Psalms 135:1

Psalm 135 ¹ 

135:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord!

Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,

Genesis 9:14

9:14 Whenever ²  I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,

Genesis 9:1

God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah

9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ³  by the oaks ⁴  of Mamre while ⁵  he was sitting at the entrance ⁶  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ⁷  by the oaks ⁸  of Mamre while ⁹  he was sitting at the entrance ¹⁰  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

Job 26:8-9

26:8 He locks the waters in his clouds,

and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.

26:9 He conceals ¹¹  the face of the full moon, ¹² 

shrouding it with his clouds.

Job 36:27-33

36:27 He draws up drops of water;

they distill ¹³  the rain into its mist, ¹⁴ 

36:28 which the clouds pour down

and shower on humankind abundantly.

36:29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds,

the thunderings of his pavilion? ¹⁵ 

36:30 See how he scattered ¹⁶  his lightning ¹⁷  about him;

he has covered the depths ¹⁸  of the sea.

36:31 It is by these that he judges ¹⁹  the nations

and supplies food in abundance.

36:32 With his hands ²⁰  he covers ²¹  the lightning,

and directs it against its target.

36:33 ²² His thunder announces the coming storm,

the cattle also, concerning the storm’s approach.

Job 38:24-27

38:24 In what direction is lightning ²³  dispersed,

or the east winds scattered over the earth?

38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,

and a path for the rumble of thunder,

38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, ²⁴ 

a desert where there are no human beings, ²⁵ 

38:27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,

and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? ²⁶ 

Isaiah 5:6

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ²⁷ 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

[135:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 135. The psalmist urges God’s people to praise him because he is the incomparable God and ruler of the world who has accomplished great things for Israel.

[9:14]  ² tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.

[18:1]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁴ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[26:9]  ¹¹ tn The verb means “to hold; to seize,” here in the sense of shutting up, enshrouding, or concealing.

[26:9]  ¹² tc The MT has כִסֵּה (khisseh), which is a problematic vocalization. Most certainly כֵּסֶה (keseh), alternative for כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”) is intended here. The MT is close to the form of “throne,” which would be כִּסֵּא (kisse’, cf. NLT “he shrouds his throne with his clouds”). But here God is covering the face of the moon by hiding it behind clouds.

[36:27]  ¹³ tn The verb means “to filter; to refine,” and so a plural subject with the drops of water as the subject will not work. So many read the singular, “he distills.”

[36:27]  ¹⁴ tn This word עֵד (’ed) occurs also in Gen 2:6. The suggestion has been that instead of a mist it represents an underground watercourse that wells up to water the ground.

[36:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his booth.”

[36:30]  ¹⁶ tn The word actually means “to spread,” but with lightning as the object, “to scatter” appears to fit the context better.

[36:30]  ¹⁷ tn The word is “light,” but taken to mean “lightning.” Theodotion had “mist” here, and so most commentators follow that because it is more appropriate to the verb and the context.

[36:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “roots.”

[36:31]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is יָדִין (yadin, “he judges”). Houbigant proposedיָזוּן (yazun, “he nourishes”). This has found wide acceptance among commentators (cf. NAB). G. R. Driver retained the MT but gave a meaning “enriches” to the verb (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 88ff.).

[36:32]  ²⁰ tn R. Gordis (Job, 422) prefers to link this word with the later Hebrew word for “arch,” not “hands.”

[36:32]  ²¹ tn Because the image might mean that God grabs the lightning and hurls it like a javelin (cf. NLT), some commentators want to change “covers” to other verbs. Dhorme has “lifts” (נִשָּׂא [nissa’] for כִּסָּה [kissah]). This fit the idea of God directing the lightning bolts.

[36:33]  ²² tn Peake knew of over thirty interpretations for this verse. The MT literally says, “He declares his purpose [or his shout] concerning it; cattle also concerning what rises.” Dhorme has it: “The flock which sniffs the coming storm has warned the shepherd.” Kissane: “The thunder declares concerning him, as he excites wrath against iniquity.” Gordis translates it: “His thunderclap proclaims his presence, and the storm his mighty wrath.” Many more could be added to the list.

[38:24]  ²³ tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed ‘ed instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).

[38:26]  ²⁴ tn Heb “on a land, no man.”

[38:26]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”

[38:27]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to cause to sprout a source of vegetation.” The word מֹצָא (motsa’) is rendered “mine” in Job 28:1. The suggestion with the least changes is Wright’s: צָמֵא (tsame’, “thirsty”). But others choose מִצִּיָּה (mitsiyyah, “from the steppe”).

[5:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.