Article June 15, 1935 Issue

Bible Notes

"For thy pleasure" (Rev. 4:11)—Translated literally, the original reads, "by thy will" (cf. Moffatt, and Thayer: Greek Lexicon, p. 285). Similarly, Goodspeed renders: "by your will"' and the Twentieth Century New Testament: "at thy bidding." The Revised Version has: "because of thy will," and then continues with a literal rendering of the words which follow, "they were and were created;" while Weymouth (fifth edition) suggests: "It was by Thy will that they came into existence, and were created."

"Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?" (Job 12:9)—The Hebrew preposition here rendered "in" can also be translated "by" or "among" (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, p. 88ff.). Hence the verse may be understood in various senses. Smith translates it: "Which among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?" and Moffatt: "For which of them all knows not that this is the Eternal's way?" while the margin of the Revised Version has: "Who knoweth not by all these, that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?"

"The earth is full of thy riches" (Ps. 104:24)—The word "kinyam," rendered "riches," comes from the verb "kanah," literally "to get or acquire," but sometimes used in the sense of "create" when referring to God (Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 888). Hence we find: "thy creatures" (Moffatt and Kent); and "thy creations" (Smith).

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