Psalms 89:17

89:17 For you give them splendor and strength. ¹ 

By your favor we are victorious. ² 

Jeremiah 2:11

2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods

(even though they are not really gods at all)?

But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, ³ 

for a god that cannot help them at all! ⁴ 

Romans 1:22-23

1:22 Although they claimed ⁵  to be wise, they became fools 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings ⁶  or birds or four-footed animals ⁷  or reptiles.

[89:17]  ¹ tn Heb “for the splendor of their strength [is] you.”

[89:17]  ² tn Heb “you lift up our horn,” or if one follows the marginal reading (Qere), “our horn is lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “have exchanged their glory [i.e., the God in whom they glory].” This is a case of a figure of speech where the attribute of a person or thing is put for the person or thing. Compare the common phrase in Isaiah, the Holy One of Israel, obviously referring to the Lord, the God of Israel.

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “what cannot profit.” The verb is singular and the allusion is likely to Baal. See the translator’s note on 2:8 for the likely pun or wordplay.

[1:22]  ⁵ tn The participle φάσκοντες (faskonte") is used concessively here.

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God in likeness of an image of corruptible man.” Here there is a wordplay on the Greek terms ἄφθαρτος (afqarto", “immortal, imperishable, incorruptible”) and φθαρτός (fqarto", “mortal, corruptible, subject to decay”).

[1:23]  ⁷ sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 106:19-20.