81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.
I answered you from a dark thundercloud. 1
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 2 (Selah)
104:13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; 3
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. 4
1 tn Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).
2 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
3 tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”
4 tn Heb “from the fruit of your works the earth is full.” The translation assumes that “fruit” is literal here. If “fruit” is understood more abstractly as “product; result,” then one could translate, “the earth flourishes as a result of your deeds” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB).