Psalms 34:15-20

34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly

and hears their cry for help. ¹ 

34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers

and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. ² 

34:17 The godly ³  cry out and the Lord hears;

he saves them from all their troubles. ⁴ 

34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he delivers ⁵  those who are discouraged. ⁶ 

34:19 The godly ⁷  face many dangers, ⁸ 

but the Lord saves ⁹  them ¹⁰  from each one of them.

34:20 He protects ¹¹  all his bones; ¹² 

not one of them is broken. ¹³ 

Psalms 147:11

147:11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers, ¹⁴ 

and in those who wait for his loyal love.

Job 36:7

36:7 He does not take his eyes ¹⁵  off the righteous;

but with kings on the throne

he seats the righteous ¹⁶  and exalts them forever. ¹⁷ 

Job 36:1

Elihu’s Fourth Speech ¹⁸ 

36:1 Elihu said further: ¹⁹ 

Job 3:12

3:12 Why did the knees welcome me, ²⁰ 

and why were there ²¹  two breasts ²² 

that I might nurse at them? ²³ 

[34:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”

[34:16]  ² tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”

[34:17]  ³ tn Heb “they” (i.e., the godly mentioned in v. 15).

[34:17]  ⁴ tn The three perfect verbal forms are taken in a generalizing sense in v. 17 and translated with the present tense (note the generalizing mood of vv. 18-22).

[34:18]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.

[34:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”

[34:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular form; the representative or typical godly person is envisioned.

[34:19]  ⁸ tn Or “trials.”

[34:19]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the godly.

[34:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him,” agreeing with the singular form in the preceding line.

[34:20]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew participial form suggests such protection is characteristic.

[34:20]  ¹² tn That is, he protects the godly from physical harm.

[34:20]  ¹³ sn Not one of them is broken. The author of the Gospel of John saw a fulfillment of these words in Jesus’ experience on the cross (see John 19:31-37), for the Roman soldiers, when they saw that Jesus was already dead, did not break his legs as was customarily done to speed the death of crucified individuals. John’s use of the psalm seems strange, for the statement in its original context suggests that the Lord protects the godly from physical harm. Jesus’ legs may have remained unbroken, but he was brutally and unjustly executed by his enemies. John seems to give the statement a literal sense that is foreign to its original literary context by applying a promise of divine protection to a man who was seemingly not saved by God. However, John saw in this incident a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate deliverance and vindication. His unbroken bones were a reminder of God’s commitment to the godly and a sign of things to come. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of the story; God vindicated him, as John goes on to explain in the following context (John 19:38-20:18).

[147:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[36:7]  ¹⁵ tc Many commentators accept the change of “his eyes” to “his right” (reading דִּינוֹ [dino] for עֵינָיו [’enayv]). There is no compelling reason for the change; it makes the line commonplace.

[36:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the righteous) has been repeated from the first part of the verse for clarity.

[36:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he seats them forever and exalts them.” The last verb can be understood as expressing a logical consequence of the preceding action (cf. GKC 328 §111.l = “he seats them forever so that he exalts them”). Or the two verbs can be taken as an adverbial hendiadys whereby the first modifies the second adverbially: “he exalts them by seating them forever” or “when he seats them forever” (cf. GKC 326 §111.d). Some interpret this verse to say that God seats kings on the throne, making a change in subject in the middle of the verse. But it makes better sense to see the righteous as the subject matter throughout – they are not only protected, but are exalted.

[36:1]  ¹⁸ sn This very lengthy speech can be broken down into the following sections: the discipline of suffering (36:2-25), the work and wisdom of God (36:26–37:24).

[36:1]  ¹⁹ tn The use of וַיֹּסֶף (vayyosef) is with the hendiadys construction: “and he added and said,” meaning “and he said again, further.”

[3:12]  ²⁰ tn The verb קִדְּמוּנִי (qiddÿmuni) is the Piel from קָדַם (qadam), meaning “to come before; to meet; to prevent.” Here it has the idea of going to meet or welcome someone. In spite of various attempts to connect the idea to the father or to adoption rites, it probably simply means the mother’s knees that welcome the child for nursing. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 42.

[3:12]  ²¹ tn There is no verb in the second half of the verse. The idea simply has, “and why breasts that I might suck?”

[3:12]  ²² sn The commentaries mention the parallel construction in the writings of Ashurbanipal: “You were weak, Ashurbanipal, you who sat on the knees of the goddess, queen of Nineveh; of the four teats that were placed near to your mouth, you sucked two and you hid your face in the others” (M. Streck, Assurbanipal [VAB], 348).

[3:12]  ²³ tn Heb “that I might suckle.” The verb is the Qal imperfect of יָנַק (yanaq, “suckle”). Here the clause is subordinated to the preceding question and so function as a final imperfect.