Ayub 11:8

11:8 It is higher ¹  than the heavens – what can you do?

It is deeper than Sheol ²  – what can you know?

Ayub 35:12

35:12 Then ³  they cry out – but he does not answer –

because of the arrogance of the wicked.

Ayub 36:9

36:9 then he reveals ⁴  to them what they have done, ⁵ 

and their transgressions,

that they were behaving proudly.

Ayub 40:3

40:3 Then Job answered the Lord:

Mazmur 2:2-3

2:2 The kings of the earth ⁶  form a united front; ⁷ 

the rulers collaborate ⁸ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ⁹ 

2:3 They say, ¹⁰  “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! ¹¹ 

Let’s free ourselves from ¹²  their ropes!”

Mazmur 73:9

73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,

and lay claim to the earth. ¹³ 

Mazmur 75:6

75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,

or from the wilderness. ¹⁴ 

Amsal 21:30

21:30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,

and there is no counsel against ¹⁵  the Lord. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹⁷  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ¹⁸ 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ¹⁹ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 45:9

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ²¹ 

one who is like a mere ²²  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ²³ 

“What in the world ²⁴  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ²⁵ 

[11:8]  ¹ tn The Hebrew says “heights of heaven, what can you do?” A. B. Davidson suggested this was an exclamation and should be left that way. But most commentators will repoint גָּבְהֵי שָׁמַיִם (govhe shamayim, “heights of heaven”) to גְּבֹהָה מִשָּׁמַיִם (gÿvohah mishamayim, “higher than the heavens”) to match the parallel expression. The LXX may have rearranged the text: “heaven is high.”

[11:8]  ² tn Or “deeper than hell.” The word “Sheol” always poses problems for translation. Here because it is the opposite of heaven in this merism, “hell” would be a legitimate translation. It refers to the realm of the dead – the grave and beyond. The language is excessive; but the point is that God’s wisdom is immeasurable – and Job is powerless before it.

[35:12]  ³ tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) connects this verse to v. 11. “There” can be locative or temporal – and here it is temporal (= “then”).

[36:9]  ⁴ tn The verb נָגַד (nagad) means “to declare; to tell.” Here it is clear that God is making known the sins that caused the enslavement or captivity, so “reveal” makes a good interpretive translation.

[36:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “their work.”

[2:2]  ⁶ sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their (i.e., the Lord’s and the king’s) shackles.” The kings compare the rule of the Lord and his vice-regent to being imprisoned.

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “throw off from us.”

[73:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.

[75:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.

[21:30]  ¹⁵ tn The form לְנֶגֶד (lÿneged) means “against; over against; in opposition to.” The line indicates they cannot in reality be in opposition, for human wisdom is nothing in comparison to the wisdom of God (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 232).

[21:30]  ¹⁶ sn The verse uses a single sentence to state that all wisdom, understanding, and advice must be in conformity to the will of God to be successful. It states it negatively – these things cannot be in defiance of God (e.g., Job 5:12-13; Isa 40:13-14).

[3:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[45:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ²² tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ²³ tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ²⁴ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”