The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” Daniel 4:30 NASB 1995 I myself – A man should not write down his thoughts until he has no time left to complete…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB 1995 Behind and before – Remember that interesting idea of engineered accidents (yesterday)? Well, there’s another implication to the suggestion that God’s invisible hand is maneuvering your life into kairos moments. We looked that this further implication several years ago. Perhaps…
You have granted me life and goodness; and Your care has guarded my spirit. Job 10:12 NASB Life – Yesterday we examined the Qohelet’s claim that the animating spirit returns to God at death. This idea is an important correction to the popular Western conception of eternal life. It is important to note that this correction…
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10 NASB Seas – The ancient fear of chaos. The…
“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.” Job 14:1 NASB Man – I still have places to go. Katmandu, Nepal Paro Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan Skógafoss, Iceland Anse Lazio Beach, Seychelles Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan Cao Bang Ban Gioc Waterfall, Vietnam Caño Cristales, Columbia Raja Ampat, Indonesia Dongchuan, China Marble Caves, Chico, Chile…
I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14 NASB Living – Not tomorrow! No, the psalmist is not hoping that somehow he will see something that points to God’s goodness in the…
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Psalm 71:20 NASB Revive – Don’t jump too quickly to those comforting thoughts about revival. Pay attention to the beginning of this verse. Who is the one who showed the poet’s many troubles…
For the sake of Your name, LORD, give me life, in Your bounty bring me out from the straits. Psalm 143:11 Robert Alter Give me life – The NASB translates this single Hebrew word as “revive me,” but that implies I only need resuscitation. Alter’s translation is more fundamental. “Give me life,” implies that I…
For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I…
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Psalm 63:3 NASB Better – Let’s correct the syntax. ki-tov comes first. “Because good” Your ḥesed me ḥayyîm. The last phrase (me ḥayyîm) adds the “than life” part. Min is the preposition of comparison, in this case ki-tov me becomes “better than.” But min…
