Psalms 36:5-6

36:5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky; ¹ 

your faithfulness to the clouds. ² 

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ³ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁴  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁵ 

Psalms 57:10

57:10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, ⁶ 

and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

Psalms 139:6

139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;

it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. ⁷ 

Proverbs 15:24

15:24 The path of life is upward ⁸  for the wise person, ⁹ 

to ¹⁰  keep him from going downward to Sheol. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 24:7

24:7 Wisdom is unattainable ¹²  for a fool;

in court ¹³  he does not open his mouth. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ¹⁵  when he punishes, ¹⁶ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 55:9

55:9 for just as the sky ¹⁸  is higher than the earth,

so my deeds ¹⁹  are superior to ²⁰  your deeds

and my plans ²¹  superior to your plans.

[36:5]  ¹ tn Heb “[is] in the heavens.”

[36:5]  ² sn The Lord’s loyal love/faithfulness is almost limitless. He is loyal and faithful to his creation and blesses mankind and the animal kingdom with physical life and sustenance (vv. 6-9).

[36:6]  ³ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁴ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁵ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[57:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”

[139:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”

[15:24]  ⁸ tn There is disagreement over the meaning of the term translated “upward.” The verse is usually taken to mean that “upward” is a reference to physical life and well-being (cf. NCV), and “going down to Sheol” is a reference to physical death, that is, the grave, because the concept of immortality is said not to appear in the book of Proverbs. The proverb then would mean that the wise live long and healthy lives. But W. McKane argues (correctly) that “upwards” in contrast to Sheol, does not fit the ways of describing the worldly pattern of conduct and that it is only intelligible if taken as a reference to immortality (Proverbs [OTL], 480). The translations “upwards” and “downwards” are not found in the LXX. This has led some commentators to speculate that these terms were not found in the original, but were added later, after the idea of immortality became prominent. However, this is mere speculation.

[15:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the wise [man],” because the form is masculine.

[15:24]  ¹⁰ tn The term לְמַעַן (lema’an, “in order to”) introduces a purpose clause; the path leads upward in order to turn the wise away from Sheol.

[15:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to turn from Sheol downward”; cf. NAB “the nether world below.”

[24:7]  ¹² tc The MT reads רָאמוֹת (ra’mot, “corals”) – wisdom to the fool is corals, i.e., an unattainable treasure. With a slight change in the text, removing the א (alef), the reading is רָמוֹת (ramot, “high”), i.e., wisdom is too high – unattainable – for a fool. The internal evidence favors the emendation, which is followed by most English versions including KJV.

[24:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “[city] gate,” a metonymy of subject, meaning what goes on in the gate – court cases and business transactions. So it is in these assemblies that the fool keeps quiet. The term “court” has been used in the translation for clarity. Some English versions do not emphasize the forensic connotation here: NCV “in a discussion”; NLT “When the leaders gather.”

[24:7]  ¹⁴ sn The verse portrays a fool out of his element: In a serious moment in the gathering of the community, he does not even open his mouth (a metonymy of cause, meaning “speak”). Wisdom is too high for the fool – it is beyond his ability.

[5:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

[5:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

[5:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

[55:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[55:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “are higher than.”

[55:9]  ²¹ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).