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The enemy said, ‘I will chase,[a] I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
my desire[b] will be satisfied on them.
I will draw[c] my sword, my hand will destroy them.’[d]
10 But[e] you blew with your breath, and[f] the sea covered them.
They sank[g] like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like you,[h] O Lord, among the gods?[i]
Who is like you—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises,[j] working wonders?

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 15:9 sn W. C. Kaiser observes the staccato phrases that almost imitate the heavy, breathless heaving of the Egyptians as, with what reserve of strength they have left, they vow, “I will…, I will…, I will…” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:395).
  2. Exodus 15:9 tn The form is נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”). But this word refers to the whole person, the body and the soul, or better, a bundle of appetites in a body. It therefore can figuratively refer to the desires or appetites (Deut 12:15; 14:26; 23:24). Here, with the verb “to be full” means “to be satisfied”; the whole expression might indicate “I will be sated with them” or “I will gorge myself.” The greedy appetite was to destroy.
  3. Exodus 15:9 tn The verb רִיק (riq) means “to be empty” in the Qal, and in the Hiphil “to empty.” Here the idea is to unsheathe a sword.
  4. Exodus 15:9 tn The verb is יָרַשׁ (yarash), which in the Hiphil means “to dispossess” or “root out.” The meaning “destroy” is a general interpretation.
  5. Exodus 15:10 tn “But” has been supplied here.
  6. Exodus 15:10 tn Here “and” has been supplied.
  7. Exodus 15:10 tn The verb may have the idea of sinking with a gurgling sound, like water going into a whirlpool (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 124; S. R. Driver, Exodus, 136). See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, “The Song of Miriam,” JNES 14 (1955): 243-47.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Exodus 15:11 tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).

The enemy boasted,
    ‘I will pursue,(A) I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;(B)
    I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
    and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,(C)
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.(D)
11 Who among the gods
    is like you,(E) Lord?
Who is like you—
    majestic in holiness,(F)
awesome in glory,(G)
    working wonders?(H)

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