Psalms 74:17

74:17 You set up all the boundaries ¹  of the earth;

you created the cycle of summer and winter. ² 

Psalms 89:11-12

89:11 The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.

You made the world and all it contains. ³ 

89:12 You created the north and the south.

Tabor and Hermon ⁴  rejoice in your name.

Isaiah 40:28

40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is an eternal God,

the creator of the whole earth. ⁵ 

He does not get tired or weary;

there is no limit to his wisdom. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 31:37

31:37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel

because of all that they have done. ⁷ 

That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured

or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,” ⁸ 

says the Lord. ⁹ 

Revelation 20:9

20:9 They ¹⁰  went up ¹¹  on the broad plain of the earth ¹²  and encircled ¹³  the camp ¹⁴  of the saints and the beloved city, but ¹⁵  fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. ¹⁶ 

[74:17]  ¹ tn This would appear to refer to geographical boundaries, such as mountains, rivers, and seacoasts. However, since the day-night cycle has just been mentioned (v. 16) and the next line speaks of the seasons, it is possible that “boundaries” here refers to the divisions of the seasons. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:156.

[74:17]  ² tn Heb “summer and winter, you, you formed them.”

[89:11]  ³ tn Heb “the world and its fullness, you established them.”

[89:12]  ⁴ sn Tabor and Hermon were two of the most prominent mountains in Palestine.

[40:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.

[40:28]  ⁶ sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).

[31:37]  ⁷ sn This answers Jeremiah’s question in 14:19.

[31:37]  ⁸ tn Heb “If the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below be explored, then also I could reject all the seed of Israel for all they have done.”

[31:37]  ⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[20:9]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:9]  ¹¹ tn The shift here to past tense reflects the Greek text.

[20:9]  ¹² tn On the phrase “broad plain of the earth” BDAG 823 s.v. πλάτος states, “τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς Rv 20:9 comes fr. the OT (Da 12:2 LXX. Cp. Hab 1:6; Sir 1:3), but the sense is not clear: breadth = the broad plain of the earth is perh. meant to provide room for the countless enemies of God vs. 8, but the ‘going up’ is better suited to Satan (vs. 7) who has recently been freed, and who comes up again fr. the abyss (vs. 3).” The referent here thus appears to be a plain large enough to accommodate the numberless hoards that have drawn up for battle against the Lord Christ and his saints.

[20:9]  ¹³ tn Or “surrounded.”

[20:9]  ¹⁴ tn On the term παρεμβολή (parembolh) BDAG 775 s.v. states, “Mostly used as a military t.t.…so always in our lit.…1. a (fortified) camp…ἡ παρεμβολὴ τῶν ἁγίων Rv 20:9 is also to be understood fr. the OT use of the word.”

[20:9]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[20:9]  ¹⁶ tn See L&N 20.45 for the translation of κατεσθίω (katesqiw) as “to destroy utterly, to consume completely.”