12:14 If 1 he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;
if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. 2
12:15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; 3
if he releases them, 4 they destroy 5 the land.
1 tn The use of הֵן (hen, equivalent to הִנֵּה, hinneh, “behold”) introduces a hypothetical condition.
2 tn The verse employs antithetical ideas: “tear down” and “build up,” “imprison” and “escape.” The Niphal verbs in the sentences are potential imperfects. All of this is to say that humans cannot reverse the will of God.
3 tc The LXX has a clarification: “he will dry the earth.”
4 sn The verse is focusing on the two extremes of drought and flood. Both are described as being under the power of God.
5 tn The verb הָפַךְ (hafakh) means “to overthrow; to destroy; to overwhelm.” It was used in Job 9:5 for “overturning” mountains. The word is used in Genesis for the destruction of Sodom.