Keluaran 12:30

12:30 Pharaoh got up ¹  in the night, ²  along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house ³  in which there was not someone dead.

Ayub 20:5-7

20:5 that the elation of the wicked is brief, ⁴ 

the joy of the godless ⁵  lasts but a moment. ⁶ 

20:6 Even though his stature ⁷  reaches to the heavens

and his head touches the clouds,

20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement; ⁸ 

those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’

Ayub 24:24

24:24 They are exalted for a little while,

and then they are gone, ⁹ 

they are brought low ¹⁰  like all others,

and gathered in, ¹¹ 

and like a head of grain they are cut off.’ ¹² 

Mazmur 46:6-11

46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. ¹³ 

God ¹⁴  gives a shout, ¹⁵  the earth dissolves. ¹⁶ 

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ¹⁷ 

The God of Jacob ¹⁸  is our protector! ¹⁹  (Selah)

46:8 Come! Witness the exploits ²⁰  of the Lord,

who brings devastation to the earth! ²¹ 

46:9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ²² 

he shatters ²³  the bow and breaks ²⁴  the spear;

he burns ²⁵  the shields with fire. ²⁶ 

46:10 He says, ²⁷  “Stop your striving and recognize ²⁸  that I am God!

I will be exalted ²⁹  over ³⁰  the nations! I will be exalted over ³¹  the earth!”

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ³² 

The God of Jacob ³³  is our protector! ³⁴  (Selah)

Mazmur 76:5-7

76:5 The bravehearted ³⁵  were plundered; ³⁶ 

they “fell asleep.” ³⁷ 

All the warriors were helpless. ³⁸ 

76:6 At the sound of your battle cry, ³⁹  O God of Jacob,

both rider ⁴⁰  and horse “fell asleep.” ⁴¹ 

76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!

Who can withstand your intense anger? ⁴² 

Mazmur 76:1

Psalm 76 ⁴³ 

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.

76:1 God has revealed himself in Judah; ⁴⁴ 

in Israel his reputation ⁴⁵  is great.

Mazmur 5:2-3

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

5:3 Lord, in the morning ⁴⁶  you will hear ⁴⁷  me; ⁴⁸ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁴⁹  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ⁵⁰ 

[12:30]  ¹ tn Heb “arose,” the verb קוּם (qum) in this context certainly must describe a less ceremonial act. The entire country woke up in terror because of the deaths.

[12:30]  ² tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of time – “in the night” or “at night.”

[12:30]  ³ sn Or so it seemed. One need not push this description to complete literalness. The reference would be limited to houses that actually had firstborn people or animals. In a society in which households might include more than one generation of humans and animals, however, the presence of a firstborn human or animal would be the rule rather than the exception.

[20:5]  ⁴ tn The expression in the text is “quite near.” This indicates that it is easily attained, and that its end is near.

[20:5]  ⁵ tn For the discussion of חָנֵף (khanef, “godless”) see Job 8:13.

[20:5]  ⁶ tn The phrase is “until a moment,” meaning it is short-lived. But see J. Barr, “Hebrew ’ad, especially at Job 1:18 and Neh 7:3,” JSS 27 (1982): 177-88.

[20:6]  ⁷ tn The word שִׂיא (si’) has been connected with the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up”), and so interpreted here as “pride.” The form is parallel to “head” in the next part, and so here it refers to his stature, the part that rises up and is crowned. But the verse does describe the pride of such a person, with his head in the heavens.

[20:7]  ⁸ tn There have been attempts to change the word here to “like a whirlwind,” or something similar. But many argue that there is no reason to remove a coarse expression from Zophar.

[24:24]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew throughout this section (vv. 18-24) interchanges the singular and the plural. Here again we have “they are exalted…but he is not.” The verse is clear nonetheless: the wicked rise high, and then suddenly they are gone.

[24:24]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is the Hophal of the rare verb מָכַךְ (makhakh), which seems to mean “to bend; to collapse.” The text would read “they are made to collapse like all others.” There is no reason here to change “like others” just because the MT is banal. But many do, following the LXX with “like mallows.” The LXX was making a translation according to sense. R. Gordis (Job, 271) prefers “like grass.”

[24:24]  ¹¹ tn The verb קָפַץ (qafats) actually means “to shut in,” which does not provide exactly the idea of being gathered, not directly at least. But a change to קָטַף (qataf, “pluck”) while attractive, is not necessary.

[24:24]  ¹² sn This marks the end of the disputed section, taken here to be a quotation by Job of their sentiments.

[46:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “nations roar, kingdoms shake.” The Hebrew verb הָמָה (hamah, “roar, be in uproar”) is used in v. 3 of the waves crashing, while the verb מוֹט (mot, “overthrown”) is used in v. 2 of mountains tumbling into the sea (see also v. 5, where the psalm affirms that Jerusalem “cannot be moved”). The repetition of the verbs suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[46:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “He.” God is the obvious referent here (see v. 5), and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[46:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “offers his voice.” In theophanic texts the phrase refers to God’s thunderous shout which functions as a battle cry (see Pss 18:13; 68:33).

[46:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or “melts.” See Amos 9:5. The image depicts the nation’s helplessness before Jerusalem’s defender, who annihilates their armies (see vv. 8-9). The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the characteristic nature of the action described.

[46:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:7]  ¹⁸ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[46:8]  ²⁰ sn In this context the Lord’s exploits are military in nature (see vv. 8b-9).

[46:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “who sets desolations in the earth” (see Isa 13:9). The active participle describes God’s characteristic activity as a warrior.

[46:9]  ²² tn Heb “[the] one who causes wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” The participle continues the description begun in v. 8b and indicates that this is the Lord’s characteristic activity. Ironically, he brings peace to the earth by devastating the warlike, hostile nations (vv. 8, 9b).

[46:9]  ²³ tn The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Ps 29:5). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3). The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ²⁴ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries along the generalizing emphasis of the preceding imperfect.

[46:9]  ²⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “wagons he burns with fire.” Some read “chariots” here (cf. NASB), but the Hebrew word refers to wagons or carts, not chariots, elsewhere in the OT. In this context, where military weapons are mentioned, it is better to revocalize the form as עֲגִלוֹת (’agilot, “round shields”), a word which occurs only here in the OT, but is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic.

[46:10]  ²⁷ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[46:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “do nothing/be quiet (see 1 Sam 15:16) and know.” This statement may be addressed to the hostile nations, indicating they should cease their efforts to destroy God’s people, or to Judah, indicating they should rest secure in God’s protection. Since the psalm is an expression of Judah’s trust and confidence, it is more likely that the words are directed to the nations, who are actively promoting chaos and are in need of a rebuke.

[46:10]  ²⁹ tn Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 18:46; 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 57:5, 11).

[46:10]  ³⁰ tn Or “among.”

[46:10]  ³¹ tn Or “in.”

[46:11]  ³² tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:11]  ³³ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[76:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).

[76:5]  ³⁶ tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).

[76:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”

[76:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”

[76:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[76:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.

[76:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.

[76:7]  ⁴² tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).

[76:1]  ⁴³ sn Psalm 76. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior who destroys Israel’s enemies.

[76:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “God is known in Judah.”

[76:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[5:3]  ⁴⁶ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ⁴⁷ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and I will watch.”