Mazmur 107:20

107:20 He sent them an assuring word ¹  and healed them;

he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped. ² 

Mazmur 147:15

147:15 He ³  sends his command through the earth; ⁴ 

swiftly his order reaches its destination. ⁵ 

[107:20]  ¹ tn Heb “he sent his word.” This probably refers to an oracle of assurance which announced his intention to intervene (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 59).

[107:20]  ² tn Heb “he rescued from their traps.” The Hebrew word שְׁחִית (shekhit, “trap”) occurs only here and in Lam 4:20, where it refers to a trap or pit in which one is captured. Because of the rarity of the term and the absence of an object with the verb “rescued,” some prefer to emend the text of Ps 107:20, reading מִשַׁחַת חַיָּתָם (mishakhat khayyatam, “[he rescued] their lives from the pit”). Note also NIV “from the grave,” which interprets the “pit” as Sheol or the grave.

[147:15]  ³ tn Heb “the one who.”

[147:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “the one who sends his word, the earth.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) is an adverbial accusative; one must supply a preposition before it (such as “through” or “to”) in the English translation.

[147:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.”