“But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and there will be no escape for them; and their hope is to breathe their last.” Job 11:20 NASB To breathe their last – Take a guess. וְ֜תִקְוָתָ֗ם מַֽפַּח־נָֽפֶשׁ (transliterated: ve-tikvatam mapach-nephish). You’ll recognize the word translated “breath” (nephesh), remembering that its umbrella includes “soul, creature, person, appetite” and “mind.”…
Then you would trust, because there is hope; and you would look around and rest securely. Job 11:18 NASB Hope – Do you trust God? Perhaps you’re surprised by the question. “Of course, I trust God,” would be the typical answer, as if the question itself is almost rhetorical. But notice what Zophar says about…
For He inflicts pain, and [f]gives relief; He wounds, but His hands also heal. Job 5:18 NASB Wounds – Is Eliphaz anticipating Isaiah? Why would I ask that? Well, you remember this verse from the prophet: “The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating disaster; I am the Lord who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). Of course, the NASB translation…
I hope for Your salvation, Lord, and do Your commandments. Psalm 119:166 NASB Hope – Plato’s view of religion sets the stage for the contrast we will explore. Plato also believed in hope. Well, sort of. His view was that religion was like wishing things would be better, that is, hoping that your wishes would come true. …
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;…
Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him for the help of His presence, my God. Psalm 42:11 NASB Despair – Hebrew is earthy. It doesn’t portray the complexity of our Greek-based psychological vocabulary. It describes internal psychic states with tactile…
Reproach breaks my heart, I grow ill: I hope for consolation, and there is none, and for comforters, and do not find them. Psalm 69:21 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Consolation – Look at this verse in two other translations (verse 20 in English Bibles): Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked…
I am exhausted from my calling out. My throat is hoarse. My eyes fail from hoping for my God. Psalm 69:4 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Eyes fail – In Hebrew the expression is כָּל֥וּ עֵינָ֑י (kalu enay). From our perspective, it seems a bit odd. We don’t hope with our eyes. For us, hope is…
Happy the man whom Yah chastises, and whom from His teaching He instructs, to make him quiet in evil days until a pit is dug for the wicked. Psalm 94:12-13 Robert Alter Chastises – Are you happy? Maybe today, but what about the days when nothing goes right? What about those days when you truly…
They who sow in tears in glad song will reap. Psalm 126:5 Robert Alter In tears – Don’t take this verse out of context. Read the whole psalm. David clearly writes about the historical circumstances of Israel. The nation has suffered. For centuries it has been afflicted by others. Now he summarizes Israel’s perspective. Suffering…
