Psalms 33:19

33:19 by saving their lives from death ¹ 

and sustaining them during times of famine. ² 

Job 5:20-22

5:20 In time of famine ³  he will redeem you from death,

and in time of war from the power of the sword. ⁴ 

5:21 You will be protected ⁵  from malicious gossip, ⁶ 

and will not be afraid of the destruction ⁷  when it comes.

5:22 You will laugh at destruction and famine ⁸ 

and need not ⁹  be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

Proverbs 10:3

10:3 The Lord satisfies ¹⁰  the appetite ¹¹  of the righteous,

but he thwarts ¹²  the craving ¹³  of the wicked.

Isaiah 33:16

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ¹⁴ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ¹⁵ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

[33:19]  ¹ tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”

[33:19]  ² tn Heb “and to keep them alive in famine.”

[5:20]  ³ sn Targum Job here sees an allusion to the famine of Egypt and the war with Amalek.

[5:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the hand of the sword.” This is idiomatic for “the power of the sword.” The expression is also metonymical, meaning from the effect of the sword, which is death.

[5:21]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb essentially means “you will be hidden.” In the Niphal the verb means “to be hidden, to be in a hiding place,” and protected (Ps 31:20).

[5:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the lash [i.e., whip] of the tongue.” Sir 26:9 and 51:2 show usages of these kinds of expressions: “the lash of the tongue” or “the blow of the tongue.” The expression indicates that a malicious gossip is more painful than a blow.

[5:21]  ⁷ tn The word here is שׁוֹד (shod); it means “destruction,” but some commentators conjecture alternate readings: שׁוֹאָה (sho’ah, “desolation”); or שֵׁד (shed, “demon”). One argument for maintaining שׁוֹד (shod) is that it fits the assonance within the verse שׁוֹד…לָשׁוֹן…שׁוֹט (shot…lashon…shod).

[5:22]  ⁸ tc The repetition of “destruction” and “famine” here has prompted some scholars to delete the whole verse. Others try to emend the text. The LXX renders them as “the unrighteous and the lawless.” But there is no difficulty in having the repetition of the words as found in the MT.

[5:22]  ⁹ tn The negated jussive is used here to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen (GKC 322 §109.e).

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “does not allow…to go hungry.” The expression “The Lord does not allow the appetite of the righteous to go hungry” is an example of tapeinosis – a figurative expression stated in the negative to emphasize the positive: The Lord satisfies the appetite of the righteous.

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) means “soul” but its root meaning is “throat” and it has a broad range of meanings; here it denotes “appetite” (BDB 660 s.v. 5.a; see, e.g., Pss 63:6; 107:9; Prov 27:7; Isa 56:11; 58:10; Jer 50:19; Ezek 7:19). The term could denote “desire” (BDB 660 s.v. 6.a) which would include the inner urge for success. By contrast, the wicked live unfulfilled lives – as far as spiritual values are concerned.

[10:3]  ¹² tn Heb “thrusts away” (cf. ASV, NASB); NLT “refuses to satisfy.” The verb הָדַף (hadaf) means “to thrust away; to push; to drive,” either to depose or reject (BDB 213 s.v.).

[10:3]  ¹³ tn This verse contrasts the “appetite” of the righteous with the “craving” of the wicked. This word הַוַּה (havvah, “craving”) means “desire” often in a bad sense, as ‘the desire of the wicked,” which could not be wholesome (Ps 52:9).

[33:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

[33:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”