512 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
dedicatory prayer of Solomon in 1 Kgs 8:23 and Hezekiah's prayer for deliver-
ance in 2 Kgs 19: 15, neither of which is as late as the Exile, begin similarly with
creation.
Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look. On this Jeremianic expression, see Note for 1:6.
The LXX omits hinneh ("look"), which Janzen ( 1973: 118) and Migsch ( 1996:
354 n. 94) correctly take to be a loss due to haplography (homoeoteleuton:
h ... h).
with your great strength and with your outstretched arm. On this expression,
referriug here uot to the Exoclus cleliverauc..:e Lul lo Yahweh's work of Creation,
see Note for 27:5.
Nothing is too difficult for you. Hebrew lo'-yippale' mimmeka kol-dabar. Yah-
weh says the same about himself in v 27. The verb pl' means "to be wonderful,
extraordinary," where the sense can also be "too difficult" (Gen 18: 14) or "too
wonderful to understand" (Job 42:3). The idea of "hiddenness" is present in
the readings of T ("nothing is hidden from before you") and LXX (ou me apok-
rube apo sou outhen, "but nothing can be hidden from you"), whereas "too dif-
ficult" is the sense preserved in Aq and Symm (ouk adunatesei apo sou/soi, "is
not wanting in ability from you/for you), and in the Vg (non erit tibi difficile,
"will not be difficult for you").
- who shows steadfast love to thousands but who repays the iniquity of the fa-
thers into the lap of their children after them. A summary version of the divine
retribution formula in Exod 20:5-6; 34:7; and Deut 5:9-10. Compare also
Solomon's prayer in 1 Kgs 8:23. According to Jer 31:30, however, this principle
will be modified in the future. The discourse shifts here to the third person,
then back again to second person in v 19, which is acceptable in prayers
(Calvin; cf. 1 Kgs 8:27).
into the lap of their children. Hebrew 'el-/:zeq benehem. The term l:zeq ("lap,
bosom") refers here to the fold in a robe above the midsection where the hands
are placed and one's property can be kept (Exod 4:6; Prov 21:14). Large
enough for carrying infants or lambs (Num 11: 12; Isa 40: 11 ), this pocket-like
fold makes a purse or basket unnecessary. Here, as elsewhere, the term occurs
in a figure of recompense (Ps 79:12; Isa 65:6-7).
the great God, the mighty, Yahweh of hosts is his name. This acclamation,
"the great God, the mighty," reduces the threefold acclamation (omitting "the
terrible") in Deut 10: 17 and Neh 9:32. The RSV, NRSV, NAB, and NJV trans-
late the definite article on "God" as a vocative ("O God"), but this assumes
direct speech to God, which the present words are not (see above). A shift to
third-person speech occurred at the beginning of the verse, and second person
speech does not resume until v 19. Note also "Yahweh of hosts is his name."
This word of acclamation should then be translated third person, like the ac-
clamation in Deut 10: 17. In Neh 9:32, the acclamation is made directly to Yah-
weh. Compare the parenthetical homage-rendering statements to God in the
NT letters of Paul (Rom 1:25; 9:5; 11:33-36), found also routinely in the Tal-
mud and other rabbinic writings. "Yahweh is his name" is an old climactic
shout (Exod 15:3), whereas "Yahweh of hosts is his name" is a doxology occur-
