Verses 60-63 is the only passage in all the author’s warnings (verses 8-73) that mentions God (the reference in verse 51 is not to God, the God of Israel, but to godlike power). And even here the author does not compare the false gods to God himself. He compares them to visible evidences of God’s power. Here are things that are truly impressive; an idol is insignificant by comparison. The author appears reluctant to mention God. Only in verse 62 does the author mention God by name (and there only as the agent of a passive verb in Greek), but God is clearly the one who sent forth the heavenly bodies and the one they obey in verse 60; and God is the one who sent the fire in verse 63. Good News Translation has put these verses into the active voice and has made God the subject. This will be done automatically in some languages, but it does dramatically shift the focus. (See the alternative model below for verses 60-61 for a way to avoid the passive voice and also avoid reference to God.) The writer is really not talking about God, but about forces in the natural world.
The connector For at the beginning of these verses may be omitted since a whole new line of thought begins here.
Sun and moon and starts, shining and sent forth for service, are obedient: Shining means “give light” (Good News Translation). The idea in for service is not evident in Good News Translation. It could be expressed by saying “God provided the sun, the moon, and the stars for a purpose, and they obey him by giving light.” However, in order to avoid mentioning God by name, we may follow Contemporary English Version and combine the clauses sent forth for service and are obedient as follows: “do what they are supposed to do.” Or we may say “obediently do their work.”
So also the lightning … and the wind likewise …: Good News Translation requires a whole sentence to express the meaning of So also and likewise: “The same is true of lightning and wind.” However, it cannot be faulted for this. It expresses the meaning, and directs the reader’s attention to what the following statements about lightning and wind mean.
Is widely seen: Good News Translation uses an English idiom, “can be seen far and wide,” to say that lightning can be seen at great distances. This may be the meaning of the Greek adjective describing the lightning (“easily seen”), but that adjective can also be taken to mean “beautiful to see,” and some translations (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) take it that way. It is a rare word, but Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are surely correct. All these references to the natural world are concerned with extent, not beauty.
The wind likewise blows in every land is a literal rendering; the meaning is “there is no place in the world where the wind is not felt.”
It is possible to combine verses 60-61 as follows:
• The sun, moon, and stars, as well as the lightning and the wind, all obediently do their work. The sun, moon, and stars give light, the lightning flashes, and people everywhere see it. There is no place in the world where people don’t feel the wind.
When God commands the clouds to go over the whole world, they carry out his command: The Greek of verse 62 is very awkward, perhaps because the writer is trying to avoid bringing God into this discussion of idols. It says literally “And of the clouds—whenever it is commanded by God [of them] that they go over the whole world, they carry out what was ordered.” The meaning of the verse is clear enough in general; and it is expressed more clearly in the English of either Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation than in the Greek, although we should note that the focus of the Greek is on the clouds rather than on God.
They carry out his command may be rendered more simply “they also obey” (Contemporary English Version).
And the fire sent from above to consume mountains and woods does what it is ordered: This is probably a reference to forest fires, as Good News Translation interprets it. Of course, the mountains are not literally burning; the vegetation on them is on fire. We don’t seem to be dealing here with any supernatural occurrence. Perhaps people thought that such fires were caused by some special phenomenon. People knew, of course, that such fires were caused by lightning. God, however, was thought of as the one sending the fire/lightning. Good News Translation has God as the sender of the fire: “When God sends down fire from heaven to burn up mountains and forests.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “when God … commands fire to burn forests.”
But these idols are not to be compared with them in appearance or power: The conjunction But adds nothing to the meaning and Good News Translation omits it without harm. Revised Standard Version has a footnote here to indicate that it translates the literal phrase “these things” as these idols for clarity. Good News Translation misses an important idea in failing to account for the expression in appearance or power. The writer is making the point that it is in these two respects that idols cannot compare with the natural forces just described. They are not as awe-inspiring or impressive in appearance, nor do they have the sheer power of these things. What the author means is “There is no way you can compare idols with the impressive sights and awesome forces of the natural world.” An alternative model is “You cannot compare idols with the appearance or power of any of these things.”
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.