 51
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 52 the sovereign God, 53
and did not obey 54 his commands. 55
78:57 They were unfaithful 56 and acted as treacherously as 57 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 58
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 59
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 60 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 61
he gave the symbol of his splendor 62 into the hand of the enemy. 63
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 64
78:63 Fire consumed their 65 young men,
and their 66 virgins remained unmarried. 67
78:64 Their 68 priests fell by the sword,
but their 69 widows did not weep. 70
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 71
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 72
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 73
78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; 74
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 75
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 76
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 77
78:72 David 78 cared for them with pure motives; 79
he led them with skill. 80
Isaiah 11:16
Context11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria
for the remnant of his people, 81
just as there was for Israel,
when 82 they went up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 51:9
Context51:9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! 83
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!
Did you not smash 84 the Proud One? 85
Did you not 86 wound the sea monster? 87
Isaiah 63:11-15
Context63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. 88
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of 89 his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, 90
63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, 91
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation, 92
63:13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running on flat land 93 they did not stumble.
63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, 94
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way 95 you guided your people,
gaining for yourself an honored reputation. 96
63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal 97 and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion! 98
Jeremiah 23:7-8
Context23:7 “So I, the Lord, say: 99 ‘A new time will certainly come. 100 People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.” 23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel 101 from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished 102 them.” 103 At that time they will live in their own land.’”
[68:22] 1 tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make them taste his judgment.
[78:12] 2 sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).
[78:15] 3 tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”
[78:17] 4 tn Heb “rebelling [against] the Most High.”
[78:18] 5 tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
[78:19] 6 tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”
[78:19] 7 tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”
[78:21] 10 tn Heb “and also anger went up.”
[78:22] 11 tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”
[78:24] 12 sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.
[78:25] 13 sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[78:25] 14 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
[78:27] 15 tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”
[78:29] 16 tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”
[78:30] 17 tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”
[78:32] 18 tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”
[78:33] 19 tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”
[78:33] 20 tn Heb “and their years in terror.”
[78:34] 21 tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.
[78:34] 22 tn Heb “they sought him.”
[78:35] 23 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
[78:35] 24 tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”
[78:36] 25 tn Heb “with their mouth.”
[78:36] 26 tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”
[78:37] 27 tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”
[78:38] 28 tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.
[78:39] 29 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.
[78:39] 30 tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”
[78:40] 31 tn Or “caused him pain.”
[78:41] 32 tn Heb “and they returned and tested God.” The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate that an earlier action was repeated.
[78:41] 33 tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.
[78:41] 34 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the
[78:42] 35 tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.
[78:42] 36 tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”
[78:43] 37 tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
[78:43] 38 tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).
[78:45] 39 tn Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”
[78:45] 40 tn Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”
[78:48] 41 tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”
[78:48] 42 tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.
[78:49] 43 tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
[78:49] 44 tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
[78:50] 45 tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.
[78:50] 46 tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”
[78:51] 47 tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).
[78:54] 48 tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”
[78:54] 49 tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
[78:55] 50 tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”
[78:55] 51 tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”
[78:56] 52 tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”
[78:56] 53 tn Heb “God, the Most High.”
[78:56] 55 tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).
[78:57] 56 tn Heb “they turned back.”
[78:57] 57 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
[78:57] 58 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
[78:58] 59 tn Traditionally, “high places.”
[78:61] 61 tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.
[78:61] 62 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
[78:61] 63 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
[78:62] 64 tn Heb “his inheritance.”
[78:63] 65 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:63] 66 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:63] 67 tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.
[78:64] 68 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:64] 69 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:64] 70 sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.
[78:65] 71 tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The
[78:65] 72 tn Heb “like a warrior overcome with wine.” The Hebrew verb רוּן (run, “overcome”) occurs only here in the OT. The phrase “overcome with wine” could picture a drunken warrior controlled by his emotions and passions (as in the present translation), or it could refer to a warrior who awakes from a drunken stupor.
[78:66] 73 tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”
[78:69] 74 tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.
[78:69] 75 tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”
[78:71] 76 tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”
[78:71] 77 tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”
[78:72] 78 tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[78:72] 79 tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”
[78:72] 80 tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”
[11:16] 81 tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”
[11:16] 82 tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).
[51:9] 83 tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.
[51:9] 84 tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”
[51:9] 85 tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).
[51:9] 86 tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”
[51:9] 87 tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.
[63:11] 88 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] 89 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] 90 sn See the note at v. 10.
[63:12] 91 tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”
[63:12] 92 tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”
[63:13] 93 tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”
[63:14] 94 tn The words “to graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[63:14] 95 tn Or “so” (KJV, ASV), or “thus” (NAB, NRSV).
[63:14] 96 tn Heb “making for yourself a majestic name.”
[63:15] 97 tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.
[63:15] 98 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.
[23:7] 99 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:7] 100 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
[23:8] 101 tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”
[23:8] 102 tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.
[23:8] 103 tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.
