Yesaya 40:13-14

40:13 Who comprehends ¹  the mind ²  of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor? ³ 

40:14 From whom does he receive directions? ⁴ 

Who ⁵  teaches him the correct way to do things, ⁶ 

or imparts knowledge to him,

or instructs him in skillful design? ⁷ 

Ayub 15:8

15:8 Do you listen in on God’s secret council? ⁸ 

Do you limit ⁹  wisdom to yourself?

Ayub 36:22

36:22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher ¹⁰  like him?

Yeremia 23:18

23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle ¹¹ 

so they ¹²  could see and hear what he has to say? ¹³ 

Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

Yeremia 23:1

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says, ¹⁴  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ¹⁵  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ¹⁶ 

1 Korintus 2:16

2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? ¹⁷  But we have the mind of Christ.

[40:13]  ¹ tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).

[40:13]  ² tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).

[40:13]  ³ tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”

[40:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “With whom did he consult, so that he gave discernment to him?”

[40:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and taught him.” The vav (ו) consecutive with prefixed verbal form continues the previous line. The translation employs an interrogative pronoun for stylistic reasons.

[40:14]  ⁶ tn The phrase אֹרַח מִשְׁפָּט (’orakh mishpat) could be translated “path of justice” (so NASB, NRSV), but in this context, where creative ability and skill is in view, the phrase is better understood in the sense of “the way that is proper or fitting” (see BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6); cf. NIV, NCV “the right way.”

[40:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “or the way of understanding causes him to know?”

[40:14]  sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions in vv. 13-14 is, “No one.” In contrast to Marduk, the creator-god of Mesopotamian myths who receives help from the god of wisdom, the Lord neither needs nor receives any such advice or help. See R. Whybray, Heavenly Counsellor (SOTSMS), 64-77.

[15:8]  ⁸ tn The meaning of סוֹד (sod) is “confidence.” In the context the implication is “secret counsel” of the Lord God (see Jer 23:18). It is a question of confidence on the part of God, that only wisdom can know (see Prov 8:30,31). Job seemed to them to claim to have access to the mind of God.

[15:8]  ⁹ tn In v. 4 the word meant “limit”; here it has a slightly different sense, namely, “to reserve for oneself.”

[36:22]  ¹⁰ tn The word מוֹרֶה (moreh) is the Hiphil participle from יָרַה (yarah). It is related to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “what is taught” i.e., the law).

[23:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “has been the Lord’s confidant.”

[23:18]  sn The Lord’s inner circle refers to the council of angels (Ps 89:7 [89:8 HT]; 1 Kgs 22:19-22; Job 1-2; Job 15:8) where God made known his counsel/plans (Amos 3:7). They and those they prophesied to will find out soon enough what the purposes of his heart are, and they are not “peace” (see v. 20). By their failure to announce the impending doom they were not turning the people away from their wicked course (vv. 21-22).

[23:18]  ¹² tn The form here is a jussive with a vav of subordination introducing a purpose after a question (cf. GKC 322 §109.f).

[23:18]  ¹³ tc Heb “his word.” In the second instance (“what he has said” at the end of the verse) the translation follows the suggestion of the Masoretes (Qere) and many Hebrew mss rather than the consonantal text (Kethib) of the Leningrad Codex.

[23:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:1]  ¹⁵ sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.

[23:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.

[23:1]  sn Verses 1-4 of ch. 23 are an extended metaphor in which the rulers are compared to shepherds and the people are compared to sheep. This metaphor has already been met with in 10:21 and is found elsewhere in the context of the Lord’s covenant with David (cf. 2 Sam 7:7-8; Ps 78:70-72). The sheep are God’s people and he is the ultimate shepherd who is personally concerned about their care (cf. Pss 23:1; 80:2). He has set rulers over them as his under-shepherds and they are responsible to him for the care of his sheep (see 22:3-4). They have been lax shepherds, allowing the sheep to be scattered and destroyed. So he will punish them. As the true shepherd of Israel he will regather his scattered flock and place new shepherds (rulers) over them. These verses lead to a promise of an ideal ruler set over an Israel which has experienced a new and better Exodus (vv. 6-8). For a more complete development of this metaphor with similar messianic and eschatological implications see Ezek 34. The metaphor has been interpreted in the translation but some of the flavor left in the simile.

[2:16]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.