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M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The classic M'Cheyne plan--read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels every day.
Duration: 365 days
New English Translation (NET)
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Ruth 2

Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz

2 Now Naomi[a] had a relative[b] on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech.[c] 2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go[d] to the fields so I can gather[e] grain behind whoever permits me to do so.”[f] Naomi[g] replied, “You may go, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth[h] went and gathered grain in the fields[i] behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up[j] in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Boaz and Ruth Meet

4 Now at that very moment,[k] Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted[l] the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied,[m] “May the Lord bless you!” 5 Boaz asked[n] his servant[o] in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”[p] 6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab. 7 She asked,[q] ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather grain[r] among the bundles?’[s] Since she arrived she has been working hard[t] from this morning until now[u]—except for[v] sitting[w] in the resting hut[x] a short time.”[y]

8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully,[z] my dear![aa] Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not[ab] go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside[ac] my female workers.[ad] 9 Take note of[ae] the field where the men[af] are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers.[ag] I will tell the men[ah] to leave you alone.[ai] When you are thirsty, you may go to[aj] the water jars[ak] and drink some of the water[al] the servants draw.”[am]

10 Ruth[an] knelt before him with her forehead to the ground[ao] and said to him, “Why are you so kind[ap] and so attentive to me,[aq] even though[ar] I am a foreigner?”[as] 11 Boaz replied to her,[at] “I have been given a full report of[au] all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband—how you left[av] your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously.[aw] 12 May the Lord reward your efforts![ax] May your acts of kindness be repaid fully[ay] by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection.”[az] 13 She said, “You really are being kind to me,[ba] sir,[bb] for you have reassured[bc] and encouraged[bd] me, your servant,[be] even though I will[bf] never be like[bg] one of your servants.”[bh]

14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have[bi] some food! Dip your bread[bj] in the vinegar.” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed[bk] her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest.[bl] 15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told[bm] his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among[bn] the bundles. Don’t chase her off![bo] 16 Make sure you pull out[bp] ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!”[bq] 17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed[br] what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds[bs] of barley.

Ruth Returns to Naomi

18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw[bt] how much grain[bu] she had gathered. Then Ruth[bv] gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime.[bw] 19 Her mother-in-law asked her,[bx] “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!”[by] So Ruth[bz] told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he[ca] has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!”[cb] Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.”[cc] 21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even[cd] told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants[ce] until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’”[cf] 22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants.[cg] That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.”[ch] 23 So Ruth[ci] worked beside[cj] Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest.[ck] After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law.[cl]

Footnotes

  1. Ruth 2:1 tn The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ו] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.
  2. Ruth 2:1 tc The marginal reading (Qere) is מוֹדַע (modaʿ, “relative”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְיֻדָּע (mᵉyuddaʿ, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע. Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading (Qere), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”
  3. Ruth 2:1 tn Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”
  4. Ruth 2:2 tn The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.
  5. Ruth 2:2 tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.
  6. Ruth 2:2 tn Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (ʾemtsaʾ khen beʿenayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.
  7. Ruth 2:2 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Ruth 2:3 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. Ruth 2:3 tn Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”
  10. Ruth 2:3 sn The text is written from Ruth’s limited perspective. As far as she was concerned, she randomly picked a spot in the field. But God was providentially at work and led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who, as a near relative of Elimelech, was a potential benefactor.
  11. Ruth 2:4 tn Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.
  12. Ruth 2:4 tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.
  13. Ruth 2:4 tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.
  14. Ruth 2:5 tn Heb “said to.” Since what follows is a question, “asked” is appropriate in this context.
  15. Ruth 2:5 tn Heb “young man.” Cf. NAB “overseer”; NIV, NLT “foreman.”
  16. Ruth 2:5 sn In this patriarchal culture Ruth would “belong” to either her father (if unmarried) or her husband (if married).
  17. Ruth 2:7 tn Heb “said.” What follows is a question, so “asked” is used in the translation.
  18. Ruth 2:7 tn On the use of the perfect with vav consecutive after the cohortative, see IBHS 530 §32.2.2b.
  19. Ruth 2:7 tn Heb “May I glean and gather among the bundles behind the harvesters?” Others translate, “May I glean and gather [grain] in bundles behind the harvesters?” (cf. NAB; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 117). For discussion of the terminology and process of harvesting, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 59-61.
  20. Ruth 2:7 tn Heb “and she came and she has persisted.” The construction וַתָּבוֹא וַתַּעֲמוֹד (vattavoʾ vataʿamod) forms a dependent temporal sequence: “since she came, she has persisted.” Because עָמַד (ʿamad, “to stand, remain, persist”; BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד; HALOT 840-42 s.v. עמד) has a broad range of meanings, וַתַּעֲמוֹד has been understood in various ways: (1) Ruth had stood all morning waiting to receive permission from Boaz to glean in his field: “she has stood (here waiting)”; (2) Ruth had remained in the field all morning: “she has remained here” (NAB, NASB, NCV); and (3) Ruth had worked hard all morning: “she has worked steadily” (REB), “she has been working” (TEV, CEV), “she has been on her feet (all morning)” (JPS, NJPS, NRSV). For discussion, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 118-19.
  21. Ruth 2:7 tn Heb “and she came and she stood, from then, the morning, and until now, this, her sitting [in] the house a little.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward and the meaning uncertain. For discussion see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 118-19.
  22. Ruth 2:7 tn Heb “except this.” The function and meaning of the demonstrative adjective זֶה (zeh, “this”) is difficult: (1) MT accentuation joins זֶה with שִׁבְתָּהּ (shivtah, “this her sitting”), suggesting that זֶה שִׁבְתָּהּ functions as subject complement (see BDB 261 s.v. זֶה 2.a and Josh 9:12). (2) Others suggest that זֶה functions as an emphasizing adverb of time (“just now”; BDB 261 s.v. 4.h) and connect it with עַתָּה (ʿattah, “now”) to form the idiom עַתָּה זֶה (ʿattah zeh, “now, just now”; BDB 261 s.v. 4.h; GKC 442-43 §136.d; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 118-19). The entire line is translated variously: KJV “until now, (+ save ASV) that she tarried a little in the house”; NASB “she has been sitting in the house for a little while”; NIV “except for a short rest in the shelter”; NJPS “she has rested but little in the hut”; “her sitting (= resting) in the house (has only been) for a moment.” A paraphrase would be: “She came and has kept at it (= gleaning) from this morning until now, except for this: She has been sitting in the hut only a little while.” The clause as a whole is an exceptive clause: “except for this….”
  23. Ruth 2:7 tc The MT vocalizes consonantal שבתה as שִׁבְתָּהּ (shivtah, “her sitting”; Qal infinitive construct from יָשַׁב (yashav), “to sit” + third person feminine singular suffix), apparently taking the third person feminine singular suffix as a subjective genitive: “she sat [in the hut only a little while]” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, REB, TEV, NCV, NJPS). On the other hand, LXX κατέπαυσεν (katepausen “she rested”) reflects the vocalization שָׁבְתָה (shavetah, “she rested”; Qal perfect third person feminine singular from שָׁבַת (shavat), “to rest”): “she rested [in the hut only a little while]” (so RSV, NRSV, NAB, CEV, NJB, JPS). The MT reading is more difficult and is therefore probably original.tn Heb “and she came and she stood, from then, the morning, and until now, this, her sitting [in] the house a little.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward here and the meaning uncertain. F. W. Bush (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 118-19) takes עָמַד (ʿamad, “to stand”) in the sense “to stay, remain,” connects זֶה (zeh, “this”) with the preceding עַתָּה (ʿattah, “now”) as an emphasizing adverb of time (“just now”), and emends שִׁבְתָּהּ הַבַּיִת (shivtah habbayit, “her sitting [in] the house”) to שָׁבְתָה (shavetah, “she rested”), omitting הַבַּיִת (habbayit) as dittographic. Another option is to translate, “She came and has stood here from this morning until now. She’s been sitting in the house for a short time.” According to this view the servant has made Ruth wait to get permission from Boaz.
  24. Ruth 2:7 tc Several English versions (NAB, NEB, RSV, NRSV, JB, CEV) suggest deleting MT הַבַּיִת (habbayit, lit. “the house”) due to dittography with בתה in שִׁבְתָּהּ (shivtah) which precedes; however, several ancient textual witnesses support the MT (medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum). The LXX reading ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ (en tō agrō, “in the field”) probably does not represent an alternate Hebrew textual tradition, but merely the translator’s attempt to smooth out a difficult Hebrew text.tn “[in] the house.” The noun הַבַּיִת (lit. “the house”) functions as an adverbial accusative of location, and probably refers to a “hut, shelter,” providing shade for workers in the field, such as those still used by harvesters in modern Israel (H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 2:111-15). This kind of structure is probably referred to using different terms in Isaiah 1:8, “like a shelter (כְּסֻכָּה, kesukkah) in a vineyard, like a hut (כִּמְלוּנָה, kimlunah) in a field of melons.” Some translations render הַבַּיִת (habbayit) literally as “the house” (KJV, NKJV, NASB), while others nuance it as “the shelter” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
  25. Ruth 2:7 tn Heb “a little while.” The adjective מְעָט (meʿat) functions in a temporal sense (“a little while”; e.g., Job 24:24) or a comparative sense (“a little bit”); see BDB 589-90 s.v. The foreman’s point is that Ruth was a hard worker who only rested a short time, or that she had only been waiting for permission for a short time (depending on how other issues in the verse are resolved).
  26. Ruth 2:8 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 119, and GKC 474 §150.e).
  27. Ruth 2:8 tn Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. It might suggest that Boaz is older than Ruth, but not necessarily significantly so. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV).
  28. Ruth 2:8 tn The switch from the negative particle אַל (ʾal, see the preceding statement, “do not leave”) to לֹא (loʾ) may make this statement more emphatic. It may indicate that the statement is a policy applicable for the rest of the harvest (see v. 21).
  29. Ruth 2:8 tn Heb “and thus you may stay close with.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here.
  30. Ruth 2:8 sn The female workers would come along behind those who cut the grain and bundle it up. Staying close to the female workers allowed Ruth to collect more grain than would normally be the case (see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 61, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 121).
  31. Ruth 2:9 tn Heb “let your eyes be upon” (KJV, NASB similar).
  32. Ruth 2:9 tn Heb “they.” The verb is masculine plural, indicating that the male workers are the subject here.
  33. Ruth 2:9 tn Heb “and go after them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, indicating that the female workers are referred to here.
  34. Ruth 2:9 tn Male servants are in view here, as the masculine plural form of the noun indicates (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “the young men”).
  35. Ruth 2:9 tn Heb “Have I not commanded the servants not to touch [i.e., “harm”] you?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see v. 8). The perfect is either instantaneous, indicating completion of the action concurrent with the statement (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 107, 121-22, who translates, “I am herewith ordering”) or emphatic/rhetorical, indicating the action is as good as done.
  36. Ruth 2:9 tn The juxtaposition of two perfects, each with vav consecutive, here indicates a conditional sentence (see GKC 337 §112.kk).
  37. Ruth 2:9 tn Heb “vessels (so KJV, NAB, NRSV), receptacles”; NCV “water jugs.”
  38. Ruth 2:9 tn Heb “drink [some] of that which” (KJV similar); in the context “water” is implied.
  39. Ruth 2:9 tn The imperfect here either indicates characteristic or typical activity, or anterior future, referring to a future action (drawing water) which logically precedes another future action (drinking).
  40. Ruth 2:10 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  41. Ruth 2:10 tn Heb “she fell upon her face and bowed to the ground” (KJV, NASB similar).
  42. Ruth 2:10 tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes…?” The expression מָצַא חֵן בְּעֵינֶי (matsaʾ khen beʿeney, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) is often characterized by the following features: (1) A subordinate or servant is requesting permission for something from a superior (master, owner, king). (2) The granting of the request is not a certainty but dependent on whether or not the superior is pleased with the subordinate to do so. (3) The granting of the request by the superior is an act of kindness or benevolence; however, it sometimes reciprocates loyalty previously shown by the subordinate to the superior (e.g., Gen 30:27; 32:6; 33:8, 10, 15; 34:11; 39:4; 47:25, 29; 50:4; Num 32:5; Deut 24:1; 1 Sam 1:18; 16:22; 20:3, 29; 27:3; 2 Sam 14:22; 16:4; 1 Kgs 11:19; Esth 5:8; 7:3; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). While Boaz had granted her request for permission to glean in his field, she is amazed at the degree of kindness he had shown—especially since she had done nothing, in her own mind, to merit such a display. However, Boaz explains that she had indeed shown kindness to him indirectly through her devotion to Naomi (v. 11).
  43. Ruth 2:10 tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes by [you] recognizing me.” The infinitive construct with prefixed ל (lamed) here indicates manner (“by”).
  44. Ruth 2:10 tn Heb “and I am a foreigner.” The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav + subject + predicate nominative) here has a circumstantial (i.e., concessive) function (“even though”).
  45. Ruth 2:10 sn The similarly spelled Hebrew terms נָכַר (nakhar, “to notice”) and נָכְרִי (nokhri, “foreigner”) in this verse form a homonymic wordplay. This highlights the unexpected nature of the attentiveness and concern Boaz displayed to Ruth.
  46. Ruth 2:11 tn Heb “answered and said to her” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons this has been translated as “replied to her.”
  47. Ruth 2:11 tn Heb “it has been fully reported to me.” The infinitive absolute here emphasizes the following finite verb from the same root. Here it emphasizes either the clarity of the report or its completeness. See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 153, n. 6. Most English versions tend toward the nuance of completeness (e.g., KJV “fully been shewed”; NAB “a complete account”; NASB, NRSV “All that you have done”).
  48. Ruth 2:11 tn The vav (ו) consecutive construction here has a specifying function. This and the following clause elaborate on the preceding general statement and explain more specifically what she did for her mother-in-law.
  49. Ruth 2:11 tn Heb “yesterday and the third day.” This Hebrew idiom means “previously, in the past” (Exod 5:7, 8, 14; Exod 21:29, 36; Deut 4:42; 19:4, 6; Josh 3:4; 1 Sam 21:5; 2 Sam 3:17; 1 Chr 11:2).
  50. Ruth 2:12 tn Heb “repay your work”; KJV, ASV “recompense thy work.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the jussive form in the next clause).
  51. Ruth 2:12 tn Heb “may your wages be complete”; NCV “May your wages be paid in full.” The prefixed verbal form is a distinct jussive form, indicating that this is a prayer for blessing.
  52. Ruth 2:12 tn Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”
  53. Ruth 2:13 tn Heb “I am finding favor in your eyes.” In v. 10, where Ruth uses the perfect, she simply states the fact that Boaz is kind. Here the Hebrew text switches to the imperfect, thus emphasizing the ongoing attitude of kindness displayed by Boaz. Many English versions treat this as a request: KJV “Let me find favour in thy sight”; NAB “May I prove worthy of your kindness”; NIV “May I continue to find favor in your eyes.”
  54. Ruth 2:13 tn Heb “my master”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “my lord.”
  55. Ruth 2:13 tn Or “comforted” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
  56. Ruth 2:13 tn Heb “spoken to the heart of.” As F. W. Bush points out, the idiom here means “to reassure, encourage” (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124).
  57. Ruth 2:13 tn Ruth here uses a word (שִׁפְחָה, shifkhah) that describes the lowest level of female servant (see 1 Sam 25:41). Note Ruth 3:9 where she uses the word אָמָה (ʾamah), which refers to a higher class of servant.
  58. Ruth 2:13 tn The imperfect verbal form of הָיָה (hayah) is used here. F. W. Bush shows from usage elsewhere that the form should be taken as future (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124-25).
  59. Ruth 2:13 tn Or “will never be the equivalent of one of your maidservants” (see F. Bush, Ruth [WBC], 107).
  60. Ruth 2:13 tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) is circumstantial (or concessive) here (“even though”).
  61. Ruth 2:14 tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).
  62. Ruth 2:14 tn Heb “your portion”; NRSV “your morsel.”
  63. Ruth 2:14 tn The Hebrew verb צָבַט (tsavat) occurs only here in the OT. Cf. KJV, ASV “he reached her”; NASB “he served her”; NIV “he offered her”; NRSV “he heaped up for her.” For discussion of its meaning, including the etymological evidence, see BDB 840 s.v.; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 174; and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 125-26.
  64. Ruth 2:14 tn Heb “and she ate and she was satisfied and she had some left over” (NASB similar).
  65. Ruth 2:15 tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NASB, NCV).
  66. Ruth 2:15 tn Heb “even between”; NCV “even around.”
  67. Ruth 2:15 tn Heb “do not humiliate her”; cf. KJV “reproach her not”; NASB “do not insult her”; NIV “don’t embarrass her.” This probably refers to a verbal rebuke which would single her out and embarrass her (see v. 16). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 176-77, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 126.
  68. Ruth 2:16 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis. Here שָׁלַל (shalal, “pull out”) is a homonym of the more common Hebrew verb meaning “to plunder.” An Arabic cognate is used of drawing a sword out of a scabbard (see BDB 1021 s.v.).
  69. Ruth 2:16 tn Heb “do not rebuke her” (so NASB, NRSV); CEV “don’t speak harshly to her”; NLT “don’t give her a hard time.”
  70. Ruth 2:17 tn Heb “she beat out” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT). Ruth probably used a stick to separate the kernels of grain from the husks. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
  71. Ruth 2:17 tn Heb “there was an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure, equivalent to one-tenth of a homer (see HALOT 43 s.v. אֵיפָה). An ephah was equivalent to a “bath,” a liquid measure. Jars labeled “bath” found at archaeological sites in Israel could contain approximately 5.8 gallons, or one-half to two-thirds of a bushel. Thus an ephah of barley would have weighed about 29 to 30 pounds (just over 13 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 179.sn This was a huge amount of barley for one woman to gather in a single day. It testifies both to Ruth’s industry and to Boaz’s generosity.
  72. Ruth 2:18 tc MT vocalizes ותרא as the Qal verb וַתֵּרֶא (vattereʾ, “and she saw”), consequently of “her mother-in-law” as subject and “what she gathered” as the direct object: “her mother-in-law saw what she gathered.” A few medieval Hebrew mss (also reflected in Syriac and Vulgate) have the Hiphil וַתַּרְא (vattarʾ, “and she showed”), consequently taking “her mother-in-law” as the direct object and “what she gathered” as the double direct-object: “she showed her mother-in-law what she had gathered” (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV, NLT). Although the latter has the advantage of making Ruth the subject of all the verbs in this verse, it would be syntactically difficult. For one would expect the accusative sign אֶת (ʾet) before “her mother-in-law” if it were the direct object of a Hiphil verb in a sentence with a double direct object introduced by the accusative sign אֶת, e.g., “to show (Hiphil of רָאָה, raʾah) your servant (direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) your greatness (double direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) (Deut 3:24). Therefore the MT reading is preferred.
  73. Ruth 2:18 tn Heb “that which”; the referent (how much grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  74. Ruth 2:18 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  75. Ruth 2:18 tn Heb “and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left over from her being satisfied.”
  76. Ruth 2:19 tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.
  77. Ruth 2:19 tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.
  78. Ruth 2:19 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  79. Ruth 2:20 tn Heb “Blessed be he to the Lord, who has not abandoned his loyalty.” The formula has (1) the passive participle “blessed,” followed by (2) a person (in this case “he”), followed by (3) the preposition and noun “to the Lord,” followed by (4) the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher, “who”). The issue is whether the relative pronoun refers back to the Lord or to Boaz (“he”). Many English versions translate: “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the Lord, who has not abandoned his loyalty to the living and dead.” In this rendering the pronoun אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) appears to refer to “the Lord” not abandoning his loyalty. But it actually refers to Boaz as is clarified by the similar construction in 2 Sam 2:5. The formula there says, “May you [plural] be blessed to the Lord, who you [plural] have extended such kindness to your master Saul.” The plural verb after “who” clarifies that the clause does not refer to the Lord. As a formula, the אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) clause, “who…,” modifies the person(s) to be blessed by the Lord, noting something the person(s) did to warrant the blessing. (Since the content of the clause provides a reason, it is fair to translate אֲשֶׁר [ʾasher, “who”] as “because.”) Some translations make the subordinate clause into a separate sentence, but this does not fully clarify the issue, e.g. “The Lord bless him…He has not stopped showing his kindness” (NIV). See B. A. Rebera, “Yahweh or Boaz? Ruth 2.20 Reconsidered,” BT 36 (1985): 317-27, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 134-36. By caring for the impoverished widows’ physical needs, Boaz had demonstrated loyalty to both the living (the impoverished widows) and the dead (their late husbands). See R. B. Chisholm, From Exegesis to Exposition, 72.
  80. Ruth 2:20 tn Heb “to the living and the dead” (so KJV, NASB).
  81. Ruth 2:20 tn The Hebrew term גָּאַל (gaʾal) is sometimes translated “redeemer” here (NIV “one of our kinsman-redeemers”; NLT “one of our family redeemers”). In this context Boaz, as a “redeemer,” functions as a guardian of the family interests who has responsibility for caring for the widows of his deceased kinsmen.
  82. Ruth 2:21 tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.
  83. Ruth 2:21 tn Heb “with the servants who are mine you may stay close.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here. The word “servants” is masculine plural.
  84. Ruth 2:21 tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”
  85. Ruth 2:22 tn Naomi uses the feminine form of the word “servant” (as Boaz did earlier, see v. 8), in contrast to Ruth’s use of the masculine form in the preceding verse. Since she is concerned for Ruth’s safety, she may be subtly reminding Ruth to stay with the female workers and not get too close to the men.
  86. Ruth 2:22 tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”
  87. Ruth 2:23 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  88. Ruth 2:23 tn Heb “and she stayed close with”; NIV, NRSV, CEV “stayed close to”; NCV “continued working closely with.”
  89. Ruth 2:23 sn Barley was harvested from late March through late April, wheat from late April to late May (O. Borowski, Agriculture in Ancient Israel, 88, 91).
  90. Ruth 2:23 tn Heb “and she lived with her mother-in-law” (so NASB). Some interpret this to mean that she lived with her mother-in-law while working in the harvest. In other words, she worked by day and then came home to Naomi each evening. Others understand this to mean that following the harvest she stayed at home each day with Naomi and no longer went out looking for work (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 140). Others even propose that she lived away from home during this period, but this seems unlikely. A few Hebrew mss (so also Latin Vulgate) support this view by reading, “and she returned to her mother-in-law.”
Acts 27

Paul and Company Sail for Rome

27 When it was decided we[a] would sail to Italy,[b] they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion[c] of the Augustan Cohort[d] named Julius. 2 We went on board[e] a ship from Adramyttium[f] that was about to sail to various ports[g] along the coast of the province of Asia[h] and put out to sea,[i] accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian[j] from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in[k] at Sidon,[l] and Julius, treating Paul kindly,[m] allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed.[n] 4 From there we put out to sea[o] and sailed under the lee[p] of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 After we had sailed across the open sea[q] off Cilicia and Pamphylia,[r] we put in[s] at Myra[t] in Lycia.[u] 6 There the centurion[v] found[w] a ship from Alexandria[x] sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7 We sailed slowly[y] for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus.[z] Because the wind prevented us from going any farther,[aa] we sailed under the lee[ab] of Crete off Salmone.[ac] 8 With difficulty we sailed along the coast[ad] of Crete[ae] and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea.[af]

Caught in a Violent Storm

9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous[ag] because the fast[ah] was already over,[ai] Paul advised them,[aj] 10 “Men, I can see the voyage is going to end[ak] in disaster[al] and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”[am] 11 But the centurion[an] was more convinced[ao] by the captain[ap] and the ship’s owner than by what Paul said.[aq] 12 Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided[ar] to put out to sea[as] from there. They hoped that[at] somehow they could reach[au] Phoenix,[av] a harbor of Crete facing[aw] southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought[ax] they could carry out[ay] their purpose, so they weighed anchor[az] and sailed close along the coast[ba] of Crete. 14 Not long after this, a hurricane-force[bb] wind called the northeaster[bc] blew down from the island.[bd] 15 When the ship was caught in it[be] and could not head into[bf] the wind, we gave way to it and were driven[bg] along. 16 As we ran under the lee of[bh] a small island called Cauda,[bi] we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat[bj] under control. 17 After the crew[bk] had hoisted it aboard,[bl] they used supports[bm] to undergird the ship. Fearing they would run aground[bn] on the Syrtis,[bo] they lowered the sea anchor,[bp] thus letting themselves be driven along. 18 The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm,[bq] they began throwing the cargo overboard,[br] 19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s gear[bs] overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent[bt] storm continued to batter us,[bu] we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.[bv]

21 Since many of them had no desire to eat,[bw] Paul[bx] stood up[by] among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me[bz] and not put out to sea[ca] from Crete, thus avoiding[cb] this damage and loss. 22 And now I advise[cc] you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost.[cd] 23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong[ce] and whom I serve[cf] came to me[cg] 24 and said,[ch] ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before[ci] Caesar,[cj] and God has graciously granted you the safety[ck] of all who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God[cl] that it will be just as I have been told. 26 But we must[cm] run aground on some island.”

27 When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven[cn] across the Adriatic Sea,[co] about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.[cp] 28 They took soundings[cq] and found the water was twenty fathoms[cr] deep; when they had sailed a little farther[cs] they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms[ct] deep. 29 Because they were afraid[cu] that we would run aground on the rocky coast,[cv] they threw out[cw] four anchors from the stern and wished[cx] for day to appear.[cy] 30 Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending[cz] that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion[da] and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you[db] cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes[dc] of the ship’s boat and let it drift away.[dd]

33 As day was about to dawn,[de] Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense[df] and have gone[dg] without food; you have eaten nothing.[dh] 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important[di] for your survival.[dj] For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, Paul[dk] took bread[dl] and gave thanks to God in front of them all,[dm] broke[dn] it, and began to eat. 36 So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276[do] persons on the ship.)[dp] 38 When they had eaten enough to be satisfied,[dq] they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat[dr] into the sea.

Paul is Shipwrecked

39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed[ds] a bay[dt] with a beach,[du] where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 So they slipped[dv] the anchors[dw] and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage[dx] that bound the steering oars[dy] together. Then they hoisted[dz] the foresail[ea] to the wind and steered toward[eb] the beach. 41 But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents[ec] and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force[ed] of the waves. 42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners[ee] so that none of them would escape by swimming away.[ef] 43 But the centurion,[eg] wanting to save Paul’s life,[eh] prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,[ei] 44 and the rest were to follow,[ej] some on planks[ek] and some on pieces of the ship.[el] And in this way[em] all were brought safely to land.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:1 sn This marks the beginning of one of the “we” sections in Acts (16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16). These have been traditionally understood to mean that the author was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.
  2. Acts 27:1 sn Sail to Italy. This voyage with its difficulty serves to show how God protected Paul on his long journey to Rome. From the perspective of someone in Palestine, this may well picture “the end of the earth” quite literally (cf. Acts 1:8).
  3. Acts 27:1 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  4. Acts 27:1 tn According to BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός, “In σπεῖρα Σεβαστή 27:1 (cp. OGI 421) Σεβαστή is likew. an exact transl. of Lat. Augusta, an honorary title freq. given to auxiliary troops (Ptolem. renders it Σεβαστή in connection w. three legions that bore it: 2, 3, 30; 2, 9, 18; 4, 3, 30) imperial cohort.” According to W. Foerster (TDNT 7:175), “In Ac. 27:1 the σπεῖρα Σεβαστή is an expression also found elsewhere for ‘auxiliary troops.’” In no case would this refer to a special imperial bodyguard, and to translate “imperial regiment” or “imperial cohort” might give this impression. There is some archaeological evidence for a Cohors Augusta I stationed in Syria during the time of Augustus, but whether this is the same unit is very debatable.sn The Augustan Cohort. A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion. There is considerable debate over the identification of this particular cohort and the meaning of the title Augustan mentioned here. These may well have been auxiliary (provincial) troops given the honorary title.
  5. Acts 27:2 tn Grk “Going on board.” The participle ἐπιβάντες (epibantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  6. Acts 27:2 sn Adramyttium was a seaport in Mysia on the western coast of Asia Minor.
  7. Acts 27:2 tn Grk “places.”
  8. Acts 27:2 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
  9. Acts 27:2 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 states, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”sn Although not explicitly stated, the ship put out to sea from the port of Caesarea (where the previous events had taken place (cf. 25:13) and then sailed along the Asiatic coast (the first stop was Sidon, v. 3).
  10. Acts 27:2 sn A Macedonian. The city of Thessalonica (modern Salonica) was in the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
  11. Acts 27:3 tn BDAG 516 s.v. κατάγω states, “Hence the pass., in act. sense, of ships and seafarers put in εἴς τι at a harbor…εἰς Σιδῶνα Ac 27:3.”
  12. Acts 27:3 sn Sidon is another seaport 75 mi (120 km) north of Caesarea.
  13. Acts 27:3 tn BDAG 1056 s.v. φιλανθρώπως states, “benevolently, kindly φιλανθρώπως χρῆσθαί (τινι) treat someone in kindly fashion…Ac 27:3.”sn Treating Paul kindly. Paul’s treatment followed the pattern of the earlier imprisonment (cf. Acts 24:23).
  14. Acts 27:3 tn Grk “to go to his friends to be cared for.” The scene is an indication of Christian hospitality.
  15. Acts 27:4 tn Grk “putting out to sea.” The participle ἀναχθέντες (anachthentes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 states, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
  16. Acts 27:4 tn BDAG 1040 s.v. ὑποπλέω states, “sail under the lee of an island, i.e. in such a way that the island protects the ship fr. the wind Ac 27:4, 7.” Thus they were east and north of the island.
  17. Acts 27:5 tn Grk “the depths,” the deep area of a sea far enough from land that it is not protected by the coast (L&N 1.73).
  18. Acts 27:5 sn Pamphylia was a province in the southern part of Asia Minor; it was west of Cilicia (see BDAG 753 s.v. Παμφυλία).
  19. Acts 27:5 tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “Of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’: arrive, put in…ἔις τι at someth. a harbor 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”
  20. Acts 27:5 sn Myra was a city on the southern coast of Lycia in Asia Minor. This journey from Sidon (v. 3) was 440 mi (700 km) and took about 15 days.
  21. Acts 27:5 sn Lycia was the name of a peninsula on the southern coast of Asia Minor between Caria and Pamphylia.
  22. Acts 27:6 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  23. Acts 27:6 tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρών (heurōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  24. Acts 27:6 sn Alexandria (modern Alexandria) was a great city of northern Egypt which was a center for grain trade to Rome. Therefore this type of travel connection was common at the time. For a winter journey (considered hazardous) there were special bonuses and insurance provided (Suetonius, Life of Claudius 18.1-2).
  25. Acts 27:7 tn The participle βραδυπλοοῦντες (braduploountes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  26. Acts 27:7 sn Cnidus was the name of a peninsula on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. This was about 130 mi (210 km) from Myra.
  27. Acts 27:7 tn This genitive absolute construction with προσεῶντος (proseōntos) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 13.139 translates the phrase μὴ προσεῶντος ἡμᾶς τοῦ ἀνέμου (mē proseōntos hēmas tou anemou) as “the wind would not let us go any farther.”
  28. Acts 27:7 tn BDAG 1040 s.v. ὑποπλέω states, “sail under the lee of an island, i.e. in such a way that the island protects the ship fr. the wind Ac 27:4, 7.”
  29. Acts 27:7 sn Salmone was the name of a promontory on the northeastern corner of the island of Crete. This was about 100 mi (160 km) farther along.
  30. Acts 27:8 tn Grk “sailing along the coast…we came.” The participle παραλεγόμενοι (paralegomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 54.8, “παραλέγομαι: (a technical, nautical term) to sail along beside some object—‘to sail along the coast, to sail along the shore.’…‘they sailed along the coast of Crete’ Ac 27:13.”
  31. Acts 27:8 tn Grk “it”; the referent (Crete) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  32. Acts 27:8 sn Lasea was a city on the southern coast of the island of Crete. This was about 60 mi (96 km) farther.
  33. Acts 27:9 tn Or “unsafe” (BDAG 383 s.v. ἐπισφαλής). The term is a NT hapax legomenon.
  34. Acts 27:9 sn The fast refers to the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. It was now into October and the dangerous winter winds would soon occur (Suetonius, Life of Claudius 18; Josephus, J. W. 1.14.2-3 [1.279-281]).
  35. Acts 27:9 tn The accusative articular infinitive παρεληλυθέναι (parelēluthenai) after the preposition διά (dia) is causal. BDAG 776 s.v. παρέρχομαι 2 has “διὰ τὸ τὴν νηστείαν ἤδη παρεληλυθέναι because the fast was already over Ac 27:9.”
  36. Acts 27:9 tn Grk “Paul advised, saying to them.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated. On the term translated “advised,” see BDAG 764 s.v. παραινέω, which usually refers to recommendations.sn Paul advised them. A literary theme surfaces here: Though Paul is under arrest, he will be the one to guide them all through the dangers of the storm and shipwreck, showing clearly God’s presence and protection of him. The story is told in great detail. This literary effect of slowing down the passage of time and narrating with many details serves to add a sense of drama to the events described.
  37. Acts 27:10 tn Grk “is going to be with disaster.”
  38. Acts 27:10 tn Or “hardship,” “damage.” BDAG 1022 s.v. ὕβρις 3 states, “fig. hardship, disaster, damage caused by the elements…w. ζημία Ac 27:10.”
  39. Acts 27:10 tn Grk “souls” (here, one’s physical life).
  40. Acts 27:11 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  41. Acts 27:11 tn Or “persuaded.”
  42. Acts 27:11 tn BDAG 456 s.v. κυβερνήτης 1 has “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster…W. ναύκληρος, the ‘shipowner’…Ac 27:11” See further L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, 316-18.
  43. Acts 27:11 tn Grk “than by what was said by Paul.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation.sn More convinced by the captain and the ship’s owner than by what Paul said. The position taken by the centurion was logical, since he was following “professional” advice. But this was not a normal voyage.
  44. Acts 27:12 tn BDAG 181-82 s.v. βουλή 2.a, “β. τίθεσθαι (Judg 19:30; Ps 12:3) decide 27:12 (w. inf. foll.).”
  45. Acts 27:12 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
  46. Acts 27:12 tn Grk “from there, if somehow” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation and the introductory phrase “They hoped that” supplied (with the subject, “they,” repeated from the previous clause) to make a complete English sentence.
  47. Acts 27:12 tn Grk “if somehow, reaching Phoenix, they could…” The participle καταντήσαντες (katantēsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  48. Acts 27:12 sn Phoenix was a seaport on the southern coast of the island of Crete. This was about 30 mi (48 km) farther west.
  49. Acts 27:12 tn Or “a harbor of Crete open to the southwest and northwest.”
  50. Acts 27:13 tn Grk “thinking.” The participle δόξαντες (doxantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  51. Acts 27:13 tn Or “accomplish.” L&N 68.29, for κρατέω, has “to be able to complete or finish, presumably despite difficulties—‘to accomplish, to do successfully, to carry out.’…‘thinking that they could carry out their purpose’ Ac 27:13.”
  52. Acts 27:13 tn Or “departed.”
  53. Acts 27:13 tn L&N 54.8, “παραλέγομαι: (a technical, nautical term) to sail along beside some object—‘to sail along the coast, to sail along the shore.’…‘they sailed along the coast of Crete’ Ac 27:13.” With the addition of the adverb ἆσσον (asson) this becomes “sailed close along the coast of Crete.”
  54. Acts 27:14 tn Grk “a wind like a typhoon.” That is, a very violent wind like a typhoon or hurricane (BDAG 1021 s.v. τυφωνικός).
  55. Acts 27:14 sn Or called Euraquilo (the actual name of the wind, a sailor’s term which was a combination of Greek and Latin). According to Strabo (Geography 1.2.21), this was a violent northern wind.
  56. Acts 27:14 tn Grk “from it”; the referent (the island) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  57. Acts 27:15 tn Or “was forced off course.” Grk “The ship being caught in it.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle συναρπασθέντος (sunarpasthentos) has been taken temporally; it could also be translated as causal (“Because the ship was caught in it”).
  58. Acts 27:15 tn BDAG 91 s.v. ἀντοφθαλμέω states, “Metaph. of a ship τοῦ πλοίου μὴ δυναμένοι ἀ. τῷ ἀνέμῳ since the ship was not able to face the wind, i.e. with its bow headed against the forces of the waves Ac 27:15.”
  59. Acts 27:15 sn Caught in the violent wind, the ship was driven along. They were now out of control, at the mercy of the wind and sea.
  60. Acts 27:16 tn BDAG 1042 s.v. ὑποτρέχω states, “run or sail under the lee of, nautical t.t.…Ac 27:16.” The participle ὑποδραμόντες (hupodramontes) has been taken temporally (“as we ran under the lee of”). While this could also be translated as a participle of means (“by running…”) this might suggest the ship was still under a greater degree of control by its crew than it probably was.
  61. Acts 27:16 sn Cauda. This island was located south of Crete, about 23 mi (36 km) from where they began. There are various ways to spell the island’s name (e.g., Clauda, BDAG 546 s.v. Κλαῦδα).
  62. Acts 27:16 sn The ship’s boat was a small rowboat, normally towed behind a ship in good weather rather than stowed on board. It was used for landings, to maneuver the ship for tacking, and to lay anchors (not a lifeboat in the modern sense, although it could have served as a means of escape for some of the sailors; see v. 30). See L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, 248f.
  63. Acts 27:17 tn Grk “After hoisting it up, they…”; the referent (the ship’s crew) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  64. Acts 27:17 tn The participle ἄραντες (arantes) has been taken temporally.
  65. Acts 27:17 tn Possibly “ropes” or “cables”; Grk “helps” (a word of uncertain meaning; probably a nautical technical term, BDAG 180 s.v. βοήθεια 2).
  66. Acts 27:17 tn BDAG 308 s.v. ἐκπίπτω 2 states, “drift off course, run aground, nautical term εἴς τι on someth….on the Syrtis 27:17.”
  67. Acts 27:17 tn That is, on the sandbars and shallows of the Syrtis.sn On the Syrtis. The Syrtis was the name of two gulfs on the North African coast (modern Libya), feared greatly by sailors because of their shifting sandbars and treacherous shallows. The Syrtis here is the so-called Great Syrtis, toward Cyrenaica. It had a horrible reputation as a sailors’ graveyard (Pliny, Natural History 5.26). Josephus (J. W. 2.16.4 [2.381]) says the name alone struck terror in those who heard it. It was near the famous Scylla and Charybdis mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey.
  68. Acts 27:17 tn Or perhaps “mainsail.” The meaning of this word is uncertain. BDAG 927 s.v. σκεῦος 1 has “τὸ σκεῦος Ac 27:17 seems to be the kedge or driving anchor” while C. Maurer (TDNT 7:362) notes, “The meaning in Ac. 27:17: χαλάσαντες τὸ σκεῦος, is uncertain. Prob. the ref. is not so much to taking down the sails as to throwing the draganchor overboard to lessen the speed of the ship.” In spite of this L&N 6.1 states, “In Ac 27:17, for example, the reference of σκεῦος is generally understood to be the mainsail.” A reference to the sail is highly unlikely because in a storm of the force described in Ac 27:14, the sail would have been taken down and reefed immediately, to prevent its being ripped to shreds or torn away by the gale.
  69. Acts 27:18 tn BDAG 980 s.v. σφόδρῶς states, “very much, greatly, violently…σφ. χειμάζεσθαι be violently beaten by a storm Ac 27:18.”
  70. Acts 27:18 tn Or “jettisoning [the cargo]” (a nautical technical term). The words “the cargo” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.sn The desperation of the sailors in throwing the cargo overboard is reminiscent of Jonah 1:5. At this point they were only concerned with saving themselves.
  71. Acts 27:19 tn Or “rigging,” “tackle”; Grk “the ship’s things.” Here the more abstract “gear” is preferred to “rigging” or “tackle” as a translation for σκεῦος (skeuos) because in v. 40 the sailors are still able to raise the (fore)sail, which they could not have done if the ship’s rigging or tackle had been jettisoned here.
  72. Acts 27:20 tn Grk “no small storm” = a very great storm.
  73. Acts 27:20 tn Grk “no small storm pressing on us.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ἐπικειμένου (epikeimenou) has been translated as parallel to the previous genitive absolute construction (which was translated as temporal). BDAG 373 s.v. ἐπίκειμαι 2.b states, “of impersonal force confront χειμῶνος ἐπικειμένου since a storm lay upon us Ac 27:20.” L&N 14.2, “‘the stormy weather did not abate in the least’ or ‘the violent storm continued’ Ac 27:20.” To this last was added the idea of “battering” from the notion of “pressing upon” inherent in ἐπίκειμαι (epikeimai).
  74. Acts 27:20 tn Grk “finally all hope that we would be saved was abandoned.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one to simplify the translation. This represents a clearly secular use of the term σῴζω (sōzō) in that it refers to deliverance from the storm. At this point those on board the ship gave up hope of survival.
  75. Acts 27:21 tn Or “Since they had no desire to eat for a long time.” The genitive absolute construction with the participle ὑπαρχούσης (huparchousēs) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. It could also be translated temporally (“When many of them had no desire to eat”). The translation of πολλῆς (pollēs) as a substantized adjective referring to the people on board the ship (“many of them”) rather than a period of time (“for a long time”; so most modern versions) follows BDAG 143 s.v. ἀσιτία, which has “πολλῆς ἀ. ὑπαρχούσης since almost nobody wanted to eat because of anxiety or seasickness…Ac 27:21.” This detail indicates how turbulent things were on board the ship.
  76. Acts 27:21 tn Here τότε (tote) is redundant (pleonastic) according to BDAG 1012-13 s.v. τότε 2; thus it has not been translated.
  77. Acts 27:21 tn Grk “standing up…said.” The participle σταθείς (statheis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  78. Acts 27:21 tn L&N 36.12 has “πειθαρχήσαντάς μοι μὴ ἀνάγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς Κρήτης ‘you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete’ Ac 27:21.”sn By saying “you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete” Paul was not “rubbing it in,” but was reasserting his credibility before giving his next recommendation.
  79. Acts 27:21 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (ἀ. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”
  80. Acts 27:21 tn The infinitive κερδῆσαι (kerdēsai) has been translated as resultative.
  81. Acts 27:22 tn The same verb is used for Paul’s original recommendation in Ac 27:9.
  82. Acts 27:22 tn Grk “except the ship.” Here “but” is used to translate the improper preposition πλήν (plēn; see BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 2) since an exception like this, where two different categories of objects are involved (people and a ship), is more naturally expressed in contemporary English with an adversative (“but”). The words “will be lost” are also supplied for clarity.sn The “prophecy” about the ship serves to underscore Paul’s credibility as an agent of God. Paul addressed his audience carefully and drew attention to the sovereign knowledge of God.
  83. Acts 27:23 tn Grk “of whom I am.” The relative clause was translated following L&N 15.86 s.v. παρίσταμαι.
  84. Acts 27:23 tn Or “worship.”
  85. Acts 27:23 tn Or “stood by me.” BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “approach, come τινί (to) someone…Ac 9:39; 27:23.”
  86. Acts 27:24 tn Grk “came to me saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  87. Acts 27:24 tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “Also as a t.t. of legal usage appear before, come before…Καίσαρι σε δεῖ παραστῆναι you must stand before the Emperor (as judge) Ac 27:24.” See Acts 23:11. Luke uses the verb δεῖ (dei) to describe what must occur.
  88. Acts 27:24 tn Or “before the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
  89. Acts 27:24 tn Grk “God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.” The words “the safety of” have been supplied to clarify the meaning of the verb κεχάρισται (kecharistai) in this context.sn The safety of all who are sailing with you. In a sense, Paul’s presence protects them all. For Luke, it serves as a picture of what the gospel does through Christ and through the one who brings the message.
  90. Acts 27:25 tn BDAG 817 s.v. πιστεύω 1.c states, “w. pers. and thing added π. τινί τι believe someone with regard to someth….W. dat. of pers. and ὅτι foll…. πιστεύετέ μοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί J 14:11a. Cf. 4:21; Ac 27:25.”
  91. Acts 27:26 tn This is another use of δεῖ (dei) to indicate necessity (see also v. 24). Acts 28:1 shows the fulfillment of this.
  92. Acts 27:27 tn Here “being driven” has been used to translate διαφέρω (diapherō) rather than “drifting,” because it is clear from the attempt to drop anchors in v. 29 that the ship is still being driven by the gale. “Drifting” implies lack of control, but not necessarily rapid movement.
  93. Acts 27:27 sn The Adriatic Sea. They were now somewhere between Crete and Malta.
  94. Acts 27:27 tn Grk “suspected that some land was approaching them.” BDAG 876 s.v. προσάγω 2.a states, “lit. ὑπενόουν προσάγειν τινά αὐτοῖς χώραν they suspected that land was near (lit. ‘approaching them’) Ac 27:27.” Current English idiom would speak of the ship approaching land rather than land approaching the ship.
  95. Acts 27:28 tn Grk “Heaving the lead, they found.” The participle βολίσαντες (bolisantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. See also BDAG 180 s.v. βολίζω. Although the term is used twice in this verse (and thus is technically not a NT hapax legomenon), it occurs nowhere else in the NT.
  96. Acts 27:28 sn A fathom is about 6 feet or just under 2 meters (originally the length of a man’s outstretched arms). This was a nautical technical term for measuring the depth of water. Here it was about 120 ft (36 m).
  97. Acts 27:28 tn L&N 15.12, “βραχὺ δὲ διαστήσαντες ‘when they had gone a little farther’ Ac 27:28.”
  98. Acts 27:28 sn Here the depth was about 90 ft (27 m).
  99. Acts 27:29 tn Grk “fearing.” The participle φοβούμενοι (phoboumenoi) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
  100. Acts 27:29 tn Grk “against a rough [rocky] place.” L&N 79.84 has “φοβούμενοί τε μή που κατὰ τραχεῖς τόποις ἐκπέσωμεν ‘we were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast’ Ac 27:29.”
  101. Acts 27:29 tn Grk “throwing out…they.” The participle ῥίψαντες (rhipsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  102. Acts 27:29 tn BDAG 417 s.v. εὔχομαι 2 states, “wish…τὶ for someth.…Foll. by acc. and inf….Ac 27:29.” The other possible meaning for this term, “pray,” is given in BDAG 417 s.v. 1 and employed by a number of translations (NAB, NRSV, NIV). If this meaning is adopted here, then “prayed for day to come” must be understood metaphorically to mean “prayed that they would live to see the day,” or “prayed that it would soon be day.”
  103. Acts 27:29 tn Grk “and wished for day to come about.”sn And wished for day to appear. The sailors were hoping to hold the ship in place until morning, when they could see what was happening and where they were.
  104. Acts 27:30 tn BDAG 889 s.v. πρόφασις 2 states, “προφάσει ὡς under the pretext that, pretending that…Ac 27:30.” In other words, some of the sailors gave up hope that such efforts would work and instead attempted to escape while pretending to help.
  105. Acts 27:31 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  106. Acts 27:31 sn The pronoun you is plural in Greek.
  107. Acts 27:32 sn The soldiers cut the ropes. The centurion and the soldiers were now following Paul’s advice by cutting the ropes to prevent the sailors from escaping.
  108. Acts 27:32 tn Or “let it fall away.” According to BDAG 308 s.v. ἐκπίπτω 1 and 2 the meaning of the verb in this verse could be either “fall away” or “drift away.” Either meaning is acceptable, and the choice between them depends almost entirely on how one reconstructs the scene. Since cutting the boat loose would in any case result in it drifting away (whether capsized or not), the meaning “drift away” as a nautical technical term has been used here.
  109. Acts 27:33 tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.b.α has “ἄ. οὗ ἡμέρα ἤμελλεν γίνεσθαι until the day began to dawn 27:33.”
  110. Acts 27:33 tn Or “have waited anxiously.” Grk “waiting anxiously.” The participle προσδοκῶντες (prosdokōntes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  111. Acts 27:33 tn Or “continued.”
  112. Acts 27:33 tn Grk “having eaten nothing.” The participle προσλαβόμενοι (proslabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb (with subject “you” supplied) due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  113. Acts 27:34 tn Or “necessary.” BDAG 873-74 s.v. πρός 1 has “πρ. τῆς σωτηρίας in the interest of safety Ac 27:34”; L&N 27.18 has “‘therefore, I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your deliverance’ or ‘…for your survival’ Ac 27:34.”
  114. Acts 27:34 tn Or “deliverance” (‘salvation’ in a nontheological sense).
  115. Acts 27:35 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  116. Acts 27:35 tn Grk “taking bread, gave thanks.” The participle λαβών (labōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  117. Acts 27:35 tn Or “before them all,” but here this could be misunderstood to indicate a temporal sequence.
  118. Acts 27:35 tn Grk “and breaking it, he began.” The participle κλάσας (klasas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  119. Acts 27:37 tc One early ms (B) and an early version (sa) read “about seventy-six.” For discussion of how this variant probably arose, see F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles, 465.
  120. Acts 27:37 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  121. Acts 27:38 tn Or “When they had eaten their fill.”
  122. Acts 27:38 tn Or “grain.”
  123. Acts 27:39 tn Or “observed,” “saw.”
  124. Acts 27:39 tn Or “gulf” (BDAG 557 s.v. κόλπος 3).
  125. Acts 27:39 sn A beach would refer to a smooth sandy beach suitable for landing.
  126. Acts 27:40 tn That is, released. Grk “slipping…leaving.” The participles περιελόντες (perielontes) and εἴων (eiōn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  127. Acts 27:40 tn The term is used of a ship’s anchor. (BDAG 12 s.v. ἄγκυρα a).
  128. Acts 27:40 tn Grk “bands”; possibly “ropes.”
  129. Acts 27:40 tn Or “rudders.”
  130. Acts 27:40 tn Grk “hoisting…they.” The participle ἐπάραντες (eparantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  131. Acts 27:40 tn Grk “sail”; probably a reference to the foresail.
  132. Acts 27:40 tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατέχω 7 states, “hold course, nautical t.t., intr….κατεῖχον εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν they headed for the beach Ac 27:40.”
  133. Acts 27:41 tn Grk “fell upon a place of two seas.” The most common explanation for this term is that it refers to a reef or sandbar with the sea on both sides, as noted in BDAG 245 s.v. διθάλασσος: the “τόπος δ. Ac 27:41 is a semantic unit signifying a point (of land jutting out with water on both sides).” However, Greek had terms for a “sandbank” (θῖς [this], ταινία [tainia]), a “reef” (ἑρμα [herma]), “strait” (στενόν [stenon]), “promontory” (ἀρωτήρον [arōtēron]), and other nautical hazards, none of which are used by the author here. NEB here translates τόπον διθάλασσον (topon dithalasson) as “cross-currents,” a proposal close to that advanced by J. M. Gilchrist, “The Historicity of Paul’s Shipwreck,” JSNT 61 (1996): 29-51, who suggests the meaning is “a patch of cross-seas,” where the waves are set at an angle to the wind, a particular hazard for sailors. Thus the term most likely refers to some sort of adverse sea conditions rather than a topographical feature like a reef or sandbar.
  134. Acts 27:41 tn Or “violence” (BDAG 175 s.v. βία a).
  135. Acts 27:42 sn The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners. The issue here was not cruelty, but that the soldiers would be legally responsible if any prisoners escaped and would suffer punishment themselves. So they were planning to do this as an act of self-preservation. See Acts 16:27 for a similar incident.
  136. Acts 27:42 tn The participle ἐκκολυμβήσας (ekkolumbēsas) has been taken instrumentally.
  137. Acts 27:43 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  138. Acts 27:43 tn Or “wanting to rescue Paul.”sn Thanks to the centurion who wanted to save Paul’s life, Paul was once more rescued from a potential human threat.
  139. Acts 27:43 tn BDAG 347 s.v. I. ἔξειμι has “ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν get to land Ac 27:43.”
  140. Acts 27:44 tn The words “were to follow” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They must be supplied to clarify the sense in contemporary English.
  141. Acts 27:44 tn Or “boards” according to BDAG 913 s.v. σανίς.
  142. Acts 27:44 tn Grk “on pieces from the ship”; that is, pieces of wreckage from the ship.sn Both the planks and pieces of the ship were for the weak or nonswimmers. The whole scene is a historical metaphor representing how listening to Paul and his message could save people.
  143. Acts 27:44 tn Grk “And in this way it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Jeremiah 37

Introduction to Incidents During the Reign of Zedekiah

37 Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jeconiah[a] son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.[b] 2 Neither he nor the officials who served him nor the people of Judah paid any attention to what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah.[c]

The Lord Responds to Zedekiah’s Hope for Help

3 King Zedekiah sent[d] Jehucal[e] son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah[f] son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah to say, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” 4 (Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison.[g] So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased.[h] 5 At that time the Babylonian forces[i] had temporarily given up their siege against Jerusalem. They had had it under siege, but withdrew when they heard that the army of Pharaoh had set out from Egypt.[j]) 6 The Lord’s message came to the prophet Jeremiah, 7 “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘This is what you must say to the king of Judah who sent you to seek my help.[k] “Beware,[l] Pharaoh’s army that was on its way to help you is about to go back home to Egypt.[m] 8 Then the Babylonian forces[n] will return. They will attack the city and will capture it and burn it down. 9 Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces[o] will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away.[p] 10 For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces[q] fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”’”[r]

Jeremiah is Charged with Deserting, Arrested, and Imprisoned

11 The following events also occurred[s] while the Babylonian forces[t] had temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem because the army of Pharaoh was coming. 12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin. He wanted to make sure he got his share of the property that was being divided up among his family there.[u] 13 But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate.[v] There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah,[w] who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said,[x] “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”[y] 14 Jeremiah answered, “That’s a lie! I am not deserting to the Babylonians.”[z] But Irijah would not listen to him. Irijah put Jeremiah under arrest and took him to the officials. 15 The officials were very angry[aa] with Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners.[ab]

16 So[ac] Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house.[ad] He[ae] was kept there for a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him,[af] “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced,[ag] “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”[ah] 18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you, or the officials who serve you, or the people of Judah? What have I done to make you people throw me into prison?[ai] 19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that[aj] the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land? 20 But now please listen, your royal Majesty,[ak] and grant my plea for mercy.[al] Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary. If you do, I will die there.”[am] 21 Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread[an] be given to him every day from the bakers’ street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept[ao] in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 37:1 tn Heb “Coniah.” For explanation of the rendering here see the translator’s note on 22:24.
  2. Jeremiah 37:1 tn Heb “And Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, ruled as king instead of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.” The sentence has been restructured and simplified to better conform to contemporary English style.
  3. Jeremiah 37:2 sn These two verses (37:1-2) are introductory to chs. 37-38 and aim to characterize Zedekiah and his regime as disobedient, just as Jehoiakim and his regime had been (Jer 36:27; cf. 2 Kgs 24:19-20). This characterization is important because Zedekiah is portrayed in the incidents that follow in 37-38 as seeking the Lord’s help or seeking a word from the Lord. However, though he did send to inquire of Jeremiah three times, he did not pay attention to the warnings he received in reply and so was ultimately responsible for the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 39). As elsewhere in this book, Jeconiah’s reign is passed over in silence because it was negligible, and Jeremiah did not wish to legitimize the hopes of many in Israel and Babylon that Jeconiah would return from exile and resume rule over Judah (see further the study notes on 22:24, 30 and 36:30).
  4. Jeremiah 37:3 sn This is the second of two delegations that Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for a miraculous deliverance. Both of them occurred against the background of the siege of Jerusalem instigated by Zedekiah’s rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar and sending to Egypt for help (cf. Ezek 17:15). The earlier delegation (21:1-2) was sent before Nebuchadnezzar had clamped down on Jerusalem, for the Judean forces at that time were still fighting against the Babylonian forces in the open field (see 21:4 and the translator’s note there). Here the siege has been lifted because the Babylonian troops have heard a report that the Egyptian army is on its way into Palestine to give Judeans the promised aid (vv. 5, 7). The request is briefer here than in 21:2, but the intent is no doubt the same (see also the study note on 21:2).
  5. Jeremiah 37:3 sn Jehucal was one of the officials who later sought to have Jeremiah put to death for what they considered treason (38:1-4).
  6. Jeremiah 37:3 sn The priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, a member of the earlier delegation (21:2), was the chief of security in the temple to whom the Babylonian false prophet wrote a letter complaining that Jeremiah should be locked up for his treasonous prophecies (29:25-26). See the study notes on 21:2 and 29:25 for further details.
  7. Jeremiah 37:4 sn This statement anticipates v. 15. Verses 3-4 are parenthetical to the narrative thread, which is picked up in v. 5. They provide background information necessary for understanding the situation at the time the delegation comes to Jeremiah.
  8. Jeremiah 37:4 tn The words “as he pleased” are not in the text but are implicit in the idiom, both in Hebrew and in English. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity and the sake of English idiom.
  9. Jeremiah 37:5 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  10. Jeremiah 37:5 tn Heb “And the army of Pharaoh had set out from Egypt, and the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard a report about them, and they went up from besieging them.” The sentence has been restructured and reworded to give greater emphasis to the most pertinent fact, i.e., that the siege had been temporarily lifted. The word “temporarily” is not in the text but is implicit from the rest of the context. It is supplied in the translation here to better show that the information in vv. 4-5 is all parenthetical, providing a background for the oracle that will follow. For the meaning “given up their siege against” (Heb “had taken themselves away from against”) see BDB 749 s.v. עָלָה Niph.1.c(2); 759 s.v. עַל IV.2.b.sn The Pharaoh referred to here is Pharaoh Hophra, who is named in Jer 44:30. He ruled from 589-570 b.c. Shortly after he began to rule, Zedekiah was enticed by some of the officials in his court to appeal to him for aid. This act of rebellion quickly brought Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath, and he invaded Judah, blockading Jerusalem and reducing the fortified cities of Judah one by one. According to Jer 39:1, the siege began in Zedekiah’s ninth year (589/88 b.c.) and lasted until his eleventh year, when Jerusalem fell (587/86 b.c.). The army of Pharaoh likely came sometime during 588 b.c.
  11. Jeremiah 37:7 tn Heb “to seek me.” The verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) could imply “inquiring” to gain information about what will happen, including a prophetic oracle (cf. 1 Kgs 14:5; 2 Kgs 8:8), but could also denote “seeking help” from someone (cf. Isa 31:1; 2 Chr 16:12; 20:3), perhaps via prayer (see v. 3). Both may be involved here, as a praying prophet might receive a message from the Lord.
  12. Jeremiah 37:7 tn Heb “Take note.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) here calls attention to a warning and syntactically sets up the following participle to indicate the near future (“is about to”).
  13. Jeremiah 37:7 tn Heb “will go back to its land, Egypt.”
  14. Jeremiah 37:8 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  15. Jeremiah 37:9 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  16. Jeremiah 37:9 tn Heb “Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from against us,” because they will not go away.’” The first person, “I, the Lord,” has been used because the whole of vv. 7-8 has been a quote from the Lord, and it would be confusing to go back and start a separate quote. The use of indirect rather than direct quotation avoids proliferation of quote marks at the end and the possible confusion that creates.
  17. Jeremiah 37:10 tn Heb “all the army of the Chaldeans.” For the rendering “Babylonian” in place of Chaldean, see the study note on 21:4.
  18. Jeremiah 37:10 tn The condition here is, of course, purely hypothetical, and the consequence is a poetic exaggeration. The intent is to assure Zedekiah that there is absolutely no hope of the city being spared.
  19. Jeremiah 37:11 tn The words “The following events also occurred” are not in the text. They are a way to introduce the incidents recorded in 37:11-21 without creating a long, complex sentence in English as the Hebrew does. The Hebrew of vv. 11-12a reads, “And it was/happened while the army of the Chaldeans had taken themselves up from against Jerusalem because of Pharoah's army, Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to take part…” For the rendering “temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem,” see the translator’s note on v. 5. The words “was coming” are not in the text either but are implicit and have been supplied in the translation for clarity and smooth English.
  20. Jeremiah 37:11 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  21. Jeremiah 37:12 tn The meaning of this last sentence is somewhat uncertain. The Hebrew expression here occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible, and its meaning is debated. The verb is pointed as a shortened form of the Hiphil infinitive construct of חָלַק (khalaq; see GKC 148 §53.q for explanation of the phenomenon and other examples). There are, however, no other examples of the use of this verb in the Hiphil. BDB 324 s.v. חָלַק Hiph defines it as “receive a portion,” explains it as a denominative from חֵלֶק (kheleq, “portion”), but says that the form is dubious. KBL s.v. חָלַק Hif defines it as “take part in dividing,” but that does not fit the prepositional phrase that follows (מִשָּׁם, misham, “from there”) as well as “to receive a portion.” The Greek version did not understand this of dividing property but of conducting business. Later revisions of the Greek and the Latin version, however, did understand it of “taking a share.” The translation of BDB has been expanded to better reflect the probable situation. For the noun עַם (ʿam) with the meaning of “family,” compare the usage in Job 18:19. For a fuller discussion of the probable situation, see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 633-34.sn Though some commentators disagree, this transaction should not be viewed as subsequent to the transaction recorded in Jer 32 and seen as an attempt to take possession of a field that he had already bought. The transaction in Jer 32 took place sometime later after he had been confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse (compare 32:2 with 37:21) and involved his buying a near relative’s field. The word used here refers to “getting one’s own share” (compare 1 Sam 30:24 and Josh 15:13; see also Mic 2:4), not taking possession of someone else’s. “There” refers to the territory of Benjamin just mentioned, but more specifically to Jeremiah’s hometown, Anathoth (cf. 1:1).
  22. Jeremiah 37:13 sn The Benjamin Gate would have been a gate in the northern wall leading out toward the territory of Benjamin. It is mentioned only here, in Jer 38:7, and in Zech 14:10.
  23. Jeremiah 37:13 sn Nothing further is known about Irijah. It is generally agreed that the Hananiah mentioned here is not the same as the false prophet of the same name whom Jeremiah confronted approximately six years earlier (28:1, 5, 10, 15).
  24. Jeremiah 37:13 tn Heb “And he was in the gate of Benjamin, and there was an officer of the guard whose name [more literally, and his name] was Irijah…and he seized the prophet Jeremiah, saying.” The sentence has been broken down and simplified to better conform with contemporary English style.
  25. Jeremiah 37:13 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.sn Irijah’s charge was based on the suspicion that Jeremiah was following his own counsel to the people to surrender to the Babylonians if they wanted to save their lives (Jer 21:9).
  26. Jeremiah 37:14 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
  27. Jeremiah 37:15 sn The officials mentioned here are not the same as those mentioned in Jer 36:12, most of whom were favorably disposed toward Jeremiah, or at least regarded what he said with enough trepidation to try to protect him and preserve the scroll containing his messages (36:16, 19, 24). All those officials had been taken into exile with Jeconiah in 597 b.c. (2 Kgs 24:14).
  28. Jeremiah 37:15 tn Heb “for they had made it into the house of confinement.” The causal particle does not fit the English sentence very well, and “house of confinement” needs some explanation. Some translate this word “prison,” but that creates redundancy with the earlier word translated “prison” (בֵּית הָאֵסוּר, bet haʾesur, “house of the band/binding”), which is more closely related to the concept of prison (cf. אָסִיר, ʾasir, “prisoner”). It is clear from the next verse that Jeremiah was confined in a cell in the dungeon of this place.
  29. Jeremiah 37:16 tn The particle כִּי (ki) here is probably temporal, introducing the protasis to the main clause in v. 17 (cf. BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.a). However, that would make the translation too long. The present translation, “So,” does what several modern English versions do here, though there are no parallels listed for this nuance in the lexicons.
  30. Jeremiah 37:16 tn Heb “Jeremiah came into the house of the pit [= “dungeon,” BDB 92 s.v. בּוֹר 4 and compare usage in Gen 40:15 and 41:14] and into the cells [this word occurs only here; it is defined on the basis of the cognate languages (cf. BDB 333 s.v. חָנוּת)].” The sentence has been restructured and some words supplied in the translation to better relate it to the preceding context.
  31. Jeremiah 37:16 tn Heb “Jeremiah.” But the proper name is somewhat redundant and unnecessary in a modern translation.
  32. Jeremiah 37:17 tn Heb “Then King Zedekiah sent and brought him, and the king asked him privately [or more literally, in secret] and said.”
  33. Jeremiah 37:17 tn Heb “Then he said.”
  34. Jeremiah 37:17 sn Jeremiah’s answer, even under duress, was the same that he had given Zedekiah earlier. (See Jer 34:3 and see the study note on 34:1 for the relative timing of these two incidents.)
  35. Jeremiah 37:18 tn Heb “What crime have I committed against you, or your servants, or this people that you [masc. pl.] have put me in prison?” Some of the terms have been expanded for clarification, and the sentence has been broken in two to better conform with contemporary English style. The masculine plural is used here because Zedekiah is being addressed as representative of the whole group previously named.
  36. Jeremiah 37:19 tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.
  37. Jeremiah 37:20 tn Heb “My lord, the king.”
  38. Jeremiah 37:20 tn Heb “let my plea for mercy fall before you.” That is, let it come before you and be favorably received (= granted; by metonymical extension).
  39. Jeremiah 37:20 tn Or “So that I will not die there,” or “or I will die there”; Heb “and I will not die there.” The particle that introduces this clause (וְלֹא) regularly introduces negative purpose clauses after the volitive sequence (אַל [ʾal] + jussive here) according to GKC 323 §109.g. However, purpose and result clauses in Hebrew (and Greek) are often indistinguishable. Here the clause is more in the nature of a negative result.
  40. Jeremiah 37:21 tn Heb “And/Then King Zedekiah ordered, and they committed Jeremiah to [or deposited…in] the courtyard of the guardhouse and they gave to him a loaf of bread.” The translation has been structured the way it has to avoid the ambiguous “they,” which is the impersonal subject, which is sometimes rendered as passive in English (cf. GKC 460 §144.d). This text also has another example of the vav (ו) + infinitive absolute continuing a finite verbal form (וְנָתֹן [venaton] = “and they gave”; cf. GKC 345 §113.y and see Jer 32:44 and 36:23).
  41. Jeremiah 37:21 tn Heb “stayed,” “remained,” “lived.”
Psalm 10

Psalm 10[a]

10 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?[b]
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;[c]
the oppressed are trapped[d] by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.[e]
3 Yes,[f] the wicked man[g] boasts because he gets what he wants;[h]
the one who robs others[i] curses[j] and[k] rejects the Lord.[l]
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”[m]
5 He is secure at all times.[n]
He has no regard for your commands;[o]
he disdains all his enemies.[p]
6 He says to himself,[q]
“I will never[r] be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”[s]
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;[t]
his tongue injures and destroys.[u]
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;[v]
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.[w]
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.[x]
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch[y] the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed[z] by pulling in his net.[aa]
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.[ab]
11 He says to himself,[ac]
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”[ad]
12 Rise up, Lord![ae]
O God, strike him down.[af]
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?[ag]
He says to himself,[ah] “You[ai] will not hold me accountable.”[aj]
14 You have taken notice,[ak]
for[al] you always see[am] one who inflicts pain and suffering.[an]
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;[ao]
you deliver[ap] the fatherless.[aq]
15 Break the arm[ar] of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,[as]
which he thought you would not discover.[at]
16 The Lord rules forever![au]
The nations are driven out of his land.[av]
17 Lord, you have heard[aw] the request[ax] of the oppressed;
you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.[ay]
18 You defend[az] the fatherless and oppressed,[ba]
so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.[bb]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 10:1 sn Psalm 10. Many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version (LXX) combine Psalms 9 and 10 into a single psalm. Taken in isolation, Psalm 10 is a petition for help in which the psalmist urges the Lord to deliver him from his dangerous enemies, whom he describes in vivid and terrifying detail. The psalmist concludes with confidence; he is certain that God’s justice will prevail.
  2. Psalm 10:1 tn Heb “you hide for times in trouble.” The interrogative “why” is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The Hiphil verbal form “hide” has no expressed object. Some supply “your eyes” by ellipsis (see BDB 761 s.v. I עָלַם Hiph and HALOT 835 s.v. I עלם hif) or emend the form to a Niphal (“you hide yourself,” see BHS, note c; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
  3. Psalm 10:2 tn Heb “because of the pride of [the] wicked he burns [i.e., hotly pursues] [the] oppressed.” The singular forms רָשָׁע (rashaʿ, “wicked”) and עָנִי (ʿani, “oppressed”) are collective and representative, as indicated in the next line, which uses plural verb forms to describe the actions of both.
  4. Psalm 10:2 tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 describe either what typically happens (from the psalmist’s perspective) or what the psalmist was experiencing at the time he offered this prayer.
  5. Psalm 10:2 tn Heb “they are trapped in the schemes which they have thought up.” The referents of the two pronominal suffixes on the verbs have been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent of the first suffix (“they”) is taken as the oppressed, while the referent of the second (“they”) is taken to be the wicked (cf. NIV, which renders “wicked” in the previous line as a collective singular). Others take the referent of both occurrences of “they” in the line to be the wicked (cf. NRSV, “let them be caught in the schemes they have devised”).
  6. Psalm 10:3 tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).
  7. Psalm 10:3 tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.
  8. Psalm 10:3 tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (ʿal) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.
  9. Psalm 10:3 tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsaʿ) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.
  10. Psalm 10:3 tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.
  11. Psalm 10:3 tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.
  12. Psalm 10:3 tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”
  13. Psalm 10:4 tn Heb “the wicked [one], according to the height of his nose, he does not seek, there is no God, all his thoughts.” The phrase “height of his nose” probably refers to an arrogant or snooty attitude; it likely pictures one with his nose turned upward toward the sky in pride. One could take the “wicked” as the subject of the negated verb “seek,” in which case the point is that the wicked do not “seek” God. The translation assumes that this statement, along with “there is no God,” is what the wicked man thinks to himself. In this case God is the subject of the verb “seek,” and the point is that God will not hold the wicked man accountable for his actions. Verse 13 strongly favors this interpretation. The statement “there is no God” is not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that he is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see v. 11).
  14. Psalm 10:5 tn Heb “they are firm, his ways, at every time.” The verb חַיִל (khayil, “be firm, be strong”) occurs only here and in Job 20:21, where it has the sense “endure.”
  15. Psalm 10:5 tc Heb “[on a] height, your judgments from before him.” If the MT is retained, then the idea may be that God’s “judgments” are high above (i.e., not recognized) by the wicked man. However, the syntax is awkward. The translation assumes an emendation of מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) to סָרוּ (saru, “[your judgments] are turned aside”), the final mem (ם) being dittographic (note the initial mem on the immediately following word [מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, mishpatekha, “your judgments”). “Judgments” probably refers here to God’s laws or commands, rather than his judicial decisions or acts of judgment.
  16. Psalm 10:5 tn Heb “all his enemies, he snorts against them.” This may picture the wicked man defiantly challenging his enemies because he is confident of success. Another option is to take יָפִיחַ (yafiakh) from the root יָפַח (yafakh, “to testify”) and translate “he testifies against all his enemies,” implying that he gets the upper hand over them in legal battles. The noun יָפֵחַ (yafeakh, “witness”) is attested in biblical Hebrew (see Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3). The verb, however, is not clearly attested.
  17. Psalm 10:6 tn Heb “he says in his heart/mind.”
  18. Psalm 10:6 tn Heb “not . . . for a generation and a generation.” The traditional accentuation of the MT understands the words “for a generation and a generation” with the following line.
  19. Psalm 10:6 tn Heb “who, not in calamity.” If אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) is taken as a relative pronoun here, then one could translate, “[I] who [am] not in calamity.” Some emend אֲשֶׁר to אֹשֶׁר (ʾosher, “happiness”; see HALOT 99 s.v. אֹשֶׁר); one might then translate, “[I live in] happiness, not in calamity.” The present translation assumes that אֲשֶׁר functions here as a causal conjunction, “because, for.” For this use of אֲשֶׁר, see BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.c (where the present text is not cited).
  20. Psalm 10:7 tn Heb “[with] a curse his mouth is full, and lies and injury.”
  21. Psalm 10:7 tn Heb “under his tongue are destruction and wickedness.” The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 90:10. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10.
  22. Psalm 10:8 tn Heb “he sits in the ambush of the villages.”
  23. Psalm 10:8 tn Heb “his eyes for an unfortunate person lie hidden.” The language may picture a lion (see v. 9) peering out from its hiding place in anticipation that an unsuspecting victim will soon come strolling along.
  24. Psalm 10:9 tn Or “in its den.”
  25. Psalm 10:9 tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.
  26. Psalm 10:9 tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.
  27. Psalm 10:9 tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”sn The background of the imagery is hunting, where the hunter uses a net to entrap an unsuspecting bird or wild animal.
  28. Psalm 10:10 tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidkeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (baʿatsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition ב (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqeshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelkaʾim, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelekhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel kaʾim, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [ʿani] in v. 9).
  29. Psalm 10:11 tn Heb “he says in his heart.” See v. 6.
  30. Psalm 10:11 tn Heb “God forgets, he hides his face, he never sees.”
  31. Psalm 10:12 sn Rise up, O Lord! The psalmist’s mood changes from lament to petition and confidence.
  32. Psalm 10:12 tn Heb “lift up your hand.” Usually the expression “lifting the hand” refers to praying (Pss 28:2; 134:2) or making an oath (Ps 106:26), but here it probably refers to “striking a blow” (see 2 Sam 18:28; 20:21). Note v. 15, where the psalmist asks the Lord to “break the arm of the wicked.” A less likely option is that the psalmist is requesting that the Lord declare by oath his intention to intervene.
  33. Psalm 10:13 tn The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s outrage that the wicked would have the audacity to disdain God.
  34. Psalm 10:13 tn Heb “he says in his heart” (see vv. 6, 11). Another option is to understand an ellipsis of the interrogative particle here (cf. the preceding line), “Why does he say in his heart?”
  35. Psalm 10:13 tn Here the wicked man addresses God directly.
  36. Psalm 10:13 tn Heb “you will not seek.” The verb דָרַשׁ (darash, “seek”) is used here in the sense of “seek an accounting.” One could understand the imperfect as generalizing about what is typical and translate, “you do not hold [people] accountable.”
  37. Psalm 10:14 tn Heb “you see.” One could translate the perfect as generalizing, “you do take notice.”
  38. Psalm 10:14 tn If the preceding perfect is taken as generalizing, then one might understand כִּי (ki) as asseverative: “indeed, certainly.”
  39. Psalm 10:14 tn Here the imperfect emphasizes God’s typical behavior.
  40. Psalm 10:14 tn Heb “destruction and suffering,” which here refers metonymically to the wicked, who dish out pain and suffering to their victims.
  41. Psalm 10:14 tn Heb “to give into your hand, upon you, he abandons, [the] unfortunate [one].” The syntax is awkward and the meaning unclear. It is uncertain who or what is being given into God’s hand. Elsewhere the idiom “give into the hand” means to deliver into one’s possession. If “to give” goes with what precedes (as the accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests), then this may refer to the wicked man being delivered over to God for judgment. The present translation assumes that “to give” goes with what follows (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The verb יַעֲזֹב (yaʿazov) here has the nuance “entrust” (see Gen 39:6; Job 39:11); the direct object (“[his] cause”) is implied.
  42. Psalm 10:14 tn Or “help.”
  43. Psalm 10:14 tn Heb “[for] one who is fatherless, you are a deliverer.” The noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9).sn The fatherless. Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 68:5; 82:3; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
  44. Psalm 10:15 sn The arm symbolizes the strength of the wicked, which they use to oppress and exploit the weak.
  45. Psalm 10:15 tn Heb “you seek his wickedness.” As in v. 13, the verb דָּרַשׁ (darash, “seek”) is used here in the sense of “seek an accounting.” One could understand the imperfect as describing a fact, “you hold him accountable,” or as anticipating divine judgment, “you will hold him accountable.” However, since the verb is in apparent parallelism with the preceding imperative (“break”), it is better to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s desire or request.
  46. Psalm 10:15 tn Heb “you will not find.” It is uncertain how this statement relates to what precedes. Some take בַּל (bal), which is used as a negative particle in vv. 10:4, 6, 11, 18, as asseverative here, “Indeed find (i.e., judge his wickedness).” The translation assumes that the final words are an asyndetic relative clause which refers back to what the wicked man boasted in God’s face (“you will not find [i.e., my wickedness]”). See v. 13.
  47. Psalm 10:16 tn Heb “the Lord is king forever and ever.”
  48. Psalm 10:16 tn Or “the nations perish from his land.” The perfect verb form may express what is typical or it may express rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude that God’s deliverance is “as good as done.”sn The nations may be the underlying reality behind the psalmist’s references to the “wicked” in the earlier verses. This reference to the nations may have motivated the combining of Ps 10 with Ps 9 (see Ps 9:5, 15, 19).
  49. Psalm 10:17 sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.
  50. Psalm 10:17 tn Heb “desire.”
  51. Psalm 10:17 tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”
  52. Psalm 10:18 tn Heb “to judge (on behalf of),” or “by judging (on behalf of).”
  53. Psalm 10:18 tn Heb “crushed.” See v. 10.
  54. Psalm 10:18 tn Heb “he will not add again [i.e., “he will no longer”] to terrify, man from the earth.” The Hebrew term אֱנוֹשׁ (ʾenosh, “man”) refers here to the wicked nations (v. 16). By describing them as “from the earth,” the psalmist emphasizes their weakness before the sovereign, eternal king.
New English Translation (NET)

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