Yesaya 40:26

40:26 Look up at the sky! ¹ 

Who created all these heavenly lights? ² 

He is the one who leads out their ranks; ³ 

he calls them all by name.

Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,

not one of them is missing.

Ulangan 4:19

4:19 When you look up ⁴  to the sky ⁵  and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation ⁶  – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, ⁷  for the Lord your God has assigned ⁸  them to all the people ⁹  of the world. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 8:3-4

8:3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,

and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, ¹¹ 

8:4 Of what importance is the human race, ¹²  that you should notice ¹³  them?

Of what importance is mankind, ¹⁴  that you should pay attention to them, ¹⁵ 

[40:26]  ¹ tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”

[40:26]  ² tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.

[40:26]  ³ tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)

[4:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “lest you lift up your eyes.” In the Hebrew text vv. 16-19 are subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

[4:19]  ⁵ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

[4:19]  ⁷ tn In the Hebrew text the verbal sequence in v. 19 is “lest you look up…and see…and be seduced…and worship them…and serve them.” However, the first two actions are not prohibited in and of themselves. The prohibition pertains to the final three actions. The first two verbs describe actions that are logically subordinate to the following actions and can be treated as temporal or circumstantial: “lest, looking up…and seeing…, you are seduced.” See Joüon 2:635 §168.h.

[4:19]  ⁸ tn Or “allotted.”

[4:19]  ⁹ tn Or “nations.”

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

[4:19]  sn The OT views the heavenly host as God’s council, which surrounds his royal throne ready to do his bidding (see 1 Kgs 22:19). God has given this group, sometimes called the “sons of God” (cf. Job 1:6; 38:7; Ps 89:6), jurisdiction over the nations. See Deut 32:8 (LXX). Some also see this assembly as the addressee in Ps 82. While God delegated his council to rule over the nations, he established a theocratic government over Israel and ruled directly over his chosen people via the Mosaic covenant. See v. 20, as well as Deut 32:9.

[8:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “when I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars which you established.” The verb “[and] see” is understood by ellipsis in the second half of the verse.

[8:4]  ¹² tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.

[8:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “remember him.”

[8:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

[8:4]  ¹⁵ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.