Mazmur 39:2

39:2 I was stone silent; ¹ 

I held back the urge to speak. ² 

My frustration grew; ³ 

Mazmur 39:9

39:9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth

because of what you have done. ⁴ 

Mazmur 39:2

39:2 I was stone silent; ⁵ 

I held back the urge to speak. ⁶ 

My frustration grew; ⁷ 

1 Samuel 16:10-12

16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. ⁸  But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ⁹  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. ¹⁰  Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!”

Yesaya 53:7

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, ¹¹ 

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth. ¹² 

Yesaya 53:1

53:1 Who would have believed ¹³  what we ¹⁴  just heard? ¹⁵ 

When ¹⁶  was the Lord’s power ¹⁷  revealed through him?

Pengkhotbah 2:23

2:23 For all day long ¹⁸  his work produces pain and frustration, ¹⁹ 

and even at night his mind cannot relax! ²⁰ 

This also is futile!

[39:2]  ¹ tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”

[39:2]  ² tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.

[39:2]  sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.

[39:2]  ³ tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.

[39:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “because you acted.” The psalmist has in mind God’s disciplinary measures (see vv. 10-13).

[39:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”

[39:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.

[39:2]  sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.

[39:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.

[16:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.

[16:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”

[53:7]  ¹¹ tn The translation assumes the Niphal is passive; another option is take the clause (note the subject + verb pattern) as concessive and the Niphal as reflexive, “though he humbled himself.”

[53:7]  ¹² sn This verse emphasizes the servant’s silent submission. The comparison to a sheep does not necessarily suggest a sacrificial metaphor. Sheep were slaughtered for food as well as for sacrificial rituals, and טֶבַח (tevakh) need not refer to sacrificial slaughter (see Gen 43:16; Prov 7:22; 9:2; Jer 50:27; note also the use of the related verb in Exod 21:37; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 25:11).

[53:1]  ¹³ tn The perfect has a hypothetical force in this rhetorical question. For another example, see Gen 21:7.

[53:1]  ¹⁴ sn The speaker shifts here from God to an unidentified group (note the first person plural pronouns throughout vv. 1-6). The content of the speech suggests that the prophet speaks here as representative of the sinful nation Israel. The group acknowledges its sin and recognizes that the servant suffered on their behalf.

[53:1]  ¹⁵ tn The first half of v. 1 is traditionally translated, “Who has believed our report?” or “Who has believed our message?” as if the group speaking is lamenting that no one will believe what they have to say. But that doesn’t seem to be the point in this context. Here the group speaking does not cast itself in the role of a preacher or evangelist. No, they are repentant sinners, who finally see the light. The phrase “our report” can mean (1) the report which we deliver, or (2) the report which was delivered to us. The latter fits better here, where the report is most naturally taken as the announcement that has just been made in 52:13-15.

[53:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to whom” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[53:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the arm of the Lord.” The “arm of the Lord” is a metaphor of military power; it pictures the Lord as a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and crushes his enemies (cf. 51:9-10; 63:5-6). But Israel had not seen the Lord’s military power at work in the servant.

[2:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all his days.”

[2:23]  ¹⁹ tn The syntax of this verse has been interpreted in two different ways: (1) The phrase “all his days” (כָל־יָמָיו, khol-yamayv) is the subject of a verbless clause, and the noun “pain” (מַכְאֹבִים, makh’ovim) is a predicate nominative or a predicate of apposition (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 15-16, §71). Likewise, the noun “his work” (עִנְיָנוֹ, ’inyano) is the subject of a second verbless clause, and the vexation” (כַעַס, kha’as) is a predicate nominative: “All his days are pain, and his work is vexation.” (2) The noun “his work” (עִנְיָנוֹ) is the subject of both nouns, “pain and vexation” (וָכַעַס מַכְאֹבִים, makh’ovim vakha’as), which are predicate nominatives, while the phrase “all his days” (כָל־יָמָיו) is an adverbial accusative functioning temporally: “All day long, his work is pain and vexation.” The latter option is supported by the parallelism between “even at night” and “all day long.” This verse draws out an ironic contrast/comparison between his physical toil/labor during the day and his emotional anxiety at night. Even at night, he has no break!

[2:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his heart (i.e., mind) does not rest.”