Psalms 25:10

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ¹ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ² 

Psalms 104:3

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ³ 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ⁴ 

Joel 2:14

2:14 Who knows?

Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, ⁵ 

and leave blessing in his wake ⁶  –

a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! ⁷ 

Joel 2:21-26

2:21 Do not fear, my land!

Rejoice and be glad,

because the Lord has accomplished great things!

2:22 Do not fear, wild animals! ⁸ 

For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass.

Indeed, the trees bear their fruit;

the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest. ⁹ 

2:23 Citizens of Zion, ¹⁰  rejoice!

Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! ¹¹ 

For he has given to you the early rains ¹²  as vindication.

He has sent ¹³  to you the rains –

both the early and the late rains ¹⁴  as formerly.

2:24 The threshing floors are full of grain;

the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil.

2:25 I will make up for the years ¹⁵ 

that the ‘arbeh-locust ¹⁶  consumed your crops ¹⁷  –

the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust –

my great army ¹⁸  that I sent against you.

2:26 You will have plenty to eat,

and your hunger will be fully satisfied; ¹⁹ 

you will praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has acted wondrously in your behalf.

My people will never again be put to shame.

Haggai 2:19

2:19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’”

Malachi 3:10

3:10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse ²⁰  so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.

[25:10]  ¹ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ² tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[104:3]  ³ tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ⁴ sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”

[2:14]  ⁷ tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[2:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “beasts of the field.”

[2:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “their strength.” The trees and vines will produce a maximum harvest, in contrast to the failed agricultural conditions previously described.

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sons of Zion.”

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “be glad in the Lord your God.”

[2:23]  ¹² tn Normally the Hebrew word הַמּוֹרֶה (hammoreh) means “the teacher,” but here and in Ps 84:7 it refers to “early rains.” Elsewhere the word for “early rains” is יוֹרֶה (yoreh). The phrase here הַמּוֹרֶה לִצְדָקָה (hammoreh litsdaqah) is similar to the expression “teacher of righteousness” (Heb., מוֹרֶה הַצֶּדֶק , moreh hatsedeq) found in the Dead Sea Scrolls referring to a particular charismatic leader, although the Qumran community seems not to have invoked this text in support of that notion.

[2:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “caused to come down.”

[2:23]  ¹⁴ sn For half the year Palestine is generally dry. The rainy season begins with the early rains usually in late October to early December, followed by the latter rains in March and April. Without these rains productive farming would not be possible, as Joel’s original readers knew only too well.

[2:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will restore to you the years.”

[2:25]  ¹⁶ sn The same four terms for locust are used here as in 1:4, but in a different order. This fact creates some difficulty for the notion that the four words refer to four distinct stages of locust development.

[2:25]  ¹⁷ tn The term “your crops” does not appear in the Hebrew, but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[2:25]  ¹⁸ sn Here Joel employs military language to describe the locusts. In the prophet’s thinking this invasion was far from being a freak accident. Rather, the Lord is pictured here as a divine warrior who leads his army into the land as a punishment for past sin and as a means of bringing about spiritual renewal on the part of the people.

[2:26]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you will surely eat and be satisfied.”

[3:10]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet ha’otsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gÿdolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”