Psalms 24:1-2

Psalm 24 ¹ 

A psalm of David.

24:1 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live in it.

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established ²  it upon the ocean currents. ³ 

Psalms 50:12

50:12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and all it contains belong to me.

Psalms 115:16

115:16 The heavens belong to the Lord, ⁴ 

but the earth he has given to mankind. ⁵ 

Genesis 1:1

The Creation of the World

1:1 In the beginning ⁶  God ⁷  created ⁸  the heavens and the earth. ⁹ 

Genesis 2:1

2:1 The heavens and the earth ¹⁰  were completed with everything that was in them. ¹¹ 

Genesis 2:1

2:1 The heavens and the earth ¹²  were completed with everything that was in them. ¹³ 

Genesis 29:11

29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ¹⁴ 

Job 41:11

41:11 (Who has confronted ¹⁵  me that I should repay? ¹⁶ 

Everything under heaven belongs to me!) ¹⁷ 

Job 41:1

The Description of Leviathan

41:1 (40:25) ¹⁸  “Can you pull in ¹⁹  Leviathan with a hook,

and tie down ²⁰  its tongue with a rope?

Colossians 1:26

1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.

Colossians 1:28

1:28 We proclaim him by instructing ²¹  and teaching ²²  all people ²³  with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature ²⁴  in Christ.

[24:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.

[24:2]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

[24:2]  ³ sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

[115:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the Lord.”

[115:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the sons of man.”

[1:1]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.

[1:1]  ⁷ sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.”

[1:1]  ⁸ tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “the heavens and the earth” in 1:1.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and all the host of them.” Here the “host” refers to all the entities and creatures that God created to populate the world.

[2:1]  ¹² tn See the note on the phrase “the heavens and the earth” in 1:1.

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and all the host of them.” Here the “host” refers to all the entities and creatures that God created to populate the world.

[29:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.

[41:11]  ¹⁵ tn The verb קָדַם (qadam) means “to come to meet; to come before; to confront” to the face.

[41:11]  ¹⁶ sn The verse seems an intrusion (and so E. Dhorme, H. H. Rowley, and many others change the pronouns to make it refer to the animal). But what the text is saying is that it is more dangerous to confront God than to confront this animal.

[41:11]  ¹⁷ tn This line also focuses on the sovereign God rather than Leviathan. H. H. Rowley, however, wants to change לִי־חוּא (li-hu’, “it [belongs] to me”) into לֹא הוּא (lo’ hu’, “there is no one”). So it would say that there is no one under the whole heaven who could challenge Leviathan and live, rather than saying it is more dangerous to challenge God to make him repay.

[41:1]  ¹⁸ sn Beginning with 41:1, the verse numbers through 41:9 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 41:1 ET = 40:25 HT, 41:2 ET = 40:26 HT, etc., through 41:34 ET = 41:26 HT. The Hebrew verse numbers in the remainder of the chapter differ from the verse numbers in the English Bible. Beginning with 42:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[41:1]  ¹⁹ tn The verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh) means “to extract from the water; to fish.” The question here includes the use of a hook to fish the creature out of the water so that its jaws can be tied safely.

[41:1]  ²⁰ tn The verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’) means “to cause to sink,” if it is connected with the word in Amos 8:8 and 9:5. But it may have the sense of “to tie; to bind.” If the rope were put around the tongue and jaw, binding tightly would be the sense.

[1:28]  ²¹ tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct,, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouqetounte", “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anqrwpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.

[1:28]  ²² tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouqetounte") and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskonte") are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).

[1:28]  ²³ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[1:28]  ²⁴ tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.