Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ¹ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ²  mankind and the animal kingdom. ³ 

Psalms 136:25

136:25 to the one who gives food to all living things, ⁴ 

for his loyal love endures.

Psalms 145:15-16

145:15 Everything looks to you in anticipation, ⁵ 

and you provide them with food on a regular basis. ⁶ 

145:16 You open your hand,

and fill every living thing with the food they desire. ⁷ 

Psalms 147:9

147:9 He gives food to the animals,

and to the young ravens when they chirp. ⁸ 

Job 38:41

38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,

when its young cry out to God

and wander about ⁹  for lack of food?

Luke 12:24-28

12:24 Consider the ravens: ¹⁰  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds ¹¹  them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! 12:25 And which of you by worrying ¹²  can add an hour to his life? ¹³  12:26 So if ¹⁴  you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about ¹⁵  the rest? 12:27 Consider how the flowers ¹⁶  grow; they do not work ¹⁷  or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 12:28 And if ¹⁸  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ¹⁹  which is here ²⁰  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ²¹  how much more ²²  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

[36:6]  ¹ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ² tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ³ 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.

[136:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “to all flesh,” which can refer to all people (see Pss 65:2; 145:21) or more broadly to mankind and animals. Elsewhere the psalms view God as the provider for all living things (see Pss 104:27-28; 145:15).

[145:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the eyes of all wait for you.”

[145:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you give to them their food in its season” (see Ps 104:27).

[145:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “[with what they] desire.”

[147:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “which cry out.”

[38:41]  ⁹ tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggest “and stagger for lack of food.”

[12:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “crows.” Crows and ravens belong to the same family of birds. English uses “crow” as a general word for the family. Palestine has several indigenous members of the crow family.

[12:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[12:25]  ¹² tn Or “by being anxious.”

[12:25]  ¹³ tn Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) or time (a small unit, “hour” is usually used [BDAG 812 s.v.] although “day” has been suggested [L&N 67.151]). The term ἡλικία (Jhlikia) is ambiguous in the same way as πῆχυς. Most scholars take the term to describe age or length of life here, although a few refer it to bodily stature (see BDAG 435-36 s.v. 1.a for discussion). Worry about length of life seems a more natural figure than worry about height. However, the point either way is clear: Worrying adds nothing to life span or height.

[12:26]  ¹⁴ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:26]  ¹⁵ tn Or “why are you anxious for.”

[12:27]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[12:27]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English scans better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[12:28]  ¹⁸ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “grass in the field.”

[12:28]  ²⁰ tn Grk “which is in the field today.”

[12:28]  ²¹ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[12:28]  ²² sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.