Ayub 40:7

40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task ¹  like a man.

I will question you and you will inform me!

Yesaya 14:13-15

14:13 You said to yourself, ² 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ³ 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ⁴ 

14:14 I will climb up to the tops ⁵  of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High!” ⁶ 

14:15 But you were brought down ⁷  to Sheol,

to the remote slopes of the pit. ⁸ 

Yehezkiel 31:10-11

31:10 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height, 31:11 I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, ⁹  as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out.

Daniel 8:8

8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ¹⁰  in its place, ¹¹  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ¹² 

[40:7]  ¹ tn See note on “task” in 38:3.

[14:13]  ² tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ³ sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ⁴ sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[14:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.

[14:14]  ⁶ sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.

[14:15]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.

[14:15]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.

[31:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “acting he has acted with regard to it.” The infinitive absolute precedes the main verb to emphasize the certainty and decisiveness of the action depicted.

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ¹¹ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

[8:8]  ¹² tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.