Genesis 35:5

35:5 and they started on their journey. ¹  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ²  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Job 6:4

6:4 For the arrows ³  of the Almighty ⁴  are within me;

my spirit ⁵  drinks their poison; ⁶ 

God’s sudden terrors ⁷  are arrayed ⁸  against me.

Job 18:11

18:11 Terrors ⁹  frighten him on all sides

and dog ¹⁰  his every step.

Job 31:23

31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, ¹¹ 

and by reason of his majesty ¹²  I was powerless.

Psalms 73:19

73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ¹³ 

Psalms 76:7

76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!

Who can withstand your intense anger? ¹⁴ 

Psalms 88:15-16

88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. ¹⁵ 

I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. ¹⁶ 

88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; ¹⁷ 

your terrors destroy me.

Psalms 90:11

90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? ¹⁸ 

Your raging fury causes people to fear you. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 33:14

33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;

panic ²⁰  grips the godless. ²¹ 

They say, ²²  ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?

Who among us can coexist with unquenchable ²³  fire?’

Nahum 1:6

1:6 No one can withstand ²⁴  his indignation! ²⁵ 

No one can resist ²⁶  his fierce anger! ²⁷ 

His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire,

boulders are broken up ²⁸  as he approaches. ²⁹ 

Matthew 10:28

10:28 Do ³⁰  not be afraid of those who kill the body ³¹  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ³² 

Matthew 25:46

25:46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Mark 8:35-38

8:35 For whoever wants to save his life ³³  will lose it, ³⁴  but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. 8:36 For what benefit is it for a person ³⁵  to gain the whole world, yet ³⁶  forfeit his life? 8:37 What can a person give in exchange for his life? 8:38 For if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him ³⁷  when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Mark 9:43-50

9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have ³⁸  two hands and go into hell, ³⁹  to the unquenchable fire. 9:44 [[EMPTY]] ⁴⁰  9:45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have ⁴¹  two feet and be thrown into hell. 9:46 [[EMPTY]] ⁴²  9:47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! ⁴³  It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have ⁴⁴  two eyes and be thrown into hell, 9:48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. 9:49 Everyone will be salted with fire. ⁴⁵  9:50 Salt ⁴⁶  is good, but if it loses its saltiness, ⁴⁷  how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Luke 12:5

12:5 But I will warn ⁴⁸  you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, ⁴⁹  has authority to throw you ⁵⁰  into hell. ⁵¹  Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Hebrews 10:31

10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Jude 1:23

1:23 save ⁵²  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ⁵³  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ⁵⁴  hating even the clothes stained ⁵⁵  by the flesh. ⁵⁶ 

Revelation 20:15

20:15 If ⁵⁷  anyone’s name ⁵⁸  was not found written in the book of life, that person ⁵⁹  was thrown into the lake of fire.

[35:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ² tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

[6:4]  ³ sn Job uses an implied comparison here to describe his misfortune – it is as if God had shot poisoned arrows into him (see E. Dhorme, Job, 76-77 for a treatment of poisoned arrows in the ancient world).

[6:4]  ⁴ sn Job here clearly states that his problems have come from the Almighty, which is what Eliphaz said. But whereas Eliphaz said Job provoked the trouble by his sin, Job is perplexed because he does not think he did.

[6:4]  ⁵ tn Most commentators take “my spirit” as the subject of the participle “drinks” (except the NEB, which follows the older versions to say that the poison “drinks up [or “soaks in”] the spirit.”) The image of the poisoned arrow represents the calamity or misfortune from God, which is taken in by Job’s spirit and enervates him.

[6:4]  ⁶ tn The LXX translators knew that a liquid should be used with the verb “drink”; but they took the line to be “whose violence drinks up my blood.” For the rest of the verse they came up with, “whenever I am going to speak they pierce me.”

[6:4]  ⁷ tn The word translated “sudden terrors” is found only here and in Ps 88:16 [17]. G. R. Driver notes that the idea of suddenness is present in the root, and so renders this word as “sudden assaults” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 73).

[6:4]  ⁸ tn The verb עָרַךְ (’arakh) means “to set in battle array.” The suffix on the verb is dative (see GKC 369 §117.x). Many suggestions have been made for changing this word. These seem unnecessary since the MT pointing yields a good meaning: but for the references to these suggestions, see D. J. A. Clines, Job (WBC), 158. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 59), nonetheless, follows the suggestion of Driver that connects it to a root meaning “wear me down.” This change of meaning requires no change in the Hebrew text. The image is of a beleaguering army; the host is made up of all the terrors from God. The reference is to the terrifying and perplexing thoughts that assail Job (A. B. Davidson, Job, 44).

[18:11]  ⁹ sn Bildad is referring here to all the things that afflict a person and cause terror. It would then be a metonymy of effect, the cause being the afflictions.

[18:11]  ¹⁰ tn The verb פּוּץ (puts) in the Hiphil has the meaning “to pursue” and “to scatter.” It is followed by the expression “at his feet.” So the idea is easily derived: they chase him at his feet. But some commentators have other proposals. The most far-fetched is that of Ehrlich and Driver (ZAW 24 [1953]: 259-60) which has “and compel him to urinate on his feet,” one of many similar readings the NEB accepted from Driver.

[31:23]  ¹¹ tc The LXX has “For the terror of God restrained me.” Several commentators changed it to “came upon me.” Driver had “The fear of God was burdensome.” I. Eitan suggested “The terror of God was mighty upon me” (“Two unknown verbs: etymological studies,” JBL 42 [1923]: 22-28). But the MT makes clear sense as it stands.

[31:23]  ¹² tn The form is וּמִשְּׂאֵתוֹ (umissÿ’eto); the preposition is causal. The form, from the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to raise; to lift high”), refers to God’s exalted person, his majesty (see Job 13:11).

[73:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

[76:7]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).

[88:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and am dying from youth.”

[88:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I carry your horrors [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew form אָפוּנָה (’afunah), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. It may be an adverb meaning “very much” (BDB 67 s.v.), though some prefer to emend the text to אָפוּגָה (’afugah, “I am numb”) from the verb פוּג (pug; see Pss 38:8; 77:2).

[88:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “passes over me.”

[90:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”

[90:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ (ukhyir’otekh, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yir’otkh, “your fear”), understanding a virtual dittography (אַפֶּךָ וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ, ’apekha ukhyir’otekh) to have occurred. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.

[33:14]  ²⁰ tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”

[33:14]  ²¹ tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”

[33:14]  ²² tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[33:14]  ²³ tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “stand before” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew verb עָמַד (’amad, “stand”) here denotes “to resist, withstand.” It is used elsewhere of warriors taking a stand in battle to hold their ground against enemies (Judg 2:14; Josh 10:8; 21:44; 23:9; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 11:16; Amos 2:15). It is also used of people trying to protect their lives from enemy attack (Esth 8:11; 9:16). Like a mighty warrior, the Lord will attack his enemies, but none will be able to make a stand against him; none will be able to hold their ground against him; and none will be able to protect themselves from his onslaught (Pss 76:7[8]; 147:17; Mal 3:2).

[1:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Who can stand before his indignation?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer; it is translated here as an emphatic denial. The Hebrew noun זַעַם (za’am, “indignation, curse”) connotes the angry wrath or indignant curse of God (Isa 10:5, 25; 13:5; 26:20; 30:27; Jer 10:10; 15:17; 50:25; Ezek 21:36; 22:24, 31; Hab 3:12; Zeph 3:8; Pss 38:4; 69:25; 78:49; 102:11; Lam 2:6; Dan 8:19; 11:36). It depicts anger expressed in the form of punishment (HALOT 276 s.v.; TWOT 1:247).

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Who can rise up against…?” The verb יָקוּם (yaqum, “arise”) is here a figurative expression connoting resistance. Although the adversative sense of בְּ (bet) with יָקוּם (yaqum, “against him”) is attested, denoting hostile action taken against one’s enemy (Mic 7:6; Ps 27:12), the locative sense (“before him”) is preferred due to the parallelism with לִפְנֵי (lifney, “before him”).

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Who can rise up against the heat of his anger?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is translated as an emphatic denial to clarify the point.

[1:6]  ²⁸ tn Or “burst into flames.” The Niphal perfect נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) from נָתַץ (natats, “to break up, throw down”) may denote “are broken up” or “are thrown down.” The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) to נִצְּתּוּ (nitsÿtu, Niphal perfect from יָצַת [yatsat, “to burn, to kindle, to burst into flames”]): “boulders burst into flames.” This merely involves the simple transposition of the second and third consonants. This emendation is supported by a few Hebrew mss (cited in BHS apparatus). It is supported contextually by fire and heat motifs in 1:5-6. The same metathesis of נִתְּצוּ and נִצְּתּוּ occurs in Jer 4:26.

[1:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “before him” (so NAB, NIV, TEV).

[10:28]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ³¹ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ³² sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[8:35]  ³³ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 35-37).

[8:35]  ³⁴ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

[8:36]  ³⁵ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

[8:36]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:38]  ³⁷ sn How one responds now to Jesus and his teaching is a reflection of how Jesus, as the Son of Man who judges, will respond then in the final judgment.

[9:43]  ³⁸ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:43]  ³⁹ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36). This Greek term also occurs in vv. 45, 47.

[9:44]  ⁴⁰ tc Most later mss have 9:44 here and 9:46 after v. 45: “where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched” (identical with v. 48). Verses 44 and 46 are present in A D Θ Ë¹³ Ï lat sy^p,h, but lacking in important Alexandrian mss and several others (א B C L W Δ Ψ 0274 ˹ 28 565 892 2427 pc co). This appears to be a scribal addition from v. 48 and is almost certainly not an original part of the Greek text of Mark. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[9:45]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:46]  ⁴² tc See tc note at the end of v. 43.

[9:47]  ⁴³ tn Grk “throw it out.”

[9:47]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:49]  ⁴⁵ tc The earliest mss ([א] B L [W] Δ 0274 Ë^1,13 28* 565 700 pc sy^s sa) have the reading adopted by the translation. Codex Bezae (D) and several Itala read “Every sacrifice will be salted with salt.” The majority of other mss (A C Θ Ψ [2427] Ï lat sy^p,h) have both readings, “Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt.” An early scribe may have written the LXX text of Lev 2:13 (“Every sacrifice offering of yours shall be salted with salt”) in the margin of his ms. At a later stage, copyists would either replace the text with this marginal note or add the note to the text. The longer reading thus seems to be the result of the conflation of the Alexandrian reading “salted with fire” and the Western reading “salted with salt.” The reading adopted by the text enjoys the best support and explains the other readings in the ms tradition.

[9:50]  ⁴⁶ sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.

[9:50]  ⁴⁷ sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its saltiness since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.

[12:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.

[12:5]  ⁴⁹ sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.

[12:5]  ⁵⁰ tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.

[12:5]  ⁵¹ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[1:23]  ⁵² tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ⁵³ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “with fear.” But as this contrasts with ἀφόβως (afobw") in v. 12 (without reverence), the posture of the false teachers, it most likely refers to reverence for God.

[1:23]  ⁵⁵ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh.” The “flesh” in this instance could refer to the body or to the sin nature. It makes little difference in one sense: Jude is thinking primarily of sexual sins, which are borne of the sin nature and manifest themselves in inappropriate deeds done with the body. At the same time, he is not saying that the body is intrinsically bad, a view held by the opponents of Christianity. Hence, it is best to see “flesh” as referring to the sin nature here and the language as metaphorical.

[20:15]  ⁵⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:15]  ⁵⁸ tn The word “name” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[20:15]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “he”; the pronoun has been intensified by translating as “that person.”