Ayub 26:14

26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! ¹ 

How faint is the whisper ²  we hear of him!

But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

Mazmur 33:6

33:6 By the Lord’s decree ³  the heavens were made;

by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. ⁴ 

Mazmur 104:30

104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,

and you replenish the surface of the ground.

Yesaya 40:12-14

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters ⁵  in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully ⁶  measured the sky, ⁷ 

or carefully weighed ⁸  the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales? ⁹ 

40:13 Who comprehends ¹⁰  the mind ¹¹  of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor? ¹² 

40:14 From whom does he receive directions? ¹³ 

Who ¹⁴  teaches him the correct way to do things, ¹⁵ 

or imparts knowledge to him,

or instructs him in skillful design? ¹⁶ 

[26:14]  ¹ tn Heb “the ends of his ways,” meaning “the fringes.”

[26:14]  ² tn Heb “how little is the word.” Here “little” means a “fraction” or an “echo.”

[33:6]  ³ tn Heb “word.”

[33:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.

[40:12]  ⁵ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.

[40:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).

[40:12]  ⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[40:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”

[40:12]  ⁹ sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.

[40:13]  ¹⁰ tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).

[40:13]  ¹¹ tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).

[40:13]  ¹² tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”

[40:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “With whom did he consult, so that he gave discernment to him?”

[40:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and taught him.” The vav (ו) consecutive with prefixed verbal form continues the previous line. The translation employs an interrogative pronoun for stylistic reasons.

[40:14]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase אֹרַח מִשְׁפָּט (’orakh mishpat) could be translated “path of justice” (so NASB, NRSV), but in this context, where creative ability and skill is in view, the phrase is better understood in the sense of “the way that is proper or fitting” (see BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6); cf. NIV, NCV “the right way.”

[40:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “or the way of understanding causes him to know?”

[40:14]  sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions in vv. 13-14 is, “No one.” In contrast to Marduk, the creator-god of Mesopotamian myths who receives help from the god of wisdom, the Lord neither needs nor receives any such advice or help. See R. Whybray, Heavenly Counsellor (SOTSMS), 64-77.