Psalms 78:25

78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. ¹ 

He sent them more than enough to eat. ² 

Psalms 78:2

78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;

I will make insightful observations about the past. ³ 

Psalms 19:1

Psalm 19 ⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; ⁵ 

the sky displays his handiwork. ⁶ 

Isaiah 6:2

6:2 Seraphs ⁷  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ⁸  and they used the remaining two to fly.

Joel 2:11

2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders ⁹  as he leads his army. ¹⁰ 

Indeed, his warriors ¹¹  are innumerable; ¹² 

Surely his command is carried out! ¹³ 

Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome ¹⁴ 

and very terrifying – who can survive ¹⁵  it?

Matthew 26:53

26:53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions ¹⁶  of angels right now?

[78:25]  ¹ sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[78:25]  ² tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”

[78:2]  ³ tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).

[19:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.

[19:1]  ⁵ sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.

[19:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.

[6:2]  ⁷ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ⁸ sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[2:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord gives his voice.”

[2:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “before his army.”

[2:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “military encampment.”

[2:11]  ¹² tn Heb “very large.”

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “he makes his word powerful.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “powerful.” Heb “great.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “endure.” The MT and LXX read “endure,” while one of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXII^c) has “bear.”

[26:53]  ¹⁶ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.