Genesis 17:20
New English Translation
20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you.[a] I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants.[b] He will become the father of twelve princes;[c] I will make him into a great nation.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 17:20 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
- Genesis 17:20 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
- Genesis 17:20 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
Psalm 22:27-28
New English Translation
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[a]
Let all the nations[b] worship you.[c]
28 For the Lord is king[d]
and rules over the nations.
Footnotes
- Psalm 22:27 tn Heb “may all the ends of the earth remember and turn to the Lord.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27 are understood as jussives (cf. NEB). Another option (cf. NIV, NRSV) is to take the forms as imperfects and translate, “all the people of the earth will acknowledge and turn…and worship.” See vv. 29-32.
- Psalm 22:27 tn Heb “families of the nations.”
- Psalm 22:27 tn Heb “before you.”
- Psalm 22:28 tn Heb “for to the Lord [is] dominion.”
Isaiah 5:20
New English Translation
20 Beware, those who call evil good and good evil,[a]
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.[b]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:20 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8.
- Isaiah 5:20 sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness.
Isaiah 60:6-7
New English Translation
6 Camel caravans will cover your roads,[a]
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All the merchants of Sheba[b] will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing praises to the Lord.[c]
7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices.[d]
They will go up on my altar acceptably,[e]
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “an abundance of camels will cover you.”
- Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “all of them, from Sheba.”
- Isaiah 60:6 tn Heb “and they will announce the praises of the Lord.”
- Isaiah 60:7 tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.
- Isaiah 60:7 tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (ʿal) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [yaʿalu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (leratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleting the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (ʿal) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111), and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).
Zephaniah 2:8-9
New English Translation
8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts
and the Ammonites’ insults.
They[a] taunted my people
and verbally harassed those living in Judah.[b]
9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.
They will be overrun by weeds,[c]
filled with salt pits,[d]
and permanently desolate.
Those of my people who are left[e] will plunder their belongings;[f]
those who are left in Judah[g] will take possession of their land.”
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:8 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Zephaniah 2:8 tn Heb “and they made great [their mouth?] against their territory.” Other possible translation options include (1) “they enlarged their own territory” (cf. NEB) and (2) “they bragged about [the size] of their own territory.”
- Zephaniah 2:9 tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”
- Zephaniah 2:9 tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.
- Zephaniah 2:9 tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
- Zephaniah 2:9 tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Zephaniah 2:9 tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
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