Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me. Psalm 5:8 NASB Because – What is the psalmist’s solution to an enemy attack? “Lead me in Your righteousness.” Doesn’t that seem strange? How can God’s guidance in justice and ethical behavior make any difference in an enemy’s assault? Wouldn’t it be…
Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has shut off? Job 3:23 NASB Way is hidden – The verb is sātar. Its uses are important. The root in its basic meaning “hide” is common to West, Southwest, and Southeast Semitic. The subordinate thought of protection involved in the root, which helps…
You are my protection and my shield; I hoped for Your word. Psalm 119:114 Chabad Protection – Interpretive translation. That’s when the translator decides that the reader isn’t smart enough to understand the text as it is written and so he interprets the text by changing the translation so that it actually becomes the meaning…
One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper and from the deadly plague. Psalm 91:1-3 NASB Plague – The Black Plague killed between…
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. Numbers 21:6 NASB Sent – The Hebrew verb šālaḥ has three different linguistic domains. The first is the way we typically read a verb like “send,” i.e., compelling or transmitting someone or something from one place to another. …
My heart has been struck like grass and has withered, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. Psalm 102:4 NASB Has been struck – We might use the idiom “Go pound sand!” but I’ve never heard anyone say, “Go beat grass!” That makes me wonder what the psalmist had in mind when he chose this verb, nākâ. Certainly…
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. Psalm 121:5 NASB Shade – When you live in a desert climate, your greatest enemy is the sun. It withers the plants, kidnaps the dew, and scalds your skin. Perhaps that’s why Arabs wore heavy cloaks despite the heat. Better to be hot than fried. For this…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Enclosed– There’s not much wiggle room here. ṣûr, the Hebrew verb used in this expression, is related to words meaning, ‘besiege, bind, tie down’ and ‘encircle.’ The psalmist’s choice seems to make it abundantly clear that God Himself puts restrictive fences around our…
You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word. Psalm 119:114 NASB Wait for – Once more David opens the line with a samech. Here the first word of the verse is sitri’ – “hiding place, covering, protection.” The verb in translation (“are”) is implied, not expressed. The idea that God…
He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Song of Songs 2:4 NASB Banner – Here is a word, degel, that is used in only two places in the Bible; the book of Numbers and this verse in Song of Songs. The references in the book of Numbers…
