Discovery BoxPsalms 72:16
Context72:16 May there be 1 an abundance 2 of grain in the earth;
on the tops 3 of the mountains may it 4 sway! 5
May its 6 fruit trees 7 flourish 8 like the forests of Lebanon! 9
May its crops 10 be as abundant 11 as the grass of the earth! 12
Jeremiah 31:27
Context31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” 13 says the Lord, 14 “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. 15
Zechariah 10:9
Context10:9 Though I scatter 16 them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places – they and their children will sprout forth and return.
Acts 8:1-4
Context8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing 17 him.
Now on that day a great 18 persecution began 19 against the church in Jerusalem, 20 and all 21 except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions 22 of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Some 23 devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation 24 over him. 25 8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy 26 the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off 27 both men and women and put them in prison. 28
8:4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word.
James 1:1
Context1:1 From James, 29 a slave 30 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 31 Greetings!
James 1:1
Context1:1 From James, 32 a slave 33 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 34 Greetings!
James 1:1-2
Context1:1 From James, 35 a slave 36 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 37 Greetings!
1:2 My brothers and sisters, 38 consider it nothing but joy 39 when you fall into all sorts of trials,
[72:16] 1 tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. The translation assumes the subject is impersonal (rather than the king).
[72:16] 2 tn The Hebrew noun פִסַּה (pissah; which appears here in the construct form) occurs only here in the OT. Perhaps the noun is related to the verbal root פָּשָׂה (pasah, “to spread,” see BDB 832 s.v.; the root appears as פָּסָה [pasah] in postbiblical Hebrew), which is used in postbiblical Hebrew of the rising sun’s rays spreading over the horizon and a tree’s branches spreading out (see Jastrow 1194 s.v. פסי, פָּסָה, פָּשָׂה). In Ps 72:16 a “spreading of grain” would refer to grain fields extending out over the land. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:139) emend the form to סְפִיחַ (sÿfiakh, “second growth”).
[72:16] 3 tn Heb “top” (singular).
[72:16] 4 tn That is, the grain.
[72:16] 5 tn According to the traditional accentuation of the MT, this verb belongs with what follows. See the translator’s note at the end of the verse for a discussion of the poetic parallelism and interpretation of the verse.
[72:16] 6 tn The antecedent of the third masculine singular pronominal suffix is unclear. It is unlikely that the antecedent is אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) because this noun is normally grammatically feminine. Perhaps רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “top [of the mountains]”) is the antecedent. Another option is to understand the pronoun as referring to the king, who would then be viewed as an instrument of divine agricultural blessing (see v. 6).
[72:16] 8 tc According to the traditional accentuation of the MT, this verb belongs with what follows. See the note on the word “earth” at the end of the verse for a discussion of the poetic parallelism and interpretation of the verse. The present translation takes it with the preceding words, “like Lebanon its fruit” and emends the verb form from וְיָצִיצוּ (vÿyatsitsu; Qal imperfect third masculine plural with prefixed vav, [ו]) to יָצִיץ (yatsits; Qal imperfect third masculine singular). The initial vav is eliminated as dittographic (note the vav on the ending of the preceding form פִּרְיוֹ, piryo, “its/his fruit”) and the vav at the end of the form is placed on the following emended form (see the note on the word “crops”), yielding וַעֲמִיר (va’amir, “and [its] crops”).
[72:16] 9 tn Heb “like Lebanon.”
[72:16] 10 tc The MT has “from the city.” The translation assumes an emendation to עֲמִיר (’amir, “crops”).
[72:16] 11 tn The translation assumes that the verb צוץ (“flourish”) goes with the preceding line. The words “be as abundant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[72:16] 12 tc The traditional accentuation and vocalization of the MT differ from the text assumed by the present translation. The MT reads as follows: “May there be an abundance of grain in the earth, / and on the tops of the mountains! / May its [or “his”?] fruit [trees?] rustle like [the trees of] Lebanon! / May they flourish from the city, like the grass of the earth!” If one follows the MT, then it would appear that the “fruit” of the third line is a metaphorical reference to the king’s people, who flow out from the cities to populate the land (see line 4). Elsewhere in the OT people are sometimes compared to grass that sprouts up from the land (see v. 7, as well as Isa 27:6; Pss 92:7; 103:15). The translation understands a different poetic structural arrangement and, assuming the emendations mentioned in earlier notes, interprets each line of the verse to be a prayer for agricultural abundance.
[31:27] 13 tn Heb “Behold days are coming!” The particle “Behold” is probably used here to emphasize the reality of a fact. See the translator’s note on 1:6.
[31:27] 14 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[31:27] 15 tn Heb “Behold, the days are coming and [= when] I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and of animals.” For the significance of the metaphor see the study note.
[10:9] 16 tn Or “sow” (so KJV, ASV). The imagery is taken from the sowing of seed by hand.
[8:1] 17 tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).
[8:1] 19 tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”
[8:1] 20 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:1] 21 sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.
[8:2] 23 tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[8:2] 24 sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.
[8:2] 25 tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”
[8:3] 26 tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.
[8:3] 27 tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[8:3] 28 tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”
[1:1] 29 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:1] 30 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:1] 31 tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.
[1:1] 32 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:1] 33 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:1] 34 tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.
[1:1] 35 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:1] 36 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:1] 37 tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.
[1:2] 38 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.
