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Psalm 94
New English Translation

Psalm 94[a]

94 O Lord, the God who avenges!
O God who avenges, reveal your splendor.[b]
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth.
Pay back the proud.
3 O Lord, how long will the wicked,
how long will the wicked celebrate?[c]
4 They spew out threats[d] and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast.[e]
5 O Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress the nation that belongs to you.[f]
6 They kill the widow and the resident foreigner,
and they murder the fatherless.[g]
7 Then they say, “The Lord does not see this;
the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.”[h]
8 Take notice of this,[i] you ignorant people.[j]
You fools, when will you ever understand?
9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?
Does the one who forms the human eye not see?[k]
10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?
He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!
11 The Lord knows that peoples’ thoughts
are morally bankrupt.[l]
12 How blessed is the one[m] whom you instruct, O Lord,
the one whom you teach from your law,
13 in order to protect him from times of trouble,[n]
until the wicked are destroyed.[o]
14 Certainly[p] the Lord does not forsake his people;
he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him.[q]
15 For justice will prevail,[r]
and all the morally upright[s] will be vindicated.[t]
16 Who will rise up to defend me[u] against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?[v]
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.[w]
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.
19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me,[x]
your soothing touch makes me happy.[y]
20 Cruel rulers[z] are not your allies,
those who make oppressive laws.[aa]
21 They conspire against[ab] the blameless,[ac]
and condemn to death the innocent.[ad]
22 But the Lord will protect me,[ae]
and my God will shelter me.[af]
23 He will pay them back for their sin.[ag]
He will destroy them because of[ah] their evil;
the Lord our God will destroy them.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 94:1 sn Psalm 94. The psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.
  2. Psalm 94:1 tn Heb “shine forth” (see Pss 50:2; 80:1).
  3. Psalm 94:3 tn Or “exult.”
  4. Psalm 94:4 tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”
  5. Psalm 94:4 tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (ʾamar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).
  6. Psalm 94:5 tn Or “your inheritance.”
  7. Psalm 94:6 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 82:3; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
  8. Psalm 94:7 tn Heb “does not understand.”
  9. Psalm 94:8 tn Heb “understand.” The verb used in v. 7 is repeated here for rhetorical effect. The people referred to here claim God is ignorant of their actions, but the psalmist corrects their faulty viewpoint.
  10. Psalm 94:8 tn Heb “[you] brutish among the people.”
  11. Psalm 94:9 tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”
  12. Psalm 94:11 tn Heb “the Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are emptiness.” The psalmist thinks specifically of the “thoughts” expressed in v. 7.
  13. Psalm 94:12 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in v. 2.
  14. Psalm 94:13 tn Heb “to give him rest from the days of trouble.”
  15. Psalm 94:13 tn Heb “until a pit is dug for the wicked.”
  16. Psalm 94:14 tn Or “for.”
  17. Psalm 94:14 tn Or “his inheritance.”
  18. Psalm 94:15 tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”
  19. Psalm 94:15 tn Heb “all the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 97:11).
  20. Psalm 94:15 tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”
  21. Psalm 94:16 tn Heb “for me.”
  22. Psalm 94:16 sn Who will stand up for me…? The questions anticipate the answer, “No one except God” (see v. 17).
  23. Psalm 94:17 tn Heb “If the Lord [were] not my help, quickly my life would have dwelt in silence.” The psalmist, perhaps speaking as the nation’s representative, recalls God’s past intervention. For other examples of conditional sentences with the term לוּלֵי (lule, “if not”) in the protasis and a perfect verbal form in the apodosis, see Pss 119:92 and 124:2-5.
  24. Psalm 94:19 tn Heb “when my worries are many within me.”
  25. Psalm 94:19 tn Heb “your comforts cause my soul to delight.”
  26. Psalm 94:20 tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.
  27. Psalm 94:20 tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.
  28. Psalm 94:21 tn Or “attack.”
  29. Psalm 94:21 tn Heb “the life of the blameless.”
  30. Psalm 94:21 tn Heb “and the blood of the innocent they declare guilty.”
  31. Psalm 94:22 tn Heb “and the Lord has become my elevated place.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
  32. Psalm 94:22 tn Heb “and my God [has become] a rocky summit of my safety.”
  33. Psalm 94:23 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
  34. Psalm 94:23 tn Or “in.”
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Jeremiah 5:1-17
New English Translation

Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment

5 The Lord said,[a]

“Go up and down[b] through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful.[c]
If you can,[d] then I will not punish this city.[e]
2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord.[f]
But the fact is,[g] what they swear to is really a lie.”[h]
3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness.[i]
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse.[j]
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock.[k]
They refuse to change their ways.[l]
4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way.[m]
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands.[n]
They do not know what their God requires of them.[o]
5 I will go to the leaders[p]
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands.[q]
Surely they know what their God requires of them.”[r]
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him.[s]
6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the rift valley they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out.[t]
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things.[u]

7 The Lord asked,[v]

“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem?[w]
Your people[x] have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all.[y]
Even though I supplied all their needs,[z] they were like an unfaithful wife to me.[aa]
They went flocking[ab] to the houses of prostitutes.[ac]
8 They are like lusty, well-fed[ad] stallions.
Each of them lusts after[ae] his neighbor’s wife.
9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”[af]
10 The Lord commanded the enemy,[ag]
“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them.[ah]
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches
for these people do not belong to the Lord.[ai]
11 For the nations of Israel and Judah[aj]
have been very unfaithful to me,”
says the Lord.
12 “These people have denied what the Lord says.[ak]
They have said, ‘That is not so![al]
No harm will come to us.
We will not experience war and famine.[am]
13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind.[an]
The Lord has not spoken through them.[ao]
So, let what they say happen to them.’”

14 Because of that,[ap] the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies[aq] said to me:[ar]

“Because these people have spoken[as] like this,[at]
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood,
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”[au]
15 The Lord says,[av] “Listen,[aw] nation of Israel![ax]
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
16 All its soldiers are strong and mighty.[ay]
Their arrows will send you to your grave.[az]
17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off[ba] your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.[bb]
Their weapons will batter down[bc]
the fortified cities you trust in.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 5:1 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the Lord, they are supplied in the translation here to mark the shift in speaker from 4:29-31, where Jeremiah is the obvious speaker.
  2. Jeremiah 5:1 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly council through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these angels are the most likely addressees, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text.
  3. Jeremiah 5:1 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
  4. Jeremiah 5:1 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
  5. Jeremiah 5:1 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
  6. Jeremiah 5:2 tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.’” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.
  7. Jeremiah 5:2 tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ʾakhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT. tn Heb “Surely.”
  8. Jeremiah 5:2 tn Heb “they swear falsely.”
  9. Jeremiah 5:3 tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
  10. Jeremiah 5:3 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
  11. Jeremiah 5:3 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
  12. Jeremiah 5:3 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
  13. Jeremiah 5:4 tn Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.
  14. Jeremiah 5:4 tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”
  15. Jeremiah 5:4 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
  16. Jeremiah 5:5 tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”
  17. Jeremiah 5:5 tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”
  18. Jeremiah 5:5 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
  19. Jeremiah 5:5 tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Cf. Jer 2:20 and the note there.
  20. Jeremiah 5:6 tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Cf. Jer 4:7.
  21. Jeremiah 5:6 tn Heb “their rebellions are so many, and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”
  22. Jeremiah 5:7 tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.
  23. Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you?” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.
  24. Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “your children.”
  25. Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”
  26. Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”
  27. Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.
  28. Jeremiah 5:7 tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading יִתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitgoreru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitgodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.
  29. Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”sn This could be a reference to cultic temple prostitution connected with the pagan shrines. For allusion to this in the OT, see, e.g., Deut 23:17 and 2 Kgs 23:7.
  30. Jeremiah 5:8 tn The meanings of these two adjectives are uncertain. The translation of the first adjective is based on assuming that the word is a defectively written participle related to the noun “testicle” (a Hiphil participle מַאֲשִׁכִים [maʾashikhim] from a verb related to אֶשֶׁךְ [ʾeshekh, “testicle”]; cf. Lev 21:20) and hence “having testicles” (cf. HALOT 1379 s.v. שָׁכָה) instead of the Masoretic form מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) from a root שָׁכָה (shakhah), which is otherwise unattested in either verbal or nominal forms. The second adjective is best derived from a verb root meaning “to feed” (a Hophal participle מוּזָנִים [muzanim, the Kethib] from a root זוּן [zun; cf. BDB 266 s.v. זוּן] for which there is the cognate noun מָזוֹן [mazon; cf. 2 Chr 11:23]). This is more likely than the derivation from a root יָזַן ([yazan]reading מְיֻזָּנִים [meyuzzanim], a Pual participle with the Qere) which is otherwise unattested in verbal or nominal forms and whose meaning is dependent only on a supposed Arabic cognate (cf. HALOT 387 s.v. יָזַן).
  31. Jeremiah 5:8 tn Heb “neighs after.”
  32. Jeremiah 5:9 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.
  33. Jeremiah 5:10 tn These words to not appear in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for the sake of clarity to identify the implied addressee.
  34. Jeremiah 5:10 tn Heb “through her vine rows and destroy.” No object is given but “vines” must be implicit. The word for “vineyards” (or “vine rows”) is a hapax legomenon and its derivation is debated. BDB 1004 s.v. שּׁוּרָה repoints שָׁרוֹתֶיהָ (sharoteha) to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ (shuroteha) and relates it to a Mishnaic Hebrew and Palestinian Aramaic word meaning “row.” HALOT 1348 s.v. שּׁוּרָה also repoints to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ and relates it to a noun meaning “wall,” preferring to see the reference here to the walled terraces on which the vineyards were planted. The difference in meaning is minimal.
  35. Jeremiah 5:10 tn Heb “for they do not belong to the Lord.” In the light of the context and Jeremiah’s identification of Israel as a vine (cf., e.g., 2:21) and a vineyard (cf., e.g., 12:10), it is likely that this verse has a totally metaphorical significance. The enemy is to go through the vineyard that is Israel and Judah and destroy all those who have been unfaithful to the Lord. It is not impossible, however, that the verse has a double meaning, a literal one and a figurative one: the enemy is not only to destroy Israel and Judah’s vines but to destroy Israel and Judah, lopping off the wicked Israelites who, because of their covenant unfaithfulness, the Lord has disowned. If the verse is totally metaphorical one might translate, “Pass through my vineyard, Israel and Judah, wreaking destruction. But do not destroy all of the people. Cut down like branches those unfaithful people because they no longer belong to the Lord.”
  36. Jeremiah 5:11 tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
  37. Jeremiah 5:12 tn Heb “have denied the Lord.” The words “What…says” are implicit in what follows.
  38. Jeremiah 5:12 tn Or “he will do nothing”; Heb “Not he [or it]!”
  39. Jeremiah 5:12 tn Heb “we will not see the sword and famine.”
  40. Jeremiah 5:13 tn Heb “will be wind.”sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord (cf., e.g., 2 Chr 20:14); hence the prophet was sometimes called “the man of the spirit” (cf. Hos 9:7). The people were claiming that the prophets were speaking lies and hence were full of wind, not the Spirit.
  41. Jeremiah 5:13 tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew ms the article on the noun (הַדָּבָר, haddavar).
  42. Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “Therefore.”
  43. Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “The Lord God of Armies.” See the translator’s note at 2:19.sn Here the emphasis appears to be on the fact that the Lord is in charge of the enemy armies whom he will use to punish Israel for their denial of his prior warnings through the prophets.
  44. Jeremiah 5:14 tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  45. Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabberekhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “their speaking”; preceding יַעַן [ya‘an] would function as a preposition meaning “because of”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.
  46. Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “this word.”
  47. Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”
  48. Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”
  49. Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “Behold!”
  50. Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
  51. Jeremiah 5:16 tn Heb “All of them are mighty warriors.”
  52. Jeremiah 5:16 tn Heb “his quiver [is] an open grave.” The order of the lines has been reversed to make the transition from “nation” to “their arrows” easier.
  53. Jeremiah 5:17 tn Heb “eat up.”
  54. Jeremiah 5:17 tn Or “eat up your grapes and figs”; Heb “eat up your vines and your fig trees.”sn It was typical for an army in time of war in the ancient Near East not only to eat up the crops but to destroy the means of further production.
  55. Jeremiah 5:17 tn Heb “They will beat down with the sword.” The term “sword” is a figure of speech (synecdoche) for military weapons in general. Siege ramps, not swords, beat down city walls; swords kill people, not city walls.
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Jeremiah 6
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1 Timothy 1:18-20
New English Translation

18 I put this charge[a] before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you,[b] in order that with such encouragement[c] you may fight the good fight. 19 To do this[d] you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan[e] to be taught not to blaspheme.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 1:18 sn This charge refers to the task Paul described to Timothy in vv. 3-7 above.
  2. 1 Timothy 1:18 sn The prophecies once spoken about you were apparently spoken at Timothy’s ordination (cf. 1 Tim 4:14) and perhaps spoke of what God would do through him. Thus they can encourage him in his work, as the next clause says.
  3. 1 Timothy 1:18 tn Grk “that by them you might fight…” (a reference to the prophecies which can encourage him in his work).
  4. 1 Timothy 1:19 tn In Greek this continues the same sentence from v. 18, a participle showing the means by which Timothy will accomplish his task: Grk “fight the good fight, holding firmly…”
  5. 1 Timothy 1:20 sn The expression handed over to Satan refers to an act of discipline mentioned by Paul here and in 1 Cor 5:5, with a remedial goal, not a punitive one. The Greek word translated taught in this verse is used of “discipline, training of children” to lead them to correct behavior.
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1 Timothy 2
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Psalm 73
New English Translation

Book 3 (Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73[a]

A psalm by Asaph.

73 Certainly God is good to Israel,[b]
and to those whose motives are pure.[c]
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me.[d]
3 For I envied those who are proud,
as I observed[e] the prosperity[f] of the wicked.
4 For they suffer no pain;[g]
their bodies[h] are strong and well fed.[i]
5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;
they do not suffer as other men do.[j]
6 Arrogance is their necklace,[k]
and violence covers them like clothing.[l]
7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong;[m]
their thoughts are sinful.[n]
8 They mock[o] and say evil things;[p]
they proudly threaten violence.[q]
9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,
and lay claim to the earth.[r]
10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat,
and even suck up the water of the sea.[s]
11 They say, “How does God know what we do?
Is the Most High aware of what goes on?”[t]
12 Take a good look. This is what the wicked are like,[u]
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer.[v]
13 I concluded,[w] “Surely in vain I have kept my motives[x] pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle.[y]
14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.”
15 If I had publicized these thoughts,[z]
I would have betrayed your people.[aa]
16 When I tried to make sense of this,
it was troubling to me.[ab]
17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple,[ac]
and understood the destiny of the wicked.[ad]
18 Surely[ae] you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down[af] to ruin.
19 How desolate they become in a mere moment.
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete.[ag]
20 They are like a dream after one wakes up.[ah]
O Lord, when you awake[ai] you will despise them.[aj]
21 Yes,[ak] my spirit was bitter,[al]
and my insides felt sharp pain.[am]
22 I was ignorant[an] and lacked insight;[ao]
I was as senseless as an animal before you.[ap]
23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide[aq] me by your wise advice,
and then you will lead me to a position of honor.[ar]
25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
On earth there is no one I desire but you.[as]
26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak,[at]
but God always[au] protects my heart and gives me stability.[av]
27 Yes,[aw] look! Those far from you[ax] die;
you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.[ay]
28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.[az]
I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
as[ba] I declare all the things you have done.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 73:1 sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.
  2. Psalm 73:1 tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (leyisra’el ʾelohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (layyashar ʾelohim [or ʾel], “God [is good] to the upright one”).
  3. Psalm 73:1 tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”
  4. Psalm 73:2 tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”sn My feet almost slid out from under me. The language is metaphorical. As the following context makes clear, the psalmist almost “slipped” in a spiritual sense. As he began to question God’s justice, the psalmist came close to abandoning his faith.
  5. Psalm 73:3 tn The imperfect verbal form here depicts the action as continuing in a past time frame.
  6. Psalm 73:3 tn Heb “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
  7. Psalm 73:4 tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.
  8. Psalm 73:4 tn Or “bellies.”
  9. Psalm 73:4 tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lemotam, “at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.
  10. Psalm 73:5 tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”
  11. Psalm 73:6 sn Arrogance is their necklace. The metaphor suggests that their arrogance is something the wicked “wear” proudly. It draws attention to them, just as a beautiful necklace does to its owner.
  12. Psalm 73:6 tn Heb “a garment of violence covers them.” The metaphor suggests that violence is habitual for the wicked. They “wear” it like clothing; when one looks at them, violence is what one sees.
  13. Psalm 73:7 tc The MT reads “it goes out from fatness their eye,” which might be paraphrased, “their eye protrudes [or “bulges”] because of fatness.” This in turn might refer to their greed; their eyes “bug out” when they see rich food or produce (the noun חֵלֶב [khelev, “fatness”] sometimes refers to such food or produce). However, when used with the verb יָצָא (yatsaʾ, “go out”) the preposition מִן (“from”) more naturally indicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend עֵינֵמוֹ (ʿenemo, “their eye”) to עֲוֹנָמוֹ, (ʿavonamo, “their sin”) and read, “and their sin proceeds forth from fatness,” that is, their prosperity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this textual reading, another interpretive option is to take חֵלֶב (“fatness”) in the sense of “unreceptive, insensitive” (see its use in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth from their spiritual insensitivity.
  14. Psalm 73:7 tn Heb “the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross over” (i.e., violate God’s moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).
  15. Psalm 73:8 tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.
  16. Psalm 73:8 tn Heb “and speak with evil.”
  17. Psalm 73:8 tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.
  18. Psalm 73:9 tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition ב (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.
  19. Psalm 73:10 tc Heb “therefore his people return [so Qere (marginal reading); Kethib (consonantal text) has “he brings back”] to here, and waters of abundance are sucked up by them.” The traditional Hebrew text (MT) defies explanation. The present translation reflects M. Dahood’s proposed emendations (Psalms [AB], 2:190) and reads the Hebrew text as follows: לָכֵן יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם וּמֵי מָלֵא יָמֹצּוּ לָמוֹ (“therefore they are filled with food, and waters of abundance they suck up for themselves”). The reading יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם (yisveʿum lekhem, “they are filled with food”) assumes (1) an emendation of יָשִׁיב עַמּוֹ (yashiv ʿammo, “he will bring back his people”) to יִשְׂבְעוּם (yisveʿum, “they will be filled”; a Qal imperfect third masculine plural form from שָׂבַע [savaʿ] with enclitic mem [ם]), and (2) an emendation of הֲלֹם (halom, “to here”) to לֶחֶם (“food”). The expression “be filled/fill with food” appears elsewhere at least ten times (see Ps 132:15, for example). In the second line the Niphal form יִמָּצוּ (yimmatsu, derived from מָצָה, matsah, “drain”) is emended to a Qal form יָמֹצּוּ (yamotsu), derived from מָצַץ (matsats, “to suck”). In Isa 66:11 the verbs שָׂבַע (savaʿ; proposed in Ps 73:10a) and מָצַץ (proposed in Ps 73:10b) are parallel. The point of the emended text is this: Because they are seemingly sovereign (v. 9), they become greedy and grab up everything they need and more.
  20. Psalm 73:11 tn Heb “How does God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High?” They appear to be practical atheists, who acknowledge God’s existence and sovereignty in theory, but deny his involvement in the world (see Pss 10:4, 11; 14:1).
  21. Psalm 73:12 tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”
  22. Psalm 73:12 tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”
  23. Psalm 73:13 tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.
  24. Psalm 73:13 tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
  25. Psalm 73:13 tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.
  26. Psalm 73:15 tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”
  27. Psalm 73:15 tn Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation of the godly” (Ps 14:5), “generation of the ones seeking him” (Ps 24:6), and “generation of the upright” (Ps 112:2). In Deut 14:1 the Israelites are referred to as God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).
  28. Psalm 73:16 tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”
  29. Psalm 73:17 tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).
  30. Psalm 73:17 tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.
  31. Psalm 73:18 tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (ʾakh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.
  32. Psalm 73:18 tn Heb “cause them to fall.”
  33. Psalm 73:19 tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”
  34. Psalm 73:20 tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
  35. Psalm 73:20 sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.
  36. Psalm 73:20 tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.
  37. Psalm 73:21 tn Or perhaps “when.”
  38. Psalm 73:21 tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.
  39. Psalm 73:21 tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.
  40. Psalm 73:22 tn Or “brutish, stupid.”
  41. Psalm 73:22 tn Heb “and I was not knowing.”
  42. Psalm 73:22 tn Heb “an animal I was with you.”
  43. Psalm 73:24 tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.
  44. Psalm 73:24 tn Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (kavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27-28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.
  45. Psalm 73:25 tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.
  46. Psalm 73:26 tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).
  47. Psalm 73:26 tn Or “forever.”
  48. Psalm 73:26 tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.
  49. Psalm 73:27 tn Or “for.”
  50. Psalm 73:27 sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.
  51. Psalm 73:27 tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”
  52. Psalm 73:28 tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”
  53. Psalm 73:28 tn The infinitive construct with ל (lamed) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).
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Psalm 72
Psalm 74
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Amos 7:1-6
New English Translation

Symbolic Visions of Judgment

7 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw[a] him making locusts just as the crops planted late[b] were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.[c]) 2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,

“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel![d]
How can Jacob survive?[e]
He is too weak!”[f]

3 The Lord decided not to do this.[g] “It will not happen,” the Lord said.

4 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw[h] the Sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire.[i] It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields. 5 I said,

“Sovereign Lord, stop!
How can Jacob survive?[j]
He is too weak!”[k]

6 The Lord decided not to do this.[l] The Sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:1 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
  2. Amos 7:1 sn The crops planted late (consisting of vegetables) were planted in late January-early March and sprouted in conjunction with the spring rains of March-April. For a discussion of the ancient Israelite agricultural calendar, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 31-44.
  3. Amos 7:1 tn Or “the mowings of the king.”sn This royal harvest may refer to an initial mowing of crops collected as taxes by the royal authorities.
  4. Amos 7:2 tn “Israel” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  5. Amos 7:2 tn Heb “stand” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
  6. Amos 7:2 tn Heb “small.”
  7. Amos 7:3 tn Or “changed his mind about this.”
  8. Amos 7:4 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
  9. Amos 7:4 tc The Hebrew appears to read, “summoning to contend with fire,” or “summoning fire to contend,” but both are problematic syntactically (H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos [Hermeneia], 292; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 230-31). Many emend the text to לרבב אשׁ, “(calling) for a shower of fire,” though this interpretation is also problematic (see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 746-47).
  10. Amos 7:5 tn Heb “stand.”
  11. Amos 7:5 tn Heb “small.”
  12. Amos 7:6 tn Or “changed his mind about this.”
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Amos 6
Amos 8
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1 Timothy 1:18-20
New English Translation

18 I put this charge[a] before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you,[b] in order that with such encouragement[c] you may fight the good fight. 19 To do this[d] you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan[e] to be taught not to blaspheme.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 1:18 sn This charge refers to the task Paul described to Timothy in vv. 3-7 above.
  2. 1 Timothy 1:18 sn The prophecies once spoken about you were apparently spoken at Timothy’s ordination (cf. 1 Tim 4:14) and perhaps spoke of what God would do through him. Thus they can encourage him in his work, as the next clause says.
  3. 1 Timothy 1:18 tn Grk “that by them you might fight…” (a reference to the prophecies which can encourage him in his work).
  4. 1 Timothy 1:19 tn In Greek this continues the same sentence from v. 18, a participle showing the means by which Timothy will accomplish his task: Grk “fight the good fight, holding firmly…”
  5. 1 Timothy 1:20 sn The expression handed over to Satan refers to an act of discipline mentioned by Paul here and in 1 Cor 5:5, with a remedial goal, not a punitive one. The Greek word translated taught in this verse is used of “discipline, training of children” to lead them to correct behavior.
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2 Thessalonians 3
1 Timothy 2
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