Psalms 29:5

29:5 The Lord’s shout breaks ¹  the cedars,

the Lord shatters ²  the cedars of Lebanon. ³ 

Psalms 92:2

92:2 It is fitting ⁴  to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,

and your faithfulness during the night,

Numbers 24:6

24:6 They are like ⁵  valleys ⁶  stretched forth,

like gardens by the river’s side,

like aloes ⁷  that the Lord has planted,

and like cedar trees beside the waters.

Ezekiel 17:23

17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,

and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.

Every bird will live under it;

Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.

[29:5]  ¹ tn The Hebrew participial form draws attention to the durative nature of the action being described.

[29:5]  ² tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive here and in v. 6a carry on the descriptive function of the preceding participle (see GKC 329 §111.u). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar) appears in the Qal in the first line of the verse, and in the Piel in the second line. The verb, which means “break” in the Qal, appears thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).

[29:5]  ³ sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size. Here they may symbolize the arrogant enemies of God (see Isa 2:12-13).

[92:2]  ⁴ tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[24:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”

[24:6]  ⁶ tn Or “rows of palms.”

[24:6]  ⁷ sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).