Discovery BoxPsalms 20:6-8
Context20:6 Now I am sure 1 that the Lord will deliver 2 his chosen king; 3
he will intervene for him 4 from his holy heavenly temple, 5
and display his mighty ability to deliver. 6
20:7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, 7
but we 8 depend on 9 the Lord our God.
Psalms 60:1
ContextFor the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 14 a prayer 15 of David written to instruct others. 16 It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down 17 12,000 Edomites 18 in the Valley of Salt. 19
60:1 O God, you have rejected us. 20
You suddenly turned on us in your anger. 21
Please restore us! 22
Isaiah 63:1-6
Context63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, 23
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? 24
Who 25 is this one wearing royal attire, 26
who marches confidently 27 because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!” 28
63:2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? 29
63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them 30 in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained 31 all my clothes.
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived. 32
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 33
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 34
63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,
I made them drunk 35 in my rage,
I splashed their blood on the ground.” 36
Jeremiah 49:7-16
Context49:7 The Lord who rules over all 37 spoke about Edom. 38
“Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? 39
Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice? 40
Has all of their wisdom turned bad? 41
49:8 Turn and flee! Take up refuge in remote places, 42
you people who live in Dedan. 43
For I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau.
I have decided it is time for me to punish them. 44
49:9 If grape pickers came to pick your grapes,
would they not leave a few grapes behind? 45
If robbers came at night,
would they not pillage only what they needed? 46
49:10 But I will strip everything away from Esau’s descendants.
I will uncover their hiding places so they cannot hide.
Their children, relatives, and neighbors will all be destroyed.
Not one of them will be left!
49:11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive.
Your widows too can depend on me.” 47
49:12 For the Lord says, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath. 48 49:13 For I solemnly swear,” 49 says the Lord, “that Bozrah 50 will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. 51 All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”
49:14 I said, 52 “I have heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger has been sent among the nations to say,
‘Gather your armies and march out against her!
Prepare to do battle with her!’” 53
49:15 The Lord says to Edom, 54
“I will certainly make you small among nations.
I will make you despised by all humankind.
49:16 The terror you inspire in others 55
and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you.
You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks;
you may occupy the highest places in the hills. 56
But even if you made your home where the eagles nest,
I would bring you down from there,”
says the Lord.
Obadiah 1:3-4
Context1:3 Your presumptuous heart 57 has deceived you –
you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs, 58
whose home is high in the mountains. 59
You think to yourself, 60
‘No one can 61 bring me down to the ground!’ 62
1:4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, 63
even if you 64 were to make your nest among the stars,
I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.
[20:6] 2 tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the
[20:6] 3 tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.
[20:6] 4 tn Heb “he will answer him.”
[20:6] 5 tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”
[20:6] 6 tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).
[20:7] 7 tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; perhaps the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.
[20:7] 8 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.
[20:7] 9 tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the
[20:8] 10 tn Or “stumble and fall down.”
[20:8] 11 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.
[20:8] 12 tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (’ud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.
[60:1] 13 sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.
[60:1] 14 tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.
[60:1] 15 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[60:1] 17 tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.
[60:1] 18 tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).
[60:1] 19 sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.
[60:1] 20 sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.
[60:1] 21 tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”
[60:1] 22 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
[63:1] 23 sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.
[63:1] 24 tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”
[63:1] 25 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.
[63:1] 26 tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”
[63:1] 27 tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).
[63:1] 28 tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”
[63:2] 29 tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”
[63:3] 30 sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.
[63:3] 31 tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).
[63:4] 32 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
[63:5] 33 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
[63:5] 34 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
[63:6] 35 sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.
[63:6] 36 tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).
[49:7] 37 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for this title.
[49:7] 38 sn Edom was a kingdom to the south and east of Judah. Its borders varied over time but basically Edom lay in the hundred mile strip between the Gulf of Aqaba on the south and the Zered River on the north. It straddled the Arabah leading down from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba, having as its northern neighbors both Judah and Moab. A long history of hostility existed between Israel and Edom, making Edom one of the favorite objects of the prophets’ oracles of judgment (cf., e.g., Isa 21:11-12; 34:5-15; 63:1-6; Amos 1:11-12; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:1-15; Obad 1-16). Not much is known about Edom at this time other than the fact that they participated in the discussions regarding rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar in 594
[49:7] 39 sn Teman was the name of one of Esau’s descendants, the name of an Edomite clan and the name of the district where they lived (Gen 36:11, 15, 34). Like the name Bozrah, it is used poetically for all of Edom (Jer 49:20; Ezek 25:13).
[49:7] 40 tn Heb “Has counsel perished from men of understanding?”
[49:7] 41 tn The meaning of this last word is based on the definition given in KBL 668 s.v. II סָרַח Nif and HALOT 726 s.v. II סָרַח Nif, which give the nuance “to be [or become] corrupt” rather than that of BDB 710 s.v. סָרַח Niph who give the nuance “let loose (i.e., to be dismissed; to be gone)” from a verb that is elsewhere used of the overhanging of a curtains or a cliff.
[49:8] 42 tn Heb “make deep to dwell.” The meaning of this phrase is debated. Some take it as a reference for the Dedanites who were not native to Edom to go down from the heights of Edom and go back home (so G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 330). The majority of commentaries, however, take it as a reference to the Dedanites disassociating themselves from the Edomites and finding remote hiding places to live in (so J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 718). For the options see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:375.
[49:8] 43 sn Dedan. The Dedanites were an Arabian tribe who lived to the southeast of Edom. They are warned here to disassociate themselves from Edom because Edom is about to suffer disaster.
[49:8] 44 tn Heb “For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him, the time when I will punish him.” Esau was the progenitor of the tribes and nation of Edom (cf. Gen 36:1, 8, 9, 19).
[49:9] 45 tn The translation of this verse is generally based on the parallels in Obad 5. There the second line has a ה interrogative in front of it. The question can still be assumed because questions can be asked in Hebrew without a formal marker (cf. GKC 473 §150.a and BDB 519 s.v. לֹא 1.a[e] and compare usage in 2 Kgs 5:26).
[49:9] 46 tn The tense and nuance of the verb translated “pillage” are both different than the verb in Obad 5. There the verb is the imperfect of גָּנַב (ganav, “to steal”). Here the verb is the perfect of a verb which means to “ruin” or “spoil.” The English versions and commentaries, however, almost all render the verb here in much the same way as in Obad 5. The nuance must mean they only “ruin, destroy” (by stealing) only as much as they need (Heb “their sufficiency”), and the verb is used as metonymical substitute, effect for cause. The perfect must be some kind of a future perfect; “would they not have destroyed only…” The negative question is carried over by ellipsis from the preceding lines.
[49:11] 47 tn Or “Their children and relatives will all be destroyed. And none of their neighbors will say, ‘Leave your orphans with me and I’ll keep them alive. Your widows can trust in me.’” This latter interpretation is based on a reading in a couple of the Greek versions (Symmachus and Lucian) and is accepted by a number of the modern commentaries, (J. Bright, J. A. Thompson, W. L. Holladay, and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers). However, the majority of modern English versions do not follow it and lacking any other Hebrew or versional evidence it is probable that this is an interpretation to explain the mitigation of what appears as a prophecy of utter annihilation. There have been other cases in Jeremiah where a universal affirmation (either positive or negative) has been modified in the verses that follow. The verb in the second line תִּבְטָחוּ (tivtakhu) is highly unusual; it is a second masculine plural form with a feminine plural subject. The form is explained in GKC 127-28 §47.k and 160-61 §60.a, n. 1 as a pausal substitution for the normal form תִּבְטַחְנָה (tivtakhnah) and a similar form in Ezek 37:7 cited as a parallel.
[49:12] 48 tn The words “of my wrath” after “cup” in the first line and “from the cup of my wrath” in the last line are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[49:13] 49 tn Heb “I swear by myself.” See 22:5 and the study note there.
[49:13] 50 sn Bozrah appears to have been the chief city in Edom, its capital city (see its parallelism with Edom in Isa 34:6; 63:1; Jer 49:22). The reference to “its towns” (translated here “all the towns around it”) could then be a reference to all the towns in Edom. It was located about twenty-five miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea apparently in the district of Teman (see the parallelism in Amos 1:12).
[49:13] 51 tn See the study note on 24:9 for the rendering of this term.
[49:14] 52 tn The words “I said” are not in the text but it is generally agreed that the words that follow are Jeremiah’s. These words are supplied in the translation to make clear that the speaker has shifted from the
[49:14] 53 tn Heb “Rise up for battle.” The idea “against her” is implicit from the context and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[49:15] 54 tn The words “The
[49:16] 55 tn The meaning of this Hebrew word (תִּפְלֶצֶת, tifletset) is uncertain because it occurs only here. However, it is related to a verb root that refers to the shaking of the pillars (of the earth) in Job 9:6 and a noun (מִפְלֶצֶת, mifletset) that refers to “horror” or “shuddering” used in Job 21:6; Isa 21:4; Ezek 7:18; Ps 55:6. This is the nuance that is accepted by BDB, KBL, HAL and a majority of the modern English versions. The suffix is an objective genitive. The fact that the following verb is masculine singular suggests that the text here (הִשִּׁיא אֹתָךְ, hishi’ ’otakh) is in error for הִשִּׁיאָתָךְ (hishi’atakh; so G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 327, n. 16.a).
[49:16] 56 tn The Hebrew text of the first four lines reads: “Your terror [= the terror you inspire] has deceived you, [and] the arrogance of your heart, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who occupy the heights of the hill.” The sentence is broken up and restructured to better conform with English style.
[1:3] 57 tn Heb “the presumption of your heart”; NAB, NIV “the pride of your heart”; NASB “arrogance of your heart.”
[1:3] 58 tn Heb “in the concealed places of the rock”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “in the clefts of the rock”; NCV “the hollow places of the cliff”; CEV “a mountain fortress.”
[1:3] 59 tn Heb “on high (is) his dwelling”; NASB “in the loftiness of your dwelling place”; NRSV “whose dwelling (abode NAB) is in the heights.”
[1:3] 60 tn Heb “the one who says in his heart.”
[1:3] 61 tn The Hebrew imperfect verb used here is best understood in a modal sense (“Who can bring me down?”) rather than in the sense of a simple future (“Who will bring me down?”). So also in v. 4 (“I can bring you down”). The question is not so much whether this will happen at some time in the future, but whether it even lies in the realm of possible events. In their hubris the Edomites were boasting that no one had the capability of breaching their impregnable defenses. However, their pride caused them to fail to consider the vast capabilities of Yahweh as warrior.
[1:3] 62 tn Heb “Who can bring me down?” This rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “No one!”
[1:4] 63 sn The eagle was often used in the ancient Near East as a symbol of strength and swiftness.
[1:4] 64 tc The present translation follows the reading תָּשִׂים (tasim; active) rather than שִׁים (sim; passive) of the MT (“and your nest be set among the stars,” NAB). Cf. LXX, Syriac, Vg.
