Mazmur 92:5
Konteks92:5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your plans are very intricate! 1
Mazmur 104:24
Konteks104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! 2
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; 3
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
Mazmur 139:14
Konteks139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. 4
You knew me thoroughly; 5
Ayub 5:9
Konteks5:9 He does 6 great and unsearchable 7 things,
marvelous things without 8 number; 9
Ayub 9:10
Konteks9:10 he does great and unsearchable things, 10
and wonderful things without number.
Ayub 26:12-14
Konteks26:12 By his power he stills 11 the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster 12 to pieces. 13
26:13 By his breath 14 the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 15
26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! 16
How faint is the whisper 17 we hear of him!
But who can understand the thunder of his power?”
Ayub 38:1-41
KonteksVI. The Divine Speeches (38:1-42:6)
The Lord’s First Speech 1838:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 19
38:2 “Who is this 20 who darkens counsel 21
with words without knowledge?
38:3 Get ready for a difficult task 22 like a man;
I will question you
and you will inform me!
38:4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation 23 of the earth?
Tell me, 24 if you possess understanding!
38:5 Who set its measurements – if 25 you know –
or who stretched a measuring line across it?
38:6 On what 26 were its bases 27 set,
or who laid its cornerstone –
38:7 when the morning stars 28 sang 29 in chorus, 30
and all the sons of God 31 shouted for joy?
38:8 “Who shut up 32 the sea with doors
when it burst forth, 33 coming out of the womb,
38:9 when I made 34 the storm clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band, 35
38:10 when I prescribed 36 its limits,
and set 37 in place its bolts and doors,
38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come 38
and no farther, 39
here your proud waves will be confined’? 40
38:12 Have you ever in your life 41 commanded the morning,
or made the dawn know 42 its place,
38:13 that it might seize the corners of the earth, 43
and shake the wicked out of it?
38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; 44
its features 45 are dyed 46 like a garment.
38:15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm raised in violence 47 is broken. 48
38:16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, 49
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? 50
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness? 51
38:18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all!
38:19 “In what direction 52 does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
38:20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes? 53
38:21 You know, for you were born before them; 54
and the number of your days is great!
38:22 Have you entered the storehouse 55 of the snow,
or seen the armory 56 of the hail,
38:23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle? 57
38:24 In what direction is lightning 58 dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, 59
a desert where there are no human beings, 60
38:27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? 61
38:28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
38:29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky, 62 who gives birth to it,
38:30 when the waters become hard 63 like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
38:31 Can you tie the bands 64 of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
38:32 Can you lead out
the constellations 65 in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs? 66
38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you? 67
38:35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
38:36 Who has put wisdom in the heart, 68
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over 69 the water jars of heaven,
38:38 when the dust hardens 70 into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
38:39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
and satisfy the appetite 71 of the lions,
38:40 when they crouch in their dens,
when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about 72 for lack of food?
Ayub 41:1-34
Konteks41:1 (40:25) 73 “Can you pull in 74 Leviathan with a hook,
and tie down 75 its tongue with a rope?
41:2 Can you put a cord through its nose,
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
41:3 Will it make numerous supplications to you, 76
will it speak to you with tender words? 77
41:4 Will it make a pact 78 with you,
so you could take it 79 as your slave for life?
41:5 Can you play 80 with it, like a bird,
or tie it on a leash 81 for your girls?
41:6 Will partners 82 bargain 83 for it?
Will they divide it up 84 among the merchants?
41:7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
41:8 If you lay your hand on it,
you will remember 85 the fight,
and you will never do it again!
41:9 (41:1) 86 See, his expectation is wrong, 87
he is laid low even at the sight of it. 88
41:10 Is it not fierce 89 when it is awakened?
Who is he, then, who can stand before it? 90
41:11 (Who has confronted 91 me that I should repay? 92
Everything under heaven belongs to me!) 93
41:12 I will not keep silent about its limbs,
and the extent of its might,
and the grace of its arrangement. 94
41:13 Who can uncover its outer covering? 95
Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor? 96
41:14 Who can open the doors of its mouth? 97
Its teeth all around are fearsome.
41:15 Its back 98 has rows of shields,
shut up closely 99 together as with a seal;
41:16 each one is so close to the next 100
that no air can come between them.
41:17 They lock tightly together, one to the next; 101
they cling together and cannot be separated.
41:18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the red glow 102 of dawn.
41:19 Out of its mouth go flames, 103
sparks of fire shoot forth!
41:20 Smoke streams from its nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning 104 rushes.
41:21 Its breath sets coals ablaze
and a flame shoots from its mouth.
41:22 Strength lodges in its neck,
and despair 105 runs before it.
41:23 The folds 106 of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm on it, immovable. 107
41:24 Its heart 108 is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.
41:25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified,
at its thrashing about they withdraw. 109
41:26 Whoever strikes it with a sword 110
will have no effect, 111
nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.
41:27 It regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
41:28 Arrows 112 do not make it flee;
slingstones become like chaff to it.
41:29 A club is counted 113 as a piece of straw;
it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
41:30 Its underparts 114 are the sharp points of potsherds,
it leaves its mark in the mud
like a threshing sledge. 115
41:31 It makes the deep boil like a cauldron
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment, 116
41:32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had a head of white hair.
41:33 The likes of it is not on earth,
a creature 117 without fear.
41:34 It looks on every haughty being;
it is king over all that are proud.” 118
Yesaya 40:12
Konteks40:12 Who has measured out the waters 119 in the hollow of his hand,
or carefully 120 measured the sky, 121
or carefully weighed 122 the soil of the earth,
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales? 123
Yeremia 32:17-19
Konteks32:17 ‘Oh, Lord God, 124 you did indeed 125 make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. 126 Nothing is too hard for you! 32:18 You show unfailing love to thousands. 127 But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. 128 You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all. 129 32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. 130 You see everything people do. 131 You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. 132
Daniel 4:3
Konteks4:3 “How great are his signs!
How mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom will last forever, 133
and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”
Efesus 1:19
Konteks1:19 and what is the incomparable 134 greatness of his power toward 135 us who believe, as displayed in 136 the exercise of his immense strength. 137
Efesus 2:7-10
Konteks2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages 138 the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward 139 us in Christ Jesus. 2:8 For by grace you are saved 140 through faith, 141 and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from 142 works, so that no one can boast. 143 2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. 144
Wahyu 15:3
Konteks15:3 They 145 sang the song of Moses the servant 146 of God and the song of the Lamb: 147
“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful! 148
Just 149 and true are your ways,
King over the nations! 150
[92:5] 1 tn Heb “very deep [are] your thoughts.” God’s “thoughts” refer here to his moral design of the world, as outlined in vv. 6-15.
[104:24] 2 tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O
[104:24] 3 tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”
[139:14] 4 tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).
[139:14] 5 tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.
[5:9] 6 tn Heb “who does.” It is common for such doxologies to begin with participles; they follow the pattern of the psalms in this style. Because of the length of the sentence in Hebrew and the conventions of English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[5:9] 7 tn The Hebrew has וְאֵין חֵקֶר (vÿ’en kheqer), literally, “and no investigation.” The use of the conjunction on the expression follows a form of the circumstantial clause construction, and so the entire expression describes the great works as “unsearchable.”
[5:9] 8 tn The preposition in עַד־אֵין (’ad ’en, “until there was no”) is stereotypical; it conveys the sense of having no number (see Job 9:10; Ps 40:13).
[5:9] 9 sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 54) notes that the verse fits Eliphaz’s approach very well, for he has good understanding of the truth, but has difficulty in making the correct conclusions from it.
[9:10] 10 tn Only slight differences exist between this verse and 5:9 which employs the simple ו (vav) conjunction before אֵין (’eyn) in the first colon and omits the ו (vav) conjunction before נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot, “wonderful things”) in the second colon.
[9:10] sn There is probably great irony in Job’s using this same verse as in 5:9. But Job’s meaning here is different than Eliphaz.
[26:12] 11 tn The verb רָגַע (raga’) has developed a Semitic polarity, i.e., having totally opposite meanings. It can mean “to disturb; to stir up” or “to calm; to still.” Gordis thinks both meanings have been invoked here. But it seems more likely that “calm” fits the context better.
[26:12] 12 tn Heb “Rahab” (רָהַב), the mythical sea monster that represents the forces of chaos in ancient Near Eastern literature. In the translation the words “the great sea monster” have been supplied appositionally in order to clarify “Rahab.”
[26:12] 13 sn Here again there are possible mythological allusions or polemics. The god Yam, “Sea,” was important in Ugaritic as a god of chaos. And Rahab is another name for the monster of the deep (see Job 9:13).
[26:13] 14 tn Or “wind”; or perhaps “Spirit.” The same Hebrew word, רוּחַ (ruakh), may be translated as “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit/Spirit” depending on the context.
[26:13] 15 sn Here too is a reference to pagan views indirectly. The fleeing serpent was a designation for Leviathan, whom the book will simply describe as an animal, but the pagans thought to be a monster of the deep. God’s power over nature is associated with defeat of pagan gods (see further W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan; idem, BASOR 53 [1941]: 39).
[26:14] 16 tn Heb “the ends of his ways,” meaning “the fringes.”
[26:14] 17 tn Heb “how little is the word.” Here “little” means a “fraction” or an “echo.”
[38:1] 18 sn This is the culmination of it all, the revelation of the
[38:1] 19 sn This is not the storm described by Elihu – in fact, the
[38:2] 20 tn The demonstrative pronoun is used here to emphasize the interrogative pronoun (see GKC 442 §136.c).
[38:2] 21 sn The referent of “counsel” here is not the debate between Job and the friends, but the purposes of God (see Ps 33:10; Prov 19:21; Isa 19:17). Dhorme translates it “Providence.”
[38:3] 22 tn Heb “Gird up your loins.” This idiom basically describes taking the hem of the long garment or robe and pulling it up between the legs and tucking it into the front of the belt, allowing easier and freer movement of the legs. “Girding the loins” meant the preparation for some difficult task (Jer 1:17), or for battle (Isa 5:27), or for running (1 Kgs 18:46). C. Gordon suggests that it includes belt-wrestling, a form of hand-to-hand mortal combat (“Belt-wrestling in the Bible World,” HUCA 23 [1950/51]: 136).
[38:4] 23 tn The construction is the infinitive construct in a temporal clause, using the preposition and the subjective genitive suffix.
[38:4] 24 tn The verb is the imperative; it has no object “me” in the text.
[38:5] 25 tn The particle כּ (ki) is taken here for a conditional clause, “if you know” (see GKC 498 §159.dd). Others take it as “surely” with a biting irony.
[38:6] 26 tn For the interrogative serving as a genitive, see GKC 442 §136.b.
[38:6] 27 sn The world was conceived of as having bases and pillars, but these poetic descriptions should not be pressed too far (e.g., see Ps 24:2, which may be worded as much for its polemics against Canaanite mythology as anything).
[38:7] 28 sn The expression “morning stars” (Heb “stars of the morning”) is here placed in parallelism to the angels, “the sons of God.” It may refer to the angels under the imagery of the stars, or, as some prefer, it may poetically include all creation. There is a parallel also with the foundation of the temple which was accompanied by song (see Ezra 3:10,11). But then the account of the building of the original tabernacle was designed to mirror creation (see M. Fishbane, Biblical Text and Texture).
[38:7] 29 tn The construction, an adverbial clause of time, uses רָנָן (ranan), which is often a ringing cry, an exultation. The parallelism with “shout for joy” shows this to be enthusiastic acclamation. The infinitive is then continued in the next colon with the vav (ו) consecutive preterite.
[38:7] 30 tn Heb “together.” This is Dhorme’s suggestion for expressing how they sang together.
[38:8] 32 tn The MT has “and he shut up.” The Vulgate has “Who?” and so many commentaries and editions adopt this reading, if not from the Vulgate, then from the sense of the sequence in the text itself.
[38:8] 33 tn The line uses two expressions, first the temporal clause with גִּיחַ (giakh, “when it burst forth”) and then the finite verb יֵצֵא (yetse’, “go out”) to mark the concomitance of the two actions.
[38:9] 34 tn The temporal clause here uses the infinitive from שִׂים (sim, “to place; to put; to make”). It underscores the sovereign placing of things.
[38:9] 35 tn This noun is found only here. The verb is in Ezek 16:4, and a related noun is in Ezek 30:21.
[38:10] 36 tc The MT has “and I broke,” which cannot mean “set, prescribed” or the like. The LXX and the Vulgate have such a meaning, suggesting a verb עֲשִׁית (’ashiyt, “plan, prescribe”). A. Guillaume finds an Arabic word with a meaning “measured it by span by my decree.” Would God give himself a decree? R. Gordis simply argues that the basic meaning “break” develops the connotation of “decide, determine” (2 Sam 5:24; Job 14:3; Dan 11:36).
[38:10] 37 tn Dhorme suggested reversing the two verbs, making this the first, and then “shatter” for the second colon.
[38:11] 38 tn The imperfect verb receives the permission nuance here.
[38:11] 39 tn The text has תֹסִיף (tosif, “and you may not add”), which is often used idiomatically (as in verbal hendiadys constructions).
[38:11] 40 tn The MT literally says, “here he will put on the pride of your waves.” The verb has no expressed subject and so is made a passive voice. But there has to be some object for the verb “put,” such as “limit” or “boundary”; the translations “confined; halted; stopped” all serve to paraphrase such an idea. The LXX has “broken” at this point, suggesting the verse might have been confused – but “breaking the pride” of the waves would mean controlling them. Some commentators have followed this, exchanging the verb in v. 11 with this one.
[38:12] 41 tn The Hebrew idiom is “have you from your days?” It means “never in your life” (see 1 Sam 25:28; 1 Kgs 1:6).
[38:12] 42 tn The verb is the Piel of יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) with a double accusative.
[38:13] 43 sn The poetic image is that darkness or night is like a blanket that covers the earth, and at dawn it is taken by the edges and shaken out. Since the wicked function under the cover of night, they are included in the shaking when the dawn comes up.
[38:14] 44 sn The verse needs to be understood in the context: as the light shines in the dawn, the features of the earth take on a recognizable shape or form. The language is phenomenological.
[38:14] 45 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the objects or features on the earth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[38:14] 46 tc The MT reads “they stand up like a garment” (NASB, NIV) or “its features stand out like a garment” (ESV). The reference could be either to embroidered decoration on a garment or to the folds of a garment (REB: “until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak”; cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 497, “the early light of day makes the earth appear as a beautiful garment, exquisite in design and glorious in color”). Since this is thought to be an odd statement, some suggest with Ehrlich that the text be changed to תִּצָּבַּע (titsabba’, “is dyed [like a garment]”). This reference would be to the colors appearing on the earth’s surface under daylight. The present translation follows the emendation.
[38:15] 47 tn Heb “the raised arm.” The words “in violence” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[38:15] 48 sn What is active at night, the violence symbolized by the raised arm, is broken with the dawn. G. R. Driver thought the whole verse referred to stars, and that the arm is the navigator’s term for the line of stars (“Two astronomical passages in the Old Testament,” JTS 4 [1953]: 208-12).
[38:16] 49 tn Heb “the springs of the sea.” The words “that fill” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of the phrase.
[38:17] 50 tn Heb “uncovered to you.”
[38:17] 51 tn Some still retain the traditional phrase “shadow of death” in the English translation (cf. NIV). The reference is to the entrance to Sheol (see Job 10:21).
[38:19] 52 tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”
[38:20] 53 tn The suffixes are singular (“that you may take it to its border…to its home”), referring to either the light or the darkness. Because either is referred to, the translation has employed plurals, since singulars would imply that only the second item, “darkness,” was the referent. Plurals are also employed by NAB and NIV.
[38:21] 54 tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (’az, “then”) functions as a preterite: “you were born.” The line is sarcastic.
[38:22] 55 sn Snow and ice are thought of as being in store, brought out by God for specific purposes, such as times of battle (see Josh 10:11; Exod 9:2ff.; Isa 28:17; Isa 30:30; and Ps 18:12 [13]).
[38:22] 56 tn The same Hebrew term (אוֹצָר, ’otsar), has been translated “storehouse” in the first line and “armory” in the second. This has been done for stylistic variation, but also because “hail,” as one of God’s “weapons” (cf. the following verse) suggests military imagery; in this context the word refers to God’s “ammunition dump” where he stockpiles hail.
[38:23] 57 sn The terms translated war and battle are different Hebrew words, but both may be translated “war” or “battle” depending on the context.
[38:24] 58 tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed ‘ed instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).
[38:26] 59 tn Heb “on a land, no man.”
[38:26] 60 tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”
[38:27] 61 tn Heb “to cause to sprout a source of vegetation.” The word מֹצָא (motsa’) is rendered “mine” in Job 28:1. The suggestion with the least changes is Wright’s: צָמֵא (tsame’, “thirsty”). But others choose מִצִּיָּה (mitsiyyah, “from the steppe”).
[38:29] 62 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[38:30] 63 tn Several suggest that the verb is not from חָבָא (khava’, “to hide”) but from a homonym, “to congeal.” This may be too difficult to support, however.
[38:31] 64 tn This word is found here and in 1 Sam 15:32. Dhorme suggests, with others, that there has been a metathesis (a reversal of consonants), and it is the same word found in Job 31:36 (“bind”). G. R. Driver takes it as “cluster” without changing the text (“Two astronomical passages in the Old Testament,” JTS 7 [1956] :3).
[38:32] 65 tn The word מַזָּרוֹת (mazzarot) is taken by some to refer to the constellations (see 2 Kgs 23:5), and by others as connected to the word for “crown,” and so “corona.”
[38:34] 67 tc The LXX has “answer you,” and some editors have adopted this. However, the reading of the MT makes better sense in the verse.
[38:36] 68 tn This verse is difficult because of the two words, טֻחוֹת (tukhot, rendered here “heart”) and שֶׂכְוִי (sekhvi, here “mind”). They have been translated a number of ways: “meteor” and “celestial appearance”; the stars “Procyon” and “Sirius”; “inward part” and “mind”; even as birds, “ibis” and “cock.” One expects them to have something to do with nature – clouds and the like. The RSV accordingly took them to mean “meteor” (from a verb “to wander”) and “a celestial appearance.” But these meanings are not well-attested.
[38:37] 69 tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”
[38:38] 70 tn The word means “to flow” or “to cast” (as in casting metals). So the noun developed the sense of “hard,” as in cast metal.
[38:39] 71 tn Heb “fill up the life of.”
[38:41] 72 tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggest “and stagger for lack of food.”
[41:1] 73 sn Beginning with 41:1, the verse numbers through 41:9 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 41:1 ET = 40:25 HT, 41:2 ET = 40:26 HT, etc., through 41:34 ET = 41:26 HT. The Hebrew verse numbers in the remainder of the chapter differ from the verse numbers in the English Bible. Beginning with 42:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[41:1] 74 tn The verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh) means “to extract from the water; to fish.” The question here includes the use of a hook to fish the creature out of the water so that its jaws can be tied safely.
[41:1] 75 tn The verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’) means “to cause to sink,” if it is connected with the word in Amos 8:8 and 9:5. But it may have the sense of “to tie; to bind.” If the rope were put around the tongue and jaw, binding tightly would be the sense.
[41:3] 76 tn The line asks if the animal, when caught and tied and under control, would keep on begging for mercy. Absolutely not. It is not in the nature of the beast. The construction uses יַרְבֶּה (yarbeh, “[will] he multiply” [= “make numerous”]), with the object, “supplications” i.e., prayers for mercy.
[41:3] 77 tn The rhetorical question again affirms the opposite. The poem is portraying the creature as powerful and insensitive.
[41:4] 78 tn Heb “will he cut a covenant.”
[41:4] 79 tn The imperfect verb serves to express what the covenant pact would cover, namely, “that you take.”
[41:5] 80 tn The Hebrew verb is שָׂחַק (sakhaq, “to sport; to trifle; to play,” Ps 104:26).
[41:5] 81 tn The idea may include putting Leviathan on a leash. D. W. Thomas suggested on the basis of an Arabic cognate that it could be rendered “tie him with a string like a young sparrow” (VT 14 [1964]: 114ff.).
[41:6] 82 tn The word חָבַּר (khabbar) is a hapax legomenon, but the meaning is “to associate” since it is etymologically related to the verb “to join together.” The idea is that fishermen usually work in companies or groups, and then divide up the catch when they come ashore – which involves bargaining.
[41:6] 83 tn The word כָּרַה (karah) means “to sell.” With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it has the sense “to bargain over something.”
[41:6] 84 tn The verb means “to cut up; to divide up” in the sense of selling the dead body (see Exod 21:35). This will be between them and the merchants (כְּנַעֲנִים, kÿna’anim).
[41:8] 85 tn The verse uses two imperatives which can be interpreted in sequence: do this, and then this will happen.
[41:9] 86 sn Job 41:9 in the English Bible is 41:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). From here to the end of the chapter the Hebrew verse numbers differ from those in the English Bible, with 41:10 ET = 41:2 HT, 41:11 ET = 41:3 HT, etc. See also the note on 41:1.
[41:9] 87 tn The line is difficult. “His hope [= expectation]” must refer to any assailant who hopes or expects to capture the creature. Because there is no antecedent, Dhorme and others transpose it with the next verse. The point is that the man who thought he was sufficient to confront Leviathan soon finds his hope – his expectation – false (a derivative from the verb כָּזַב [kazab, “lie”] is used for a mirage).
[41:9] 88 tn There is an interrogative particle in this line, which most commentators ignore. But others freely emend the MT. Gunkel, following the mythological approach, has “his appearance casts down even a god.” Cheyne likewise has: “even divine beings the fear of him brings low” (JQR 9 [1896/97]: 579). Pope has, “Were not the gods cast down at the sight of him?” There is no need to bring in this mythological element.
[41:10] 89 sn The description is of the animal, not the hunter (or fisherman). Leviathan is so fierce that no one can take him on alone.
[41:10] 90 tc MT has “before me” and can best be rendered as “Who then is he that can stand before me?” (ESV, NASB, NIV, NLT, NJPS). The following verse (11) favors the MT since both express the lesson to be learned from Leviathan: If a man cannot stand up to Leviathan, how can he stand up to its creator? The translation above has chosen to read the text as “before him” (cf. NRSV, NJB).
[41:11] 91 tn The verb קָדַם (qadam) means “to come to meet; to come before; to confront” to the face.
[41:11] 92 sn The verse seems an intrusion (and so E. Dhorme, H. H. Rowley, and many others change the pronouns to make it refer to the animal). But what the text is saying is that it is more dangerous to confront God than to confront this animal.
[41:11] 93 tn This line also focuses on the sovereign God rather than Leviathan. H. H. Rowley, however, wants to change לִי־חוּא (li-hu’, “it [belongs] to me”) into לֹא הוּא (lo’ hu’, “there is no one”). So it would say that there is no one under the whole heaven who could challenge Leviathan and live, rather than saying it is more dangerous to challenge God to make him repay.
[41:12] 94 tn Dhorme changes the noun into a verb, “I will tell,” and the last two words into אֵין עֶרֶךְ (’en ’erekh, “there is no comparison”). The result is “I will tell of his incomparable might.”
[41:13] 95 tn Heb “the face of his garment,” referring to the outer garment or covering. Some take it to be the front as opposed to the back.
[41:13] 96 tc The word רֶסֶן (resen) has often been rendered “bridle” (cf. ESV), but that leaves a number of unanswered questions. The LXX reads סִרְיוֹן (siryon), with the transposition of letters, but that means “coat of armor.” If the metathesis stands, there is also support from the cognate Akkadian.
[41:15] 98 tc The MT has גַּאֲוָה (ga’avah, “his pride”), but the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate all read גַּוּוֹ (gavvo, “his back”). Almost all the modern English versions follow the variant reading, speaking about “his [or its] back.”
[41:15] 99 tn Instead of צָר (tsar, “closely”) the LXX has צֹר (tsor, “stone”) to say that the seal was rock hard.
[41:16] 100 tn The expression “each one…to the next” is literally “one with one.”
[41:17] 101 tn Heb “a man with his brother.”
[41:18] 102 tn Heb “the eyelids,” but it represents the early beams of the dawn as the cover of night lifts.
[41:19] 103 sn For the animal, the image is that of pent-up breath with water in a hot steam jet coming from its mouth, like a stream of fire in the rays of the sun. The language is hyperbolic, probably to reflect the pagan ideas of the dragon of the deep in a polemical way – they feared it as a fire breathing monster, but in reality it might have been a steamy crocodile.
[41:20] 104 tn The word “burning” is supplied. The Syriac and Vulgate have “a seething and boiling pot” (reading אֹגֵם [’ogem] for אַגְמֹן [’agmon]). This view is widely accepted.
[41:22] 105 tn This word, דְּאָבָה (dÿ’avah) is a hapax legomenon. But the verbal root means “to languish; to pine.” A related noun talks of dejection and despair in Deut 28:65. So here “despair” as a translation is preferable to “terror.”
[41:23] 106 tn Heb “fallings.”
[41:23] 107 tn The last clause says “it cannot be moved.” But this part will function adverbially in the sentence.
[41:24] 108 tn The description of his heart being “hard” means that he is cruel and fearless. The word for “hard” is the word encountered before for molten or cast metal.
[41:25] 109 tc This verse has created all kinds of problems for the commentators. The first part is workable: “when he raises himself up, the mighty [the gods] are terrified.” The mythological approach would render אֵלִים (’elim) as “gods.” But the last two words, which could be rendered “at the breaking [crashing, or breakers] they fail,” receive much attention. E. Dhorme (Job, 639) suggests “majesty” for “raising up” and “billows” (גַּלִּים, gallim) for אֵלִים (’elim), and gets a better parallelism: “the billows are afraid of his majesty, and the waves draw back.” But H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 263) does not think this is relevant to the context, which is talking about the creature’s defense against attack. The RSV works well for the first part, but the second part need some change; so Rowley adopts “in their dire consternation they are beside themselves.”
[41:26] 110 tn This is the clearest reading, following A. B. Davidson, Job, 285. The versions took different readings of the construction.
[41:26] 111 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “stand”) with בְּלִי (bÿli, “not”) has the sense of “does not hold firm,” or “gives way.”
[41:28] 112 tn Heb “the son of the bow.”
[41:29] 113 tn The verb is plural, but since there is no expressed subject it is translated as a passive here.
[41:30] 114 tn Heb “under him.”
[41:30] 115 tn Here only the word “sharp” is present, but in passages like Isa 41:15 it is joined with “threshing sledge.” Here and in Amos 1:3 and Isa 28:27 the word stands alone, but represents the “sledge.”
[41:31] 116 sn The idea is either that the sea is stirred up like the foam from beating the ingredients together, or it is the musk-smell that is the point of comparison.
[41:33] 117 tn Heb “one who was made.”
[41:34] 118 tn Heb “the sons of pride.” Dhorme repoints the last word to get “all the wild beasts,” but this misses the point of the verse. This animal looks over every proud creature – but he is king of them all in that department.
[40:12] 119 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.
[40:12] 120 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] 121 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[40:12] 122 tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”
[40:12] 123 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.
[32:17] 124 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.
[32:17] sn The parallel usage of this introduction in Jer 1:6; 4:10; 14:13 shows that though this prayer has a lengthy introductory section of praise vv. 17-22, this prayer is really one of complaint or lament.
[32:17] 125 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.
[32:17] 126 tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.
[32:18] 127 tn Or “to thousands of generations.” The contrast of showing steadfast love to “thousands” to the limitation of punishing the third and fourth generation of children for their parents’ sins in Exod 20:5-6; Deut 5:9-10; Exod 34:7 has suggested to many commentators and translators (cf., e.g., NRSV, TEV, NJPS) that reference here is to “thousands of generations.” The statement is, of course, rhetorical emphasizing God’s great desire to bless as opposed to the reluctant necessity to punish. It is part of the attributes of God spelled out in Exod 34:6-7.
[32:18] 128 tn Heb “pays back into the bosom of their children the sin of their parents.”
[32:18] 129 tn Heb “Nothing is too hard for you who show…and who punishes…the great [and] powerful God whose name is Yahweh of armies, [you who are] great in counsel…whose eyes are open…who did signs…” Jer 32:18-22 is a long series of relative clauses introduced by participles or relative pronouns in vv. 18-20a followed by second person vav consecutive imperfects carrying on the last of these relative clauses in vv. 20b-22. This is typical of hymnic introductions to hymns of praise (cf., e.g., Ps 136) but it is hard to sustain the relative subordination which all goes back to the suffix on “hard for you.” The sentences have been broken up but the connection with the end of v. 17 has been sacrificed for conformity to contemporary English style.
[32:19] 130 tn Heb “[you are] great in counsel and mighty in deed.”
[32:19] 131 tn Heb “your eyes are open to the ways of the sons of men.”
[32:19] 132 tn Heb “giving to each according to his way [= behavior/conduct] and according to the fruit of his deeds.”
[4:3] 133 tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
[1:19] 134 tn Or “immeasurable, surpassing”
[1:19] 136 tn Grk “according to.”
[1:19] 137 tn Grk “according to the exercise of the might of his strength.”
[1:19] sn What has been translated as exercise is a term used only of supernatural power in the NT, ἐνέργεια (energeia).
[2:7] 138 tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”
[2:8] 140 tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.
[2:8] 141 tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pistews, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1881 pc. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia th" pistew") is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1739 al bo) lack the article. Hence, both text-critically and exegetically, the meaning of the text here is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” Regarding the textual problem, the lack of the article is the preferred reading.
[2:9] 142 tn Or “not as a result of.”
[2:9] 143 tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”
[2:10] 144 tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).
[2:10] sn So that we may do them. Before the devil began to control our walk in sin and among sinful people, God had already planned good works for us to do.
[15:3] 145 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
[15:3] 146 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
[15:3] 147 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[15:3] 148 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
[15:3] 149 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
[15:3] 150 tc Certain
