Discovery BoxPsalms 76:7
Context76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger? 1
Psalms 90:11
Context90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? 2
Your raging fury causes people to fear you. 3
Joel 2:11
Context2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders 4 as he leads his army. 5
Indeed, his warriors 6 are innumerable; 7
Surely his command is carried out! 8
Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome 9
and very terrifying – who can survive 10 it?
Nahum 1:6
Context1:6 No one can withstand 11 his indignation! 12
No one can resist 13 his fierce anger! 14
His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire,
boulders are broken up 15 as he approaches. 16
Malachi 3:2
Context3:2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, 17 like a launderer’s soap.
[76:7] 1 tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).
[90:11] 2 tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”
[90:11] 3 tn Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ (ukhyir’otekh, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yir’otkh, “your fear”), understanding a virtual dittography (אַפֶּךָ וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ, ’apekha ukhyir’otekh) to have occurred. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.
[2:11] 4 tn Heb “the
[2:11] 5 tn Heb “before his army.”
[2:11] 6 tn Heb “military encampment.”
[2:11] 8 tn Heb “he makes his word powerful.”
[2:11] 9 tn Or “powerful.” Heb “great.”
[2:11] 10 tn Heb “endure.” The MT and LXX read “endure,” while one of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXIIc) has “bear.”
[1:6] 11 tn Heb “stand before” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew verb עָמַד (’amad, “stand”) here denotes “to resist, withstand.” It is used elsewhere of warriors taking a stand in battle to hold their ground against enemies (Judg 2:14; Josh 10:8; 21:44; 23:9; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 11:16; Amos 2:15). It is also used of people trying to protect their lives from enemy attack (Esth 8:11; 9:16). Like a mighty warrior, the
[1:6] 12 tn Heb “Who can stand before his indignation?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer; it is translated here as an emphatic denial. The Hebrew noun זַעַם (za’am, “indignation, curse”) connotes the angry wrath or indignant curse of God (Isa 10:5, 25; 13:5; 26:20; 30:27; Jer 10:10; 15:17; 50:25; Ezek 21:36; 22:24, 31; Hab 3:12; Zeph 3:8; Pss 38:4; 69:25; 78:49; 102:11; Lam 2:6; Dan 8:19; 11:36). It depicts anger expressed in the form of punishment (HALOT 276 s.v.; TWOT 1:247).
[1:6] 13 tn Heb “Who can rise up against…?” The verb יָקוּם (yaqum, “arise”) is here a figurative expression connoting resistance. Although the adversative sense of בְּ (bet) with יָקוּם (yaqum, “against him”) is attested, denoting hostile action taken against one’s enemy (Mic 7:6; Ps 27:12), the locative sense (“before him”) is preferred due to the parallelism with לִפְנֵי (lifney, “before him”).
[1:6] 14 tn Heb “Who can rise up against the heat of his anger?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is translated as an emphatic denial to clarify the point.
[1:6] 15 tn Or “burst into flames.” The Niphal perfect נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) from נָתַץ (natats, “to break up, throw down”) may denote “are broken up” or “are thrown down.” The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) to נִצְּתּוּ (nitsÿtu, Niphal perfect from יָצַת [yatsat, “to burn, to kindle, to burst into flames”]): “boulders burst into flames.” This merely involves the simple transposition of the second and third consonants. This emendation is supported by a few Hebrew
[1:6] 16 tn Heb “before him” (so NAB, NIV, TEV).
[3:2] 17 sn The refiner’s fire was used to purify metal and refine it by melting it and allowing the dross, which floated to the top, to be scooped off.
