Psalms 102:25

102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;

the skies are your handiwork.

Psalms 104:5

104:5 He established the earth on its foundations;

it will never be upended.

Psalms 119:90-91

119:90 You demonstrate your faithfulness to all generations. ¹ 

You established the earth and it stood firm.

119:91 Today they stand firm by your decrees,

for all things are your servants.

Psalms 119:1

Psalm 119 ² 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ³ 

who obey ⁴  the law of the Lord.

Psalms 2:8

2:8 Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, ⁵ 

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

Job 26:7

26:7 He spreads out the northern skies ⁶  over empty space; ⁷ 

he suspends the earth on nothing. ⁸ 

Isaiah 48:13

48:13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;

my right hand spread out the sky.

I summon them;

they stand together.

Isaiah 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ⁹  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ¹⁰  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ¹¹  will not disappear. ¹² 

Colossians 1:16-17

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ¹³  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ¹⁴  in him.

Revelation 20:11

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ¹⁵  I saw a large ¹⁶  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ¹⁷  fled ¹⁸  from his presence, and no place was found for them.

[119:90]  ¹ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation [is] your faithfulness.”

[119:1]  ² sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ³ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk in.”

[2:8]  ⁵ sn I will give you the nations. The Lord promises the Davidic king universal dominion.

[26:7]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew word is צָפוֹן (tsafon). Some see here a reference to Mount Zaphon of the Ugaritic texts, the mountain that Baal made his home. The Hebrew writers often equate and contrast Mount Zion with this proud mountain of the north. Of course, the word just means north, and so in addition to any connotations for pagan mythology, it may just represent the northern skies – the stars. Since the parallel line speaks of the earth, that is probably all that was intended in this particular context.

[26:7]  ⁷ sn There is an allusion to the creation account, for this word is תֹּהוּ (tohu), translated “without form” in Gen 1:2.

[26:7]  ⁸ sn Buttenwieser suggests that Job had outgrown the idea of the earth on pillars, and was beginning to see it was suspended in space. But in v. 11 he will still refer to the pillars.

[51:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

[51:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ¹² tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”

[1:16]  ¹³ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[20:11]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:11]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

[20:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

[20:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “vanished.”