Monday, November 29, 2010

Isaiah 43:25-28

Verse 25
אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי הוּא מֹחֶה פְשָׁעֶיךָ לְמַעֲנִי וְחַטֹּאתֶיךָ לֹא אֶזְכֹּר׃

25 I, I am am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins so more.

Note the emphasis of the reduplicated אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי, "I, I." The emphasis in on God alone; perhaps אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי הוּא also draws out attention to the Trinity. מֹחֶה "exterminates, blots out" qal participle.

Verse 26
הַזְכִּירֵנִי נִשָּׁפְטָה יָחַד סַפֵּר אַתָּה לְמַעַן תִּצְדָּק׃

26 Review the past for me; let us judge together. State the case so that you may be justified.
נִשָּׁפְטָה "Let us judge," nifal cohortative. Irony: "Oh, what have you done again? Remind me?"  סַפֵּר piel imperative "set out your case."

Verse 27
אָבִיךָ הָרִאשׁוֹן חָטָא וּמְלִיצֶיךָ פָּשְׁעוּ בִי׃

27 Your first father sinned, your intercessors transgressed against me.

"Jacob" (verse 28) is the namesake, but could equally have been Adam or Abraham.

Verse 28

וַאֲחַלֵּל שָׂרֵי קֹדֶשׁ וְאֶתְּנָה לַחֵרֶם יַעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל לְגִדּוּפִים׃

28 So I profaned the princes of the temple and I delivered Jacob over to destruction and Israel to scorn.

"So I profaned" piel waw-consecutive imperfect 1 sg (וַאֲחַלֵּל ). Could "I delivered" be "Let me deliver" (cohortative)? No -- this is the long form of the imperfect for emphasis.

When God says "your first father," he could equally by talking about the father of Israel (Abraham, or Israel himself, Jacob), or else he could be going all the way back to the first father of us all, Adam.

There are some sins that plague whole families and whole nations. God held all of Israel (the northern tribes) accountable for the sin of its first king, Jeroboam I: "Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth" (1 Kings 13:33-34). Having done that with the north, he now turns south to Judah.

"Let's see," he says, "what have you got to say in your defense? Nothing? Nothing at all." Exposed to the white light of God's true judgment, we can't hide anything, and we can't face him. We stand condemned. God's offer of forgiveness to Israel was still on its way. But God's offer of forgiveness to you doesn't need to wait any longer. In Jesus, your sins have been paid for. Confess them; let go of them, and know that God has made you a new creation through his Son, our Lord.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Isaiah 43:24

לֹא־קָנִיתָ לִּי בַכֶּסֶף קָנֶה וְחֵלֶב זְבָחֶיךָ לֹא הִרְוִיתָנִי אַךְ הֶעֱבַדְתַּנִי בְּחַטֹּאותֶיךָ הוֹגַעְתַּנִי בַּעֲו‍ֹנֹתֶיךָ׃

24 You never bought me sweet calamus with silver; you never satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. Instead you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your guilt.

לֹא־קָנִיתָ לִּי בַכֶּסֶף קָנֶה You never bought me sweet calamus with silver; קָנֶה seems to be some kind of reed (Holladay, "oil grass," LXX θυμίαμα "incense"). The UBS' "Fauna and Flora of the Bible" cautions that the term is difficult to understand in many contexts (this word also draws out a flaw in "Fauna and Flora of the Bible," since the book is not indexed according to Hebrew or Greek words, nor to passages, but only to the UBS teams translations of words, many of which do not appear in any standard translations).

וְחֵלֶב זְבָחֶיךָ לֹא הִרְוִיתָנִי you never satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. הִרְוִיתָנִי is a hifil perfect, 2nd singular, "saturated, drink one's fill."

אַךְ הֶעֱבַדְתַּנִי בְּחַטֹּאותֶיךָ הוֹגַעְתַּנִי בַּעֲו‍ֹנֹתֶיךָ Instead you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your guilt. אַךְ is an adverb that often means "surely" or "indeed," but here it stands as a strong contrast, and so "Instead" (or the older "howbeit") draws attention to the contrast of what follows. Also notice the heavy disjunctive rebi that stands like an exclamation point above the word: אַ֗ךְ.


אַךְ with rebi, Aleppo Codex. The stroke above kaph is raphe.

God did not burden Israel with grain offerings or weary them with incense, they did burden God with their sins (בְּחַטֹּאותֶיךָ) and weary him with their guilt (בַּעֲו‍ֹנֹתֶיךָ).

LXX. οὐδὲ ἐκτήσω μοι ἀργυρίου θυμίαμα, οὐδὲ τὸ στέαρ τῶν θυσιῶν σου ἐπεθύμησα, ἀλλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις σου καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀδικίαις σου προέστην σου.

Vul. non emisti mihi argento calamum et adipe victimarum tuarum non inebriasti me verumtamen servire me fecisti in peccatis tuis praebuisti mihi laborem in iniquitatibus tuis

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Isaiah 43:23

לֹא־הֵבֵיאתָ לִּי שֵׂה עֹלֹתֶיךָ וּזְבָחֶיךָ לֹא כִבַּדְתָּנִי לֹא הֶעֱבַדְתִּיךָ בְּמִנְחָה וְלֹא הוֹגַעְתִּיךָ בִּלְבוֹנָה׃

23 You have not brought me sheep for your burnt offerings or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not forced your service with a grain offering nor wearied you with incense.

לֹא־הֵבֵיאתָ לִּי שֵׂה עֹלֹתֶיךָ וּזְבָחֶיךָ לֹא כִבַּדְתָּנִי You have not brought me sheep for your burnt offerings or honored me with your sacrifices. הֵבֵיאתָ, the hifil of בֺּוא, means "bring." The עֹלֹתֶיךָ was the burnt offering, Latin holocausti. Here כִבַּדְתָּנִי does not mean "honor" but more literally "make heavy," "burden."

לֹא הֶעֱבַדְתִּיךָ בְּמִנְחָה וְלֹא הוֹגַעְתִּיךָ בִּלְבוֹנָה I have not forced your service with a grain offering nor wearied you with incense. הֶעֱבַדְתִּיךָ is another hifil perfect, from עבד "serve." The hifil is causative, so I have taken it as "forced your service." The idea is that God does not impose the grain offering (מִנְחָה) or the use of incense (לְבוֹנָה). These things were to be done out of thanks; they are an Old Testament picture of our good works. Good works don't achieve anything for our salvation, but they are evidence of our faith. God wants to see these things, otherwise he will say as he did to the Laodiceans: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16).

God never wanted Israel to just go through the motions. The way they were performing their sacrifices and other rites was what he had a problem with; what was in the heart.

LXX. οὐκ ἐμοὶ πρόβατα τῆς ὁλοκαρπώσεώς σου, οὐδὲ ἐν ταῖς θυσίαις σου ἐδόξασάς με, οὐδὲ ἔγκοπον ἐποίησά σε ἐν λιβάνῳ,

Vul. non obtulisti mihi arietem holocausti tui et victimis tuis non glorificasti me non te servire feci in oblatione nec laborem tibi praebui in ture

Isaiah 43:22

וְלֹא־אֹתִי קָרָאתָ יַעֲקֹב כִּי־יָגַעְתָּ בִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

22 But you did not call on me O Jacob, You have wearied me, O Israel.

קָרָאתָ qal perfect. יָגַעְתָּ qal perfect; another negative term, expressed positively. כִּי is used here for emphasis, "indeed." The mappiq in וְלֹא־אֹתִי lays emphasis on "me," you called to other gods! You didn't trust in the true God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. Their prayers were halfhearted (NIV study Bible note).

LXX. οὐ νῦν ἐκάλεσά σε, Ιακωβ, οὐδὲ κοπιᾶσαί σε ἐποίησα, Ισραηλ˙

Vul. non me invocasti Iacob nec laborasti in me Israhel

Isaiah 43:21

עַם־זוּ יָצַרְתִּי לִי תְּהִלָּתִי יְסַפֵּרוּ׃

21 The people that I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

זוּ is an indeclinable demonstrative pronoun similar to זֶה, "this, the." יָצַרְתִּי is a qal perfect, 1st singular. יְסַפֵּרוּ is a piel jussive from ספר, "count, relate." The LXX uses an infinitive of purpose to translate this, διηγεῖσθαι.

This is a Janus Verse, looking both ways in the text. Pieper (see above) took it as the first of a new section. In his class lectures, Prof. Brug proposed that a Janus Verse like this be taken as genuinely looking both ways, so that it should not be excluded from what precedes nor from what follows.

     43:14-20 - Babylon will get what it deserves.
     43:21 - We praise you
     43:22-28 - Israel will not get what it deserves (it will be rescued).

LXX. λαόν μου, ὃν περιεποιησάμην τὰς ἀρετάς μου διηγεῖσθαι.

Vul. populum istum formavi mihi laudem meam narrabit

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Isaiah 43:20

תְּכַבְּדֵנִי חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה תַּנִּים וּבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה כִּי־נָתַתִּי בַמִּדְבָּר מַיִם נְהָרוֹת בִּישִׁימֹן לְהַשְׁקוֹת עַמִּי בְחִירִי׃

20 The wild beasts will honor me; jackals and 'the daughters of the desert.'* For I gave water in the wilderness. [I gave] rivers in the desert to give drink to my chosen people.
__________
* "daughters of the desert," evidently a species of owl, probably the large eagle owl.

תְּכַבְּדֵנִי חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה תַּנִּים וּבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה The wild beasts will honor me; jackals and 'the daughters of the desert'. תְּכַבְּדֵנִי is a piel imperfect from כבד "to honor, to make heavy." חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה is literally "living things of the field."
     תַּנִּים is either "dragons" (תַּנִּין, "sea-serpent, serpent, dragon, whale-creature") or "jackals" (תַנִּין Isaiah 35:7). Already in 200 BC, the translators of the LXX didn't know what to make of this word, translating it with σειρῆνες "Sirens." Jerome used dracones into his Latin Vulgate. The UBS monograph Fauna and Flora of the Bible recommends taking the word here as "jackal" rather than as the sea monster.
     This is the statement there (UBS: FFB) on תַנִּין: "In all these passages (Gn 1:21; Ne 2:13; Job 7:12; Ps 74:13; 148:7; Isaiah 27:1; 51:9; Jer 51:34; Lam 4:3; Ezek 29:3; 32:2) the Hebrew word stands for some "sea monster;" only in the following passages should תַנִּין be translated 'serpent': Ex 7:9, 10, 12; Dt 32:33; Ps 91:13." (p. 30-31, article on "Serpent, Viper, Adder, Leviathan."
     וּבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה is literally "the daughters of the desert." Although "ostrich" has been proposed, the word "ostrich" is limited to the use of יָעֵן (Lam 4:3). When the full phrase בְנוֹת יַעֲנָה occurs, it is a title standing for a creature which (1) needs water (Is. 43:20), (2) haunts ruins (Is. 13:21; Jer 50:39); and makes a haunting, wailing sound (Micah 1:8). None of these are descriptions of ostriches, which prefer sandy areas to lay their eggs. The eagle owl is the largest of the owls and generally comes first in lists of owls, esp. in the lists of unclean animals (NIV, "horned owl," Deut. 14:15).

כִּי־נָתַתִּי בַמִּדְבָּר מַיִם נְהָרוֹת בִּישִׁימֹן לְהַשְׁקוֹת עַמִּי בְחִירִי For I gave water in the wilderness. [I gave] rivers in the desert to give drink to my chosen people. נָתַתִּי qal perfect from נָתַן, "give." The accent pattern of בַמִּדְבָּ֜ר מַ֗יִם is virtual geresh + rebi. Virtual geresh occurs when a geresh stands too close to a stronger disjunctive accent, in which case the virtual geresh serves as a conjunctive rather than as a disjunctive accent.

Prof. Pieper made this verse the end of the previous section; verse 21 would appear to be an equally good place for a break (NIV).

LXX. εὐλογήσει με τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ, σειρῆνες καὶ θυγατέρες στρουθῶν, ὅτι ἔδωκα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὕδωρ καὶ ποταμοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀνύδρῳ ποτίσαι τὸ γένος μου τὸ ἐκλεκτόν,

Vul. glorificabit me bestia agri dracones et strutiones quia dedi in deserto aquas flumina in invio ut darem potum populo meo electo meo

Friday, November 19, 2010

Isaiah 43:19

הִנְנִי עֹשֶׂה חֲדָשָׁה עַתָּה תִצְמָח הֲלוֹא תֵדָעוּהָ אַף אָשִׂים בַּמִּדְבָּר דֶּרֶךְ בִּישִׁמוֹן נְהָרוֹת׃

19 See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; don't you know (this)? Also, I will make a way in the wilderness; rivers in the desert.

We should discuss the differences between R.Valera 1909 / 1977 sometime as you continue to do outreach.
RV 1909: He aquí que yo hago cosa nueva: presto saldrá á luz: ¿no la sabréis? Otra vez pondré camino en el desierto, y ríos en la soledad.

RV 1977: He aquí que yo voy a hacer una cosa nueva: pronto saldrá á luz: ¿no la conoceréis? Aun abriré camino en el desierto, y ríos en la soledad.
הִנְנִי עֹשֶׂה חֲדָשָׁה See, I am doing a new thing. עֹשֶׂה is a qal active participle. חֲדָשָׁה (fem sg) is "new," as we would say a "new car," or in Scripture, a "new song" (Psalm 33:3).

עַתָּה תִצְמָח הֲלוֹא תֵדָעוּהָ Now it springs up; don't you know (this)? תִצְמָח qal imperfect, "it is springing up, sprouting." The root צָמַח most often describes plants growing, as in the warning in Dt. 29:23, "The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur--nothing planted, nothing sprouting..." The rhetorical הֲלוֹא תֵדָעוּהָ "Don't you know?" shows that this was a familiar theme in Isaiah's preaching as well as throughout his book.

אַף אָשִׂים בַּמִּדְבָּר דֶּרֶךְ בִּישִׁמוֹן נְהָרוֹת Also, I will make a way in the wilderness; rivers in the desert. We see אַף "even" more often in Isaiah than any other prophet. It is also a common word in Job and Psalms, which perhaps supports the observation that Isaiah was very familiar with those books (although Psalms, perhaps, was not yet in the form we know it when Isaiah was writing). We have seen the Lord talking about the way in the wilderness before.

LXX. ἰδοὺ ποιῶ καινὰ ἃ νῦν ἀνατελεῖ, καὶ γνώσεσθε αὐτά˙ καὶ ποιήσω ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὁδὸν καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀνύδρῳ ποταμούς.

Vul. ecce ego facio nova et nunc orientur utique cognoscetis ea ponam in deserto viam et in invio flumina

Isaiah 43:18

אַל־תִּזְכְּרוּ רִאשֹׁנוֹת וְקַדְמֹנִיּוֹת אַל־תִּתְבֹּנָנוּ׃

18 Stop remembering the former things, stop considering the old things.

תִּזְכְּרוּ is a qal imperative; אַל with the imperative expresses an immediate prohibition, "Stop...!" The syntax recurs at the end of the verse with אַל־תִּתְבֹּנָנוּ, this time with a hithpolel verb. Many ayin-yod and ayin-waw roots (such as קוּם) take polel and hithpolel forms rather than piel and hithpael, reduplicating the final consonant in the forms to behave like a double-ayin root.

The thrust of this verse is, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

LXX Μὴ μνημονεύετε τὰ πρῶτα καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα μὴ συλλογίζεσθε.

Vul. ne memineritis priorum et antiqua ne intueamini

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Deuteronomy 8:10-18

Sermon Exegesis for Thanksgiving (Nov. 24-25) 2010
Service theme: "Give Thanks to the Lord" (Hymns CW 229, 238, 242)
Other lessons: Psalm 100:1-5 (read), Luke 17:11-19.

Context: After a look at Israel's recent history (Deut. 1-3), Moses preached about the consequences of God's deliverance (chapter 4:1-40); this was followed by the establishment of the first three cities of refuge in the Transjordan (4:41-43) and an introduction to the giving of the law (4:44-49). Moses then proclaimed the Ten Commandment once again, identical in content to the original Ten in Exodus 20 with the exception that the order of the ninth and tenth are somewhat different in Dt. 5, perhaps to call attention to the proper frame of mind for what is coming in chapter 7. Following this was the exhortation to love God (along with the Shema, Deut. 6:4), and an account of the battle plan for driving out the nations exactly according to God's instructions in chapter 7, where special attention is made to destruction of their possessions rather than confiscation of false gods, etc., due to the disastrous consequences of introducing any false worship within Israel. In chapter 8, Moses once again preaches about Israel's past, calling attention to the importance of obeying God and falling prey to the temptations of religious backsliding due to prosperity.

DEUTERONOMY 8:10

וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ עַל־הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן־לָךְ׃

10 You will eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ You will eat and be satisfied, וְאָכַלְתָּ qal waw-consecutive perfect (2 m sg); וְשָׂבָעְתָּ also a qal waw-consecutive perfect (2 m sg). The second form completes the thought of the first expressing result.

וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ and bless the LORD your God, וּבֵרַכְתָּ piel waw-consecutive perfect expressing yet another result of the preceding. The effect of the string of consecutive forms is much the same as the ascensive use of καί in the New Testament (and note the string of καί's in the LXX rather than dropping to δέ as in Deut. 10:22. Recall the words of old liturgy: "Bless we the Lord / Thanks be to God."

עַל־הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן־לָךְ for the good land he has given you. הַטֹּבָה is the articularized feminine form of טוֹב, "good." The qal perfect נָתַן reminds us that what God has promised is already an accomplished fact in his eyes, even if it has not yet taken place in time. This affects his promises to us about everything, including heave. Just because we haven't experienced heaven yet doesn't mean that it isn't a certainty.

Mp: הַטֹּבָה occurs three times written defectively (Dt 6:18; 8:10 and 11:17).

DEUTERONOMY 8:11

הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם׃

11 "Watch out, that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his statutes and his statutes which I am commanding you today;

הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ Watch out, that you do not forget the LORD your God. This warning is only possible with reminders. We teach one another, we remind one another, and we study them ourselves. It is a fine thing to memorize the Ten Commandments; it is better to read them regularly, to remember their seriousness, and to remember the Savior who has forgiven our mistakes and our sins against them all.

לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו by not keeping his commands and his laws and his decrees (NIV commands, laws, decrees). A command (מִצְו‍ֹתָיו) is any judgment or rule given by men or God. The NIV does well to translate "command" rather than "commandment" here. The "Ten Commandments" in Hebrew are simply the "Ten Words" (עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים). A law (וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו) is a legal decision handed down after arbitration; it is a "decision" in a legal sense, made by a judge with authority. A decree (וְחֻקֹּתָיו) is something inscribed, especially in stone but also from a very early date on paper (Job 19:23). Decrees are permanent laws. Is there a progression here in these words? Are commands any old rule (keep off the grass)? Are laws more seriously thought out judgments given by the elders in the gate (pay fifteen shekels)? Are decrees serious and permanent national regulations (the boundary runs from this well to that mountain over there)? The answer is "no." There can be no difference in the gravity of any of these rules, since each one ends the same way (תָיו- or טָיו-), "HIS." What says, is. A rule from God is no different from a command from God or a guideline from God. We keep them out of love and respect and because they are from God.

אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם which I am commanding you today; This statement brings us back into the moment, to remind us of the time when God was actually first giving these commands. For Moses, this was the second time he went through them all with the people (hence, "deutero-nomos," the second giving of the law).

DEUTERONOMY 8:12

פֶּן־תֹּאכַל וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבָתִּים טוֹבִים תִּבְנֶה וְיָשָׁבְתָּ׃

12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them,

The conjunction פֶּן־ means "lest, so that not." The "otherwise" of translations like the NIV and NASB does a good job of warning us that a change in thought is taking place. תֹּאכַל qal imperfect "eat." וְשָׂבָעְתָּ qal waw-consecutive imperfect, "and are satisfied," showing the result of the previous verb. שָׂבֵעַ is stative.

טוֹבִים is the masculine plural of טוֹב. The Mp notes says that it is written defectively: טֹבִים (Mp, "one of five times this is written defectively"), and this is why Weil placed a sub loco note in the lower margin. Evidently the defective form was before the eyes of the Masoretes in this verse when the note was being made. Gen. 27:9, 1 Sam 25:15, 1 Kings 2:32 (וְטֹבִים) and Joel 4:5 (הַטֹּבִים) are marked with the same Mp note in BHS. The 1 Kings 2:32 reference is also marked "three times defectively in the Prophets."

DEUTERONOMY 8:13

וּבְקָרְךָ וְצֹאנְךָ יִרְבְּיֻן וְכֶסֶף וְזָהָב יִרְבֶּה־לָּךְ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ יִרְבֶּה׃

13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies,

The idea of increasing wealth is shown here in the way wealth was counted: first in terms of livestock, which was a genuine indication of wealth for nomads. Then silver and gold, though probably not in coins as we think of money today, but in valuable items made of these precious metals. Coins would come later. Finally, wealth in every nook and cranny of their lives, "all that you have" (וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ).

This does not mean that genuine faith will bring earthly wealth. Keep in mind that this is a warning, not a promise: If your pockets fill up, don't forget the Lord who gave it to you.

DEUTERONOMY 8:14

וְרָם לְבָבֶךָ וְשָׁכַחְתָּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הַמּוֹצִיאֲךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים׃ 

14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. וְרָם is a qal waw-consecutive perfect from רוּם, "lift up, exalt" (object, "your heart"). The waw-consecutive perfect is always connected to what precedes it in temporal or logical sequence (GK par. 112a). Here וְרָם לְבָבֶךָ forms the apodosis of the warning expressed by "Watch out, do not forget..." in verse 11 and the prosperity described in the intermediate passage. There is an ominous significance to the reminder of the exodus here; the implied consequence of forgetting the Lord "who brought you out of the house of slavery" is the return to slavery--which would in fact happen to Israel.

DEUTERONOMY 8:15

הַמּוֹלִיכְךָ בַּמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא נָחָשׁ שָׂרָף וְעַקְרָב וְצִמָּאוֹן אֲשֶׁר אֵין־מָיִם הַמּוֹצִיא לְךָ מַיִם מִצּוּר הַחַלָּמִישׁ׃

15 "He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint.

These additional consequences continue the warning of what would happen to the nation if they forgot the Lord because of the prosperity he was going to permit in their lives.

A danger here for Christians is to apply the subject as well as the object of this warning to our own present circumstances. God was addressing Israel as a chosen nation, but we have no basis to think that any one nation is the specially chosen nation of God, no matter what we print or fail to print on our money. We as individuals are the people of God, but Germany, England, America, East Timor? Canada, Denmark, Indonesia, France, Israel? None of these are God's chosen people today. The Holy Christian church, with all her members all over the world, are the people belonging to God (Hosea 2:23; 1 Peter 2:9).

DEUTERONOMY 8:16

הַמַּאֲכִלְךָ מָן בַּמִּדְבָּר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ לְמַעַן עַנֹּתְךָ וּלְמַעַן נַסֹּתֶךָ לְהֵיטִבְךָ בְּאַחֲרִיתֶךָ׃

16 "In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.

The experience of the manna in the desert (מָן בַּמִּדְבָּר) was also a reminder of God's goodness. Just as they did not become conceited about that constant but humble blessing, they should not become conceited about the quality or quantity of any blessing. The proper response to God's blessings is to that God, and to ask his guidance is best using that blessing in his service. This is one way that God tests us, to do good for us "in the end," (בְּאַחֲרִיתֶךָ). That means that whatever the outcome of a test (whether we pass or fail), after we repent of our failures and praise God for our failure to fail, our faith is deepened and our relationship with God grows. That is the purpose (לְמַעַן) of such testing, to refine us like gold.

DEUTERONOMY 8:17

וְאָמַרְתָּ בִּלְבָבֶךָ כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת־הַחַיִל הַזֶּה׃

17 "Otherwise, you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' This thought, so common throughout the law of Moses, is carried to a new level in the latter part of Isaiah (40-66). There, one cannot turn a page between chapters 40 and 48 without coming upon a specific reference to the futility of worshiping idols of any kind, from the carved image to the subtlety of relying on magic and occultic divination.

DEUTERONOMY 8:18

וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי הוּא הַנֹּתֵן לְךָ כֹּחַ לַעֲשׂוֹת חָיִל לְמַעַן הָקִים אֶת־בְּרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃

18 "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who is giving you power to make wealth, that he may confirm his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

True wealth comes from the Lord, even when his blessings appear to have put the creation of that wealth into our own hands.

Analysis of the passage:

10. When you have eaten (enjoyed blessings), praise the Lord.
11. Be careful, do not forget the Lord...
12. Otherwise, when you eat and build,
13. and when your property increases,
14. then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord
15. who led you out of slavery,
16. who gave you manna.
17. You will say, "My own power has produced this."
18. But don't! Remember the Lord who gave you this power, so that he may confirm his covenant.

Although this passage could be taken synthetically, it would be better to walk the listener through it so that the full impact of the grammar will be understood. "When x, do not forget, or otherwise y and z." This is a straightforward prophetic warning, not a conditional structure. The Hebrew participles are temporal, and the "conditional" flavor of the text is entirely reliant on the "otherwise when..." of verse 12. Here the reminder of God's former blessings and the warning itself both form part of the law application; Jesus himself is the only Gospel. The manna, the exodus, the release from slavery -- all of these things are only shadows of the greater Exodus that came through Christ, and for that, we owe God every thanks, and we bless his holy name.

The service theme, "Give thanks to the Lord," is a good theme for the sermon. A good point of focus here would be to bring out the error of assuming that our political nation is equivalent to the spiritual nation of God, and to remind ourselves of exactly what makes us God's people, what his promised blessings are, and what the consequences are of rejecting those specific blessings -- and of God's forgiveness for that sin.



Friday, November 12, 2010

Revelation 3:14-22 (Part 2)

REVELATION 3:17

17 ὅτι λέγεις ὅτι Πλούσιός εἰμι καὶ πεπλούτηκα καὶ οὐδὲν χρείαν ἔχω, καὶ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ταλαίπωρος καὶ ἐλεεινὸς καὶ πτωχὸς καὶ τυϕλὸς καὶ γυμνός,

17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

An earthquake in 60 AD heavily damaged the city, but unlike Philadelphia, the people refused help from the Roman Emperor (notice what Jesus says in verse 17). Hosea prophesied about this temptation: "Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin." (Hosea 12:8)

REVELATION 3:18

18 συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ' ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρὸς ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, καὶ ἱμάτια λευκὰ ἵνα περιβάλῃ καὶ μὴ ϕανερωθῇ ἡ αἰσχύνη τῆς γυμνότητός σου, καὶ κολλούριον ἐγχρῖσαι τοὺς ὀϕθαλμούς σου ἵνα βλέπῃς.

18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ' ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρὸς ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; The banking trade of Laodicea were renowned throughout the Empire, which may have been behind the remarks of verse 18.

καὶ ἱμάτια λευκὰ ἵνα περιβάλῃ καὶ μὴ ϕανερωθῇ ἡ αἰσχύνη τῆς γυμνότητός σου, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; But the region was even more famous for a breed of sheep (now extinct) that produced an exquisite black wool, glossy and soft, that needed no dying -- and notice what Jesus says about "white clothes."

καὶ κολλούριον ἐγχρῖσαι τοὺς ὀϕθαλμούς σου ἵνα βλέπῃς. and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Also produced in the area was a famous medicine for the eyes called “Phrygian Powder.” The medical school of Men Karou made the medicine in amazingly modern-looking cylindrical tablets. Jesus also talks about salve for the eyes, so that the people can truly see, and see the truth of the Gospel.

REVELATION 3:19

19 ἐγὼ ὅσους ἐὰν ϕιλῶ ἐλέγχω καὶ παιδεύω· ζήλευε οὖν καὶ μετανόησον.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

ἐγὼ ὅσους ἐὰν ϕιλῶ ἐλέγχω καὶ παιδεύω· Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. This is common theme throughout the Bible. Proverbs 3:12, "Because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." 1 Corinthians 11:32, "When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. " And Hebrews 12:5-6 "You have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

ζήλευε οὖν καὶ μετανόησον. So be earnest, and repent. Be "zealous," of course is the inelegant translation of ζήλευε, to strive after something. Change your heart; change your mind; change your life. Do a 180. Get back to Jesus, because only in Jesus is there forgiveness, and that forgiveness is already there for you. It's already finished and done.

REVELATION 3:20

20 ἰδοὺ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν καὶ κρούω· ἐάν τις ἀκούσῃ τῆς ϕωνῆς μου καὶ ἀνοίξῃ τὴν θύραν, εἰσελεύσομαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ δειπνήσω μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς μετ' ἐμοῦ.

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

ἰδοὺ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν καὶ κρούω· Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. In the Gospels, Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). But now it isn't us knocking, it's Jesus. He opened for us; will we open the door of our hearts to him? The knocking is the knock of the law, the rebuke of the Lord who is shut out of the sinner's life. "Adam," he calls, "Eve? Where are you? Why are you hiding?" "Cain," he calls to us, "Where is your brother?" "Friend," he sighs, "Are you betraying me with a kiss?" All of these words open the door to confession; he knocks, and we know that the Gospel is there on the other side in person. Will we open, or will we lie to him, pass the buck, or go right on sinning, as they did who heard these words first and in person?

ἐάν τις ἀκούσῃ τῆς ϕωνῆς μου καὶ ἀνοίξῃ τὴν θύραν, εἰσελεύσομαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ δειπνήσω μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς μετ' ἐμοῦ. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Here's that promise of the Gospel, in person. "Eat with me! Have fellowship with me! Be my dear friend, invited to the feast! Here's your robe of righteousness! Let me slip it on you, my dear one!" Will we shove him away?

REVELATION 3:21

21 ὁ νικῶν δώσω αὐτῷ καθίσαι μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ μου, ὡς κἀγὼ ἐνίκησα καὶ ἐκάθισα μετὰ τοῦ πατρός μου ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ αὐτοῦ.

21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

ὁ νικῶν δώσω αὐτῷ καθίσαι μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ μου, To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, ὁ νικῶν is a present active participle (νικάω, "conquer, overcome"). It would be tempting to pull out more comfortable theology to say, "to the one who is victorious (through Christ)," as Becker does in "Revelation: Distant Triumph Song" (this is only his translation; he does not actually comment on verse 21). We overcome through Jesus; we are not active in our own salvation. But in our sanctified lives we are active; we are able to resist the devil's temptations although we do it imperfectly. We belong to God and serve him; we are saved and are passive in our salvation, but we also serve and are active in that service.

ὡς κἀγὼ ἐνίκησα καὶ ἐκάθισα μετὰ τοῦ πατρός μου ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ αὐτοῦ. just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. ἐνίκησα aorist indicative; as is ἐκάθισα. Jesus claims complete equality with God the Father, sharing his throne. He overcame, and we overcome through him.

REVELATION 3:22

22 ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις.

22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (NIV)

ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This is just like the other similar verse in this book.

Today in Europe, once the center and stronghold of the Gospel, magnificent cathedrals stand empty and cold. The gospel of Jesus was long ago abandoned in the so-called Enlightenment -- but when the Enlightenment turned out to be little more than a fad, the Gospel was already forgotten.

Today in Africa, searing heat cripples the people of Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria and Cameroon -- and yet the people of these nations are on fire with the Gospel. Tens of thousands of converts to Christianity are made every year. In the 1950s and 1960s, just as the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod was struggling (or not struggling enough) with false doctrine permitted to be taught in its seminary, the Lutheran Church of Central Africa was opening its own solid, Bible-believing seminary in Lusaka, Zambia. The Gospel is alive and thriving in this part of the world.

What about here in America? Are we, like Laodicea, in danger of becoming merely lukewarm -- neither stone dead (like so much of Europe -- although a remnant survives) nor white-hot like Africa? For us, this final letter in Revelation is a warning, and a very serious one, at that.

When Jesus talks about refining gold in the fire, he is referring to the way gold is purified. It is heated to melting, and then impure metals and other things are either burned away or come churning to the surface, where they are skimmed away. What is left after this intense heating is pure gold.

Let's test ourselves -- constantly. Does what I do conform to the will of God my Savior? Am I being faithful to him and to his word? Would he taste my life and spit me out like room-temperature coffee or room-temperature ice cream?

May God forgive our sins, our lethargy, our lukewarm tepidness. May he give us faith, strength, patience and courage to pass through his tests and be refined in his fire. Lord, set us on fire with your Gospel.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Isaiah 43:17

הַמּוֹצִיא רֶכֶב־וָסוּס חַיִל וְעִזּוּז יַחְדָּו יִשְׁכְּבוּ בַּל־יָקוּמוּ דָּעֲכוּ כַּפִּשְׁתָּה כָבוּ׃

17 ...who brings out both chariot and horse; army and warrior; together they lie down, they cannot rise at all. They are extinguished like a snuffed-out wick.

הַמּוֹצִיא רֶכֶב־וָסוּס who brings out both chariot and horse; הַמּוֹצִיא is a hifil participle, the participle here calls to our attention a general trait. Note the "ham 'n eggs" waw-qamets in וָסוּס.

חַיִל וְעִזּוּז army and warrior; חַיִל is "strength," but in parallel "army" is correct; it's uncertain whether a "strength" would be a subdivision of a larger force the way we speak about "divisions," "brigades" and "platoons." עִזּוּז is also a "might / strength" word; cf. Psalm 24:8 "the LORD strong and mighty."

יַחְדָּו יִשְׁכְּבוּ together they lie down, Although some translations group "together" after "army and warrior," the atnach of the verse lies with וְעִזּוּז and separates the thoughts.

בַּל־יָקוּמוּ they cannot rise at all. בַּל is a relatively rare word; outside the Psalms and Isaiah this negative (it equals לֹא) only occurs five times. In Isaiah, it occurs 21 times, evenly spread throughout the book (this is another testimony to the unity of Isaiah as the work of the one prophet).

דָּעֲכוּ כַּפִּשְׁתָּה כָבוּ They are extinguished like a snuffed-out wick. Recall 42:3; this is the law side.

ὁ ἐξαγαγὼν ἅρματα καὶ ἵππον καὶ ὄχλον ἰσχυρόν, ἀλλὰ ἐκοιμήθησαν καὶ οὐκ ἀναστήσονται, ἐσβέσθησαν ὡς λίνον ἐσβεσμένον

17 qui eduxit quadrigam et equum agmen et robustum simul obdormierunt nec resurgent contriti sunt quasi linum et extincti sunt

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Revelation 3:14-22 (Part 1)

Sermon exegesis for November 14, 2010.
A spiritual case of the Emperor's New Clothes.

REVELATION 3:14

The Letter to Laodicea
14 Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ᾽Αμήν, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ·

14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.

Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: Laodicea was an ancient ruined city, once called Diospolis (“City of God”) and also Rhoas (“River City”), was rebuilt by a king during the Maccabean period and named for the king's wife, Laodice. Like other cities in western Asia Minor, it suffered from earthquakes and never grew very large.

Τάδε λέγει ὁ ᾽Αμήν, These are the words of the Amen, ᾽Αμήν means "truly," or "this is most certainly true."

ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς καὶ ἀληθινός, the faithful and true witness, or, "the witness: faithful and true." When God says that he is faithful, he means nothing less. When he says he is true, he means it absolutely. When he says he is a witness, he is proclaiming the law in it full terrifying fury and the gospel in its complete and saving sweetness. To sinners, God as a witness means death. To those who trust Jesus, God as a witness means that all of the charges have been laid on his Son, who saved us all.

ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ· the ruler of God's creation. Of course, in this case the ἀρχὴ can be taken in every sense with the fullest meaning: ἀρχὴ means "begin, rule or command." Jesus was given this authority in eternity. The UBS apparatus calls our attention to Proverbs 8:
22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23 I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. 24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26 before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, 29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind."
We also recall John 1:3, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" and Colossians 1:15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

REVELATION 3:15

15 Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι οὔτε ψυχρὸς εἶ οὔτε ζεστός. ὄϕελον ψυχρὸς ἦς ἢ ζεστός.

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι οὔτε ψυχρὸς εἶ οὔτε ζεστός. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. Οἶδα is the perfect active 1st singular (dictionary form), "to know; to know by comprehending; to understand a report." ψυχρὸς is the word describing the water in Matthew 10:42 ("a cup of cold water to one of these little ones"), and ζεστός is its inverse (Rev. 3:15-16 is the only place where it is used).

ὄϕελον ψυχρὸς ἦς ἢ ζεστός. I wish you were either one or the other! ὄϕελον is a particle, a fixed form introducing an unattainable wish, as in "I wish you hadn't done that." Jesus wished either ψυχρὸς or ζεστός. If hot, they would be fine. If cold, at least the law would work on them, he could condemn their sins and set the gospel to work. But as it is, they are nothing at all.

REVELATION 3:16

16 οὕτως, ὅτι χλιαρὸς εἶ καὶ οὔτε ζεστὸς οὔτε ψυχρός, μέλλω σε ἐμέσαι ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου.

16 So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

οὕτως, ὅτι χλιαρὸς εἶ καὶ οὔτε ζεστὸς οὔτε ψυχρός, So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- χλιαρὸς in Latin is tepidus, "lukewarm."

μέλλω σε ἐμέσαι ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου. I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ἐμέσαι (aor inf ἐμέω "vomit") is the word that should have been used in the LXX for Jonah 2:13, but there the Greek has "expelled, threw out" instead, as if the whale heaved Jonah with its flukes rather than puking its guts and prophet out with all the half-digested krill and seawater.

Isaiah 43:16

כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הַנּוֹתֵן בַּיָּם דָּרֶךְ וּבְמַיִם עַזִּים נְתִיבָה׃

16 This is what the LORD says who makes a way in the sea, and in the mighty waters a path.

כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הַנּוֹתֵן בַּיָּם דָּרֶךְ This is what the LORD says who makes a way in the sea, הַנּוֹתֵן is a qal active participle; as in verse 15 it is attributive; here the article makes this more evident. The gospel message of the exodus is called to mind.

וּבְמַיִם עַזִּים נְתִיבָה and in the mighty waters a path. עַזִּים is an adjective, "mighty," a word that calls up images of raging storms, raging seas and raging lions. נְתִיבָה is typically a parallel term to derek; "path, way." The reference calls to our minds the crossing of the Red Sea; Isaiah wants to comfort the people going into exile with reminders of the way God helped them in the past, even against insurmountable odds.

Isaiah 43:15

As we discussed in class, I will only post some of the basics now and we will add our classroom notes later.


אֲנִי יְהוָה קְדוֹשְׁכֶם בּוֹרֵא יִשְׂרָאֵל מַלְכְּכֶם׃

15 I am the LORD your Holy One who created Israel, your King.

אֲנִי יְהוָה קְדוֹשְׁכֶם I am the LORD your Holy One. Is אֲנִי a case of wordplay with באניות from the previous verse?

בּוֹרֵא יִשְׂרָאֵל מַלְכְּכֶם who created Israel, your King. בּוֹרֵא is a qal participle, "who created" or "the creator." Here "who created" makes better sense since the participle is not in the construct state.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Isaiah 43:14

כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה גֹּאַלְכֶם קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַנְכֶם שִׁלַּחְתִּי בָבֶלָה וְהוֹרַדְתִּי בָרִיחִים כֻּלָּם וְכַשְׂדִּים בָּאֳנִיּוֹת רִנָּתָם׃

14 This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon and I will bring down all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans in the ships [or: lamentations] of their shouting.

כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה גֹּאַלְכֶם קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: גֹּאַלְכֶם is a qal active participle, "your redeemer," from גאל. The triple title adds emphasis and somewhat recalls the doctrine of the Trinity.

לְמַעַנְכֶם שִׁלַּחְתִּי בָבֶלָה וְהוֹרַדְתִּי בָרִיחִים כֻּלָּם For your sake I have sent to Babylon and I will bring down all of them as fugitives, שִׁלַּחְתִּי "I have sent" is a piel perfect followed by its indirect object בָבֶלָה "to Babylon" here behaving as εἰς Βαβυλῶνα does in the Greek; note the directive -ה. The piel perfect is followed by a hifil waw-consecutive perfect (וְהוֹרַדְתִּי) which focuses our attention on God's intended result of this action, bringing down the Babylonians.

וְכַשְׂדִּים בָּאֳנִיּוֹת רִנָּתָם even the Chaldeans in the ships [or: lamentation] of their shouting. Chaldeans (Chasdim) refers to a special group of royal advisors or astrologers (Daniel 2:2); here the term is ethnic, "the Babylonians." This last line of verse 14 literally says "In the ships about which they shouted (so much)." An alternate translation could be, "with shouted (i.e. "wailed") lamentations." That wouldn't require any changes other than "repointing the vowels" -- Hebrew texts were written with consonants only, and the vowels were added later. Isaiah's text: באניות רנתם. Vowels as NIV takes them: בָּאֳנִיּוֹת רִנָּתָם "in the ships of their shouting." This is also the reading of the Syriac, LXX (ἐν πλοίοις) and Vulgate (in navibus). Another possibility: בָּאֲנִיָֺּות רִנָּתָם "with lamentations that they shouted" (recall our comments in class about this).

Οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ λυτρούμενος ὑμᾶς ὁ ἅγιος Ισραηλ῞ Ενεκεν ὑμῶν ἀποστελῶ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα καὶ ἐπεγερῶ πάντας φεύγοντας, καὶ Χαλδαῖοι ἐν πλοίοις δεθήσονται.

haec dicit Dominus redemptor vester Sanctus Israhel propter vos emisi Babylonem et detraxi vectes universos et Chaldeos in navibus suis gloriantes