Psalms 42:6

42:6 I am depressed, ¹ 

so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, ² 

from Hermon, ³  from Mount Mizar. ⁴ 

Psalms 77:5-6

77:5 I thought about the days of old,

about ancient times. ⁵ 

77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;

I will think very carefully.”

I tried to make sense of what was happening. ⁶ 

Psalms 77:10-12

77:10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought

that the sovereign One ⁷  might become inactive. ⁸ 

77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.

Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! ⁹ 

77:12 I will think about all you have done;

I will reflect upon your deeds!”

Psalms 111:4

111:4 He does ¹⁰  amazing things that will be remembered; ¹¹ 

the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ¹²  has brought you these forty years through the desert ¹³  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not. 8:3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. ¹⁴  He did this to teach you ¹⁵  that humankind ¹⁶  cannot live by bread ¹⁷  alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth. ¹⁸ 

Deuteronomy 8:1

The Lord’s Provision in the Desert

8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments ¹⁹  I am giving ²⁰  you today so that you may live, increase in number, ²¹  and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. ²² 

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ²³  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ²⁴  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ²⁵  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ²⁶  to the Lord your God.

Isaiah 63:7-14

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,

of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.

I will tell about all ²⁷  the Lord did for us,

the many good things he did for the family of Israel, ²⁸ 

because of ²⁹  his compassion and great faithfulness.

63:8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,

children who are not disloyal.” ³⁰ 

He became their deliverer.

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. ³¹ 

The messenger sent from his very presence ³²  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected ³³  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. ³⁴ 

63:10 But they rebelled and offended ³⁵  his holy Spirit, ³⁶ 

so he turned into an enemy

and fought against them.

63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. ³⁷ 

Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,

along with the shepherd of ³⁸  his flock?

Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, ³⁹ 

63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, ⁴⁰ 

who divided the water before them,

gaining for himself a lasting reputation, ⁴¹ 

63:13 who led them through the deep water?

Like a horse running on flat land ⁴²  they did not stumble.

63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, ⁴³ 

so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.

In this way ⁴⁴  you guided your people,

gaining for yourself an honored reputation. ⁴⁵ 

Micah 6:5

6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, ⁴⁶ 

how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.

Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,

so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” ⁴⁷ 

[42:6]  ¹ tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.

[42:6]  ² tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.

[42:6]  ³ tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.

[42:6]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.

[77:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”

[77:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.

[77:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[77:10]  ⁸ tc Heb “And I said, ‘This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.’” The form חַלּוֹתִי (khallotiy) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלַל (khalal, “to pierce; to wound”). The present translation assumes an emendation to חֲלוֹתִי (khalotiy), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלָה (khalah, “be sick, weak”). The form שְׁנוֹת (shÿnot) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from שָׁנָה (shanah, “to change”) rather than a plural noun form, “years” (see v. 5). “Right hand” here symbolizes by metonymy God’s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.

[77:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”

[111:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “did,” if this refers primarily to the events of the exodus and conquest period (see vv. 6, 9).

[111:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a memorial he had made for his amazing deeds.”

[8:2]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ¹³ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[8:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man hu’), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).

[8:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).

[8:3]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).

[8:3]  ¹⁸ sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).

[8:1]  ¹⁹ tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).

[8:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).

[8:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”

[8:1]  ²² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).

[17:1]  ²³ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[17:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[63:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[63:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”

[63:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “according to.”

[63:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “children [who] do not act deceitfully.” Here the verb refers to covenantal loyalty.

[63:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

[63:9]  ³² tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”

[63:9]  ³³ tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

[63:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”

[63:10]  ³⁵ tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”

[63:10]  ³⁶ sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.

[63:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.

[63:11]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.

[63:11]  ³⁹ sn See the note at v. 10.

[63:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”

[63:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”

[63:13]  ⁴² tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”

[63:14]  ⁴³ tn The words “to graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[63:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “so” (KJV, ASV), or “thus” (NAB, NRSV).

[63:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “making for yourself a majestic name.”

[6:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”

[6:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the Lord.” Something appears to be missing at the beginning of the line. The present translation supplies the words, “Recall how you went.” This apparently refers to how Israel crossed the Jordan River (see Josh 3:1; 4:19-24).