Exodus 15:11-17 New English Translation
11 Who is like you,[a] O Lord, among the gods?[b]
Who is like you—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises,[c] working wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.[d]
13 By your loyal love you will lead[e] the people whom[f] you have redeemed;
you will guide[g] them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.
14 The nations will hear[h] and tremble;
anguish[i] will seize[j] the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified,[k]
trembling will seize[l] the leaders of Moab,
and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.
16 Fear and dread[m] will fall[n] on them;
by the greatness[o] of your arm they will be as still as stone[p]
until[q] your people pass by, O Lord,
until the people whom you have bought[r] pass by.
17 You will bring them in[s] and plant them in the mountain[t] of your inheritance,
in the place you made[u] for your residence, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
Footnotes
- Exodus 15:11 tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.
- Exodus 15:11 sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.
- Exodus 15:11 tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).
- Exodus 15:12 tn The verb is the prefixed conjugation, the preterite without the vav consecutive. The subject, the “earth,” must be inclusive of the sea, or it may indicate the grave or Sheol; the sea drowned them. Some scholars wish to see this as a reference to Dathan and Abiram, and therefore evidence of a later addition or compilation. It fits this passage well, however.
- Exodus 15:13 tn The verbs in the next two verses are perfect tenses, but can be interpreted as a prophetic perfect, looking to the future.
- Exodus 15:13 tn The particle זוּ (zu) is a relative pronoun, subordinating the next verb to the preceding.
- Exodus 15:13 tn This verb seems to mean “to guide to a watering-place” (See Ps 23:2).
- Exodus 15:14 tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.
- Exodus 15:14 tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth. When the nations hear, they will be terrified.
- Exodus 15:14 tn The verb is again a prophetic perfect.
- Exodus 15:15 tn This is a prophetic perfect.
- Exodus 15:15 tn This verb is imperfect tense.
- Exodus 15:16 tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.
- Exodus 15:16 tn The form is an imperfect.
- Exodus 15:16 tn The adjective is in construct form and governs the noun “arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC 428 §132.c.
- Exodus 15:16 sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16, ” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.
- Exodus 15:16 tn Clauses beginning with עַד (ʿad) express a limit that is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC 446-47 §138.g).
- Exodus 15:16 tn The verb קָנָה (qanah) here is the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; Prov 8:22).
- Exodus 15:17 tn The verb is imperfect.
- Exodus 15:17 sn The “mountain” and the “place” would be wherever Yahweh met with his people. It here refers to Canaan, the land promised to the patriarchs.
- Exodus 15:17 tn The verb is perfect tense, referring to Yahweh’s previous choice of the holy place.
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