"What is the chaff to the wheat?" (Jer. 23:28)—The word which is here translated "chaff" is more exactly "straw." Hence, Smith has: "What has the straw to do with the wheat?" Moffatt suggests: "Why mix straw with wheat?"

"Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay" (Isa. 29:16)—The Hebrew word "haphkekem" is connected with a root which means "to overturn," hence the rendering of our Common Version: "your turning of things upside down;" but it is now generally conceded among scholars that the more correct and exact meaning of "haphkekem," as it is here used, is, "Oh! your contrariness," or, "Oh! your perversity" (compare Brown, Driver, and Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 246). Hence, Smith renders: "O the perversity of you! Is the potter of no more account than the clay?"

"In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book" (Isa. 29:18)—The translation as given in our Authorized Version would lead one to suppose that some specific book was intended, but, as a matter of fact, the original Hebrew refers simply to "the words of a book." So far from stressing "the book," Moffatt renders simply: "Even the deaf shall hear the word;" though Smith has: "On that day shall the deaf hear the words of a book."

"MENE ... TEKEL ... PERES" (Dan. 5:26–28)—The inscription which appeared on the wall at Belshazzar's feast was written in Aramaic. The term "MENE" is derived from or at least connected with a root which means "to number"; hence the explanation, "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it" (verse 26); while "TEKEL" may be rendered "weighed," suggesting the explanation which Daniel provided (verse 27), "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." Verse 25 states that the final word of the inscription was "UPHARSIN," but in verse 28 it is referred to as "PERES." The reason for this apparent discrepancy appears to be found in the fact that Aramaic, like Hebrew, was originally written without vowels, so only the consonants "P R S" would appear on the wall; and by adding different vowels these could be read as either "uPhaRSin" (and Persians)—"in" being the plural ending, "u" (and) the conjunction, and the Aramaic letter "P" being sometimes expressed as "Ph"—or as "PeReS" (divided). In short, Daniel appears to have read the consonants "P R S" in two ways in providing his interpretation of the king's dream (verse 28): "Thy kingdom is divided [PERES], and given to the Medes and Persians [UPHARSIN]."

"The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me" (Ps. 116:3)—In the original Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament, there were only consonants, and we find that the form "CHBLY" could mean either "sorrows" (as here) or "cords," according to the vowels presupposed by the reader; then, too, the Hebrew term "sheol," here rendered "hell," did not necessarily imply an abode of punishment, because the Jews employed this term in a much more general sense to designate "the grave," "the underworld," or "the realm of the dead" (cf. Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 982; and Hastings: Bible Dictionary, Vol. II, p. 343). In Psalms 116:3, 4 Moffatt has the rendering: "Death had netted me, in desperate straits, I was in anguish and despair; so I appealed to the Eternal." Smith suggests: "The cords of death encircled me; and the tortures of Sheol found me;" and the Genevan Version had: "The snares of death compassed me, and the griefes of the grave caught me."

"The Lord preserveth the simple" (Ps. 116:6)—The Hebrew term translated "simple" is sometimes used in a good sense, as here, but usually the tendency of the Old Testament writers is to apply it to those who are easily misled or who are devoid of prudence (compare Prov. 22:3, where the "prudent" man is contrasted with him who is "simple"). The root of the word appears to suggest the thought of "openness," and may mean, as in Psalms 116:6, that the mind of the "simple" is open to good; while elsewhere, as in Proverbs 1:32, it is implied that it is open to erroneous suggestion. Dr. Briggs suggests the rendering, "the simple minded."

"Thou hast delivered ... my feet from falling" (Ps. 116:8)—The Hebrew word which is here translated "falling" means more exactly "stumbling" (see Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 191). In consequence we find that Moffatt translates: "Thou hast saved ... my feet from stumbling;" and Smith: "Thou hast delivered ... my foot from stumbling."

"Thy God thy glory" (Isa. 60:19)—It is of some interest to observe that the primary meaning of the word "teparah," here rendered "glory," is "beauty" (see Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 802), and that is the rendering which is suggested in the margin of the Revised Version. Moffatt has: "Your God shall be your splendour;" though Smith prefers: "your God your glory."

"The Lord is the strength of my life" (Ps. 27:1)—The Hebrew word translated "strength" in this verse can also mean "a place of safety," and so a "fortress or refuge" (cf. Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 732). Consequently, Smith prefers the translation: "The Lord is the refuge of my life;" and Moffatt: "The Eternal is the fortress of my life;" while the Septuagint Version had: "the defender."

"In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me" (Ps. 27:5)—The Hebrew word "sether," which is here translated "secret," can also mean "shelter, hiding place, protection" (Feyerabend: Hebrew Dictionary, p. 237). The term rendered "tabernacle" is the regular Hebrew word for "tent," though it was often employed with special reference to the sacred tent or shrine used by the early Israelites (cf. Num. 7:1); while the word translated "pavilion" in the earlier part of this verse also means literally "tent or booth."