48:3 God is in its fortresses;
he reveals himself as its defender. 1
48:13 Consider its defenses! 2
Walk through 3 its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it! 4
75:3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear, 5
I make its pillars secure.” 6 (Selah)
80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars 7 by its branches.
80:11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, 8
and its shoots the Euphrates River. 9
80:12 Why did you break down its walls, 10
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? 11
1 tn Heb “he is known for an elevated place.”
2 tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”
3 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”
4 sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.
5 tn Heb “melt.”
6 tn The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically prevents the world from being overrun by chaos. One could take this as referring to an anticipated event, “I will make its pillars secure.”
7 tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (’al, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
8 tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.
9 tn Heb “to [the] river.” The “river” is the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Israel expanded both to the west and to the east.
10 sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).
11 tn Heb “pluck it.”