Article June 3, 1939 Issue

Bible Notes

"Thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation" (Ps. 91:9)—The words "which is" do not appear in the original, as shown by the fact that they are italicized in our Common Version, and many commentators consider that in the earliest manuscripts there was to be found a word which is all but identical in form with that rendered "my refuge," but which means "your refuge." When written, or even when printed, the two words are all but indistinguishable. Consequently Smith renders: "You have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your habitation;" while Moffatt suggests: "You have sheltered beside the Eternal, and made the Most High God your home."

"Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" (Jer. 31:3)—The Hebrew verb "mashak" (draw) can also mean "to draw out," and so "to prolong or to continue;" hence the rendering, "I have prolonged kindness unto thee" (Brown Driver and Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 604). The Margin of the American Standard Version suggests: "Therefore have I continued lovingkindness unto thee;" while the Margin of the Authorized Version has: "Therefore have I extended lovingkindness unto thee." Smith has: "Therefore with kindness will I draw you to me;" and Kent: "Therefore with love have I drawn thee;" while Moffatt suggests: "So now I draw you gently home."

"The coasts of the earth" (Jer. 31:8)—The Hebrew word which is here rendered "coasts" means more literally "extreme or remote parts" (Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 438). Consequently Smith and the Revised Version read "the uttermost parts of the earth;" and Moffatt has, "the ends of the earth."

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