(ו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃ (ז) וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹקִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִ֒יעַ֒ וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל בֵּ֤ין הַמַּ֙יִם֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת לָרָקִ֔יעַ וּבֵ֣ין הַמַּ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֖ר מֵעַ֣ל לָרָקִ֑יעַ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (ח) וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֱלֹקִ֛ים לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ שָׁמָ֑יִם וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם שֵׁנִֽי׃ {פ}
(ט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֗ים יִקָּו֨וּ הַמַּ֜יִם מִתַּ֤חַת הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ אֶל־מָק֣וֹם אֶחָ֔ד וְתֵרָאֶ֖ה הַיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (י) וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹקִ֤ים ׀ לַיַּבָּשָׁה֙ אֶ֔רֶץ וּלְמִקְוֵ֥ה הַמַּ֖יִם קָרָ֣א יַמִּ֑ים וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹקִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃ (יא) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֗ים תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ דֶּ֗שֶׁא עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ זֶ֔רַע עֵ֣ץ פְּרִ֞י עֹ֤שֶׂה פְּרִי֙ לְמִינ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (יב) וַתּוֹצֵ֨א הָאָ֜רֶץ דֶּ֠שֶׁא עֵ֣שֶׂב מַזְרִ֤יעַ זֶ֙רַע֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וְעֵ֧ץ עֹֽשֶׂה־פְּרִ֛י אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹקִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃ (יג) וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם שְׁלִישִֽׁי׃ {פ}
(יד) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֗ים יְהִ֤י מְאֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַיּ֖וֹם וּבֵ֣ין הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְהָי֤וּ לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים׃ (טו) וְהָי֤וּ לִמְאוֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהָאִ֖יר עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (טז) וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹקִ֔ים אֶת־שְׁנֵ֥י הַמְּאֹרֹ֖ת הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים אֶת־הַמָּא֤וֹר הַגָּדֹל֙ לְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת הַיּ֔וֹם וְאֶת־הַמָּא֤וֹר הַקָּטֹן֙ לְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת הַלַּ֔יְלָה וְאֵ֖ת הַכּוֹכָבִֽים׃ (יז) וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛ם אֱלֹקִ֖ים בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם לְהָאִ֖יר עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (יח) וְלִמְשֹׁל֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם וּבַלַּ֔יְלָה וּֽלְהַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֣ין הַחֹ֑שֶׁךְ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹקִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃
(ו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃ (ז) וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹקִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִ֒יעַ֒ וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל בֵּ֤ין הַמַּ֙יִם֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת לָרָקִ֔יעַ וּבֵ֣ין הַמַּ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֖ר מֵעַ֣ל לָרָקִ֑יעַ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (ח) וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֱלֹקִ֛ים לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ שָׁמָ֑יִם וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם שֵׁנִֽי׃ {פ}
And assemble the banished of Israel,
And gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
Have you not heard?
Have you not been told
From the very first?
Have you not discerned
How the earth was founded?gHow the earth was founded Meaning of Heb. uncertain. (22) It is [God] who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,
So that its inhabitants seem as grasshoppers;
Who spread out the skies like gauze,
Stretched them out like a tent to dwell in—
And marks out a shape with a stylus;
He forms it with scraping tools,
Marking it out with a compass.
He gives it the form of a person—
Human beauty, to dwell in a shrine.
the sky proclaims His handiwork.
let all the inhabitants of the world dread Him. (9) For He spoke, and it was;
He commanded, and it endured.
O LORD, my God, You are very great;
You are clothed in glory and majesty, (2) wrapped in a robe of light;
You spread the heavens like a tent cloth. (3) He sets the rafters of His lofts in the waters,
makes the clouds His chariot,
moves on the wings of the wind.
the name of the LORD is praised.
When He fixed the horizon upon the deep; (28) When He made the heavens above firm,
And the fountains of the deep gushed forth; (29) When He assigned the sea its limits,
So that its waters never transgress His command;
When He fixed the foundations of the earth,
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped the waters in his garment?
Who has established all the extremities of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name, if you know it?
Who overturns them in His anger; (6) Who shakes the earth from its place,
Till its pillars quake; (7) Who commands the sun not to shine;
Who seals up the stars; (8) Who by Himself spread out the heavens,
And trod on the back of the sea; (9) Who made the BearaMeaning of Heb. uncertain. and Orion,
Pleiades, and the chambers of the south wind;
As He moves about the circuit of heaven.”
At the extreme where light and darkness meet.
At the extreme where light and darkness meet. (11) The pillars of heaven tremble,
Astounded at His blast. (12) By His power He stilled the sea;
By His skill He struck down Rahab.
And the cold from the constellations. (10) By the breath of God ice is formed,
And the expanse of water becomes solid. (11) He also loads the clouds with moisture
And scatters His lightning-clouds.
When the land is becalmed by the south wind? (18) Can you help him stretch out the heavens,
Firm as a mirror of cast metal?
Assigned the dawn its place, (13) So that it seizes the corners of the earth
And shakes the wicked out of it? (14) It changes like clay under the seal
Till [its hues] are fixed like those of a garment.
The world stands firm; it cannot be shaken.
He is robed in grandeur;
the LORD is robed,
He is girded with strength.
The world stands firm;
it cannot be shaken.
The Creator of heaven who alone is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who alone established it—
Who did not create it a waste,
But formed it for habitation:
I am GOD, and there is none else.
Speak if you have understanding. (5) Do you know who fixed its dimensions
Or who measured it with a line? (6) Onto what were its bases sunk?
Who set its cornerstone (7) When the morning stars sang together
And all the divine beings shouted for joy?
(8) Who closed the sea behind doors
When it gushed forth out of the womb, (9) When I clothed it in clouds,
Swaddled it in dense clouds, (10) When I made breakers My limit for it,
And set up its bar and doors, (11) And said, “You may come so far and no farther;
Here your surging waves will stop”?
(12) Have you ever commanded the day to break,
Assigned the dawn its place, (13) So that it seizes the corners of the earth
And shakes the wicked out of it? (14) It changes like clay under the seal
Till [its hues] are fixed like those of a garment.
the world stands firm; it cannot be shaken;
He judges the peoples with equity.
so that it shall never totter.
the heavens are the work of Your hands.
And created humankind upon it;
My own hands stretched out the heavens,
And I marshaled all their host.
My right hand spread out the skies.
I call unto them, let them stand up.
“Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon,
O moon, in the Valley of Aijalon!” (13) And the sun stood still
And the moon halted,
While a nation wreaked judgment on its foes
—as is written in the Book of Jashar.bBook of Jashar Presumably a collection of war songs. Thus the sun halted in midheaven, and did not press on to set, for a whole day; (14) for GOD fought for Israel. Neither before nor since has there ever been such a day, when GOD acted on words spoken by someone else.
their words to the end of the world.
He placed in themcViz., the heavens. a tent for the sun, (6) who is like a groom coming forth from the chamber,
like a hero, eager to run his course.
Speak if you have understanding. (5) Do you know who fixed its dimensions
Or who measured it with a line? (6) Onto what were its bases sunk?
Who set its cornerstone
There is a rumbling of waters in the skies;
Vapors rise from the end of the earth,
Lightning accompanies the rain,
And wind is brought forth from God’s treasuries.
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped the waters in his garment?
Who has established all the extremities of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name, if you know it?
Observes all that is beneath the heavens. (25) When He fixed the weight of the winds,
Set the measure of the waters; (26) When He made a rule for the rain
And a course for the thunderstorms, (27) Then He saw it and gauged it;
He measured it and probed it.
it is I who keep its pillars firm. Selah.
Lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
Setting them with nobles,
Granting them seats of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s;
He has set the world upon them.
reaches to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is filled with beneficence.
and be revered to the ends of the earth.
Beneath the waters and their denizens. (6) Sheol is naked before Him;
Abaddon has no cover. (7) He it is who stretched out ZaphonaUsed for heaven; cf. Isa. 14.13; Ps. 48.3. over chaos,
Who suspended earth over emptiness.
At the extreme where light and darkness meet.
Who formed you in the womb:
It is I, GOD, who made everything,
Who alone stretched out the heavens
And unaidedkunaided Lit. “with none beside me,” or (following many Heb. mss., kethib, and ancient versions) “who was with me?” spread out the earth;
All the ends of earth!
For I am God, and there is none else.
Israel, whom I have called:
I am the One—I am the first,
And I am the last as well. (13) My own hand founded the earth,
My right hand spread out the skies.
I call unto them, let them stand up.
The heaven is My throne
And the earth is My footstool:
Where could you build a house for Me,
What place could serve as My abode?
And founded the vault on the earth,
Who summons the waters of the sea
And pours them over the land—
Whose name is GOD.
His lightning, to the ends of the earth.
The foundations of the world were laid bare
By the mighty roaring of the LORD,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
the foundations of the world were laid bare
by Your mighty roaring, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
it is I who keep its pillars firm. Selah.
tremble in His presence, all the earth! (10) Declare among the nations, “The LORD is king!”
the world stands firm; it cannot be shaken;
He judges the peoples with equity. (11) Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult;
let the sea and all within it thunder,
the heavens are the work of Your hands.
the waters stood above the mountains. (7) They fled at Your blast,
rushed away at the sound of Your thunder, (8) —mountains rising, valleys sinking—
to the place You established for them. (9) You set bounds they must not pass
so that they never again cover the earth.
And assemble the banished of Israel,
And gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
And to the South, “Do not withhold!
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the end of the earth—
‘Hew down the tree, lop off its branches,
Strip off its foliage, scatter its fruit.
Let the beasts of the field flee from beneath it
And the birds from its branches,
The bars of the earth closed upon me forever.
Yet You brought my life up from the pit,
My ETERNAL God!
(14) God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years; (15) and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. (16) God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars. (17) And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, (18) to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good.
And glidescSo Targum; cf. Bereshith Rabbah on Gen. 1.17. back to where it rises. (6) Southward blowing,
Turning northward,
Ever turning blows the wind;
On its rounds the wind returns.
Shall not give off their light;
The sun shall be dark when it rises,
And the moon shall diffuse no glow.
As Your arrows fly in brightness,
Your flashing spear in brilliance. (12) You tread the earth in rage,
You trample nations in fury.
in heaven and earth,
in the seas and all the depths. (7) He makes clouds rise from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He releases the wind from His vaults.
Your marshals like piles of hoppers
That settle on the stone fences
On a chilly day;
When the sun comes out, they fly away,
And where they are nobody knows.
—declares the Sovereign GOD—
I will make the sun set at noon,
I will darken the earth on a sunny day.
It shall be night for you
So that you cannot prophesy,
And it shall be dark for you
So that you cannot divine;
The sun shall set on the prophets,
And the day shall be darkened for them.
Who gave birth to the frost of heaven? (30) Water congeals like stone,
And the surface of the deep compacts.
(31) Can you tie cords to Pleiades
Or undo the reins of Orion?
East of the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, including the eastern half of the Arabah:
Is the mind of kings—unfathomable.
He commanded, and it endured.
He is robed in grandeur;
the LORD is robed,
He is girded with strength.
The world stands firm;
it cannot be shaken.
the world stands firm; it cannot be shaken;
He judges the peoples with equity.
so that it shall never totter.
Your word stands firm in heaven. (90) Your faithfulness is for all generations;
You have established the earth, and it stands.
(יח) כִּ֣י כֹ֣ה אָֽמַר־יי בּוֹרֵ֨א הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם ה֣וּא הָאֱלֹקִ֗ים יֹצֵ֨ר הָאָ֤רֶץ וְעֹשָׂהּ֙ ה֣וּא כֽוֹנְנָ֔הּ לֹא־תֹ֥הוּ בְרָאָ֖הּ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת יְצָרָ֑הּ אֲנִ֥י יי וְאֵ֥ין עֽוֹד׃
The Creator of heaven who alone is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who alone established it—
Who did not create it a waste,
But formed it for habitation:
I am GOD, and there is none else.
breaking the bow, snapping the spear,
consigning wagons to the flames.
That they might accomplish all that He commands them
Throughout the inhabited earth,
and You renew the face of the earth.
On the sinful kingdom:
I will wipe it off
The face of the earth!
But, I will not wholly wipe out
The House of Jacob
—declares GOD.
In the sight of all the nations,
And the very ends of earth shall see
The victory of our God.
My refuge in a day of trouble,
To You nations shall come
From the ends of the earth and say:
Our ancestors inherited utter delusions,
Things that are futile and worthless.
For GOD has a case against the nations,
And contends with all flesh—
Delivering the wicked to the sword
—declares GOD. (32) Thus said GOD of Hosts:
Disaster goes forth
From nation to nation;
A great storm is unleashed
From the remotest parts of earth.
(33) In that day, the earth shall be strewn with the slain of GOD from one end to the other. They shall not be mourned, or gathered and buried; they shall become dung upon the face of the earth.
There is a rumbling of waters in the skies;
Vapors rise from the end of the earth,
Lightning accompanies the rain,
And wind is brought forth from God’s treasuries.
By the might of GOD,
By the power of the name
Of the ETERNAL his God,
And they shall dwell [secure].
For lo, he shall wax great
To the ends of the earth;
And horses from Jerusalem;
The warrior’s bow shall be banished.
He shall call on the nations to surrender,fcall on the nations to surrender Cf. Deut. 20.10–12 and note.
And his rule shall extend from sea to sea
And from ocean to land’s end.
All the fountains of the great deep burst apart,
And the floodgates of the sky broke open.
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in the sky, His stronghold.
East of the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, including the eastern half of the Arabah:
A morning without clouds—
eMeaning of Heb. uncertain.Through sunshine and rain
[Bringing]-e vegetation out of the earth.”
aHeb. ’El ’Elohim YHWH.God, the LORD God-a spoke
and summoned the world from east to west.
the name of the LORD is praised.
And glidescSo Targum; cf. Bereshith Rabbah on Gen. 1.17. back to where it rises.
From the sunrise, one who invokes My name;
And he has trampled rulers like mud,
Like a potter treading clay.
That there is none but Me.
I am GOD and there is none else,
And from the east, the divine Presence.
For [God] shall come like a hemmed-in stream
That the wind of the ETERNAL drives on;
Utterly disconsolate;
Her sun has set while it is still day,
She is shamed and humiliated.
The remnant of them I will deliver to the sword,
To the power of their enemies
—declares GOD.
Your moon no more withdraw;
For GOD shall be a light to you forever,
And your days of mourning shall be ended.
Who overturns them in His anger; (6) Who shakes the earth from its place,
Till its pillars quake; (7) Who commands the sun not to shine;
Who seals up the stars; (8) Who by Himself spread out the heavens,
And trod on the back of the sea; (9) Who made the BearaMeaning of Heb. uncertain. and Orion,
Pleiades, and the chambers of the south wind;
“Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon,
O moon, in the Valley of Aijalon!” (13) And the sun stood still
And the moon halted,
While a nation wreaked judgment on its foes
—as is written in the Book of Jashar.bBook of Jashar Presumably a collection of war songs. Thus the sun halted in midheaven, and did not press on to set, for a whole day; (14) for GOD fought for Israel. Neither before nor since has there ever been such a day, when GOD acted on words spoken by someone else.
For light by day,
Nor the shining of the moon
For radiance [by night];f[by night] So 1QIsᵃ, Septuagint, and Targum.
For GOD shall be your light everlasting,
Your God shall be your glory. (20) Your sun shall set no more,
Your moon no more withdraw;
For GOD shall be a light to you forever,
And your days of mourning shall be ended.
Who established the sun for light by day,
The laws of moon and stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea into roaring waves,
Whose name is GOD of Hosts:
I will cover the sky
And darken its stars;
I will cover the sun with clouds
And the moon shall not give its light.
(ה) וְהֵ֙מָּה֙ אָמְר֣וּ אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ יְהִ֤י יי בָּ֔נוּ לְעֵ֖ד אֱמֶ֣ת וְנֶאֱמָ֑ן אִם־לֹ֡א כְּֽכׇל־הַ֠דָּבָ֠ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִֽשְׁלָחֲךָ֜ יי אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ אֵלֵ֖ינוּ כֵּ֥ן נַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
(5) Thereupon they said to Jeremiah, “Let GOD be a true and faithful witness against us! We swear that we will do exactly as the ETERNAL your God instructs us through you—