Discovery BoxGenesis 18:23-32
Context18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 1 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 2 of the whole earth do what is right?” 3
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 4 (although I am but dust and ashes), 5 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 6 the whole city because five are lacking?” 7 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 8 spoke to him again, 9 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 10 said, “May the Lord not be angry 11 so that I may speak! 12 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 13 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 14 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
Psalms 12:1
ContextFor the music director; according to the sheminith style; 16 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 17 have disappeared; 18
people of integrity 19 have vanished. 20
Psalms 14:3
Contextthey are all morally corrupt. 22
None of them does what is right, 23
not even one!
Psalms 53:2-4
Context53:2 God looks down from heaven 24 at the human race, 25
to see if there is anyone who is wise 26 and seeks God. 27
they are all morally corrupt. 29
None of them does what is right, 30
not even one!
53:4 All those who behave wickedly 31 do not understand 32 –
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to God.
Micah 7:1-2
ContextIndeed, 34 it is as if the summer fruit has been gathered,
and the grapes have been harvested. 35
There is no grape cluster to eat,
no fresh figs that I crave so much. 36
7:2 Faithful men have disappeared 37 from the land;
there are no godly men left. 38
They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; 39
they hunt their own brother with a net. 40
[18:24] 1 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 3 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
[18:27] 4 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 5 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 6 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 7 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 9 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 11 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 12 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:1] 15 sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.
[12:1] 16 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
[12:1] 17 tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[12:1] 18 tn Or “have come to an end.”
[12:1] 19 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
[12:1] 20 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
[14:3] 21 tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”
[14:3] 22 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
[14:3] 23 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
[53:2] 24 sn The picture of the
[53:2] 25 tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”
[53:2] 26 tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.
[53:2] 27 tn That is, who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.
[53:3] 28 tn Heb “all of it turns away.” Ps 14:1 has הָכֹּל (hakkol) instead of כֻּלּוֹ, and סָר (sar, “turn aside”) instead of סָג (sag, “turn away”).
[53:3] 29 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
[53:3] 30 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
[53:4] 31 tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”
[53:4] 32 tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).
[7:1] 33 tn Heb “woe to me!” In light of the image that follows, perhaps one could translate, “I am disappointed.”
[7:1] 35 tn Heb “I am like the gathering of the summer fruit, like the gleanings of the harvest.” Micah is not comparing himself to the harvested fruit. There is an ellipsis here, as the second half of the verse makes clear. The idea is, “I am like [one at the time] the summer fruit is gathered and the grapes are harvested.”
[7:1] 36 tn Heb “my appetite craves.”
[7:2] 37 tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”
[7:2] 38 tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”
[7:2] 39 tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”
[7:2] 40 sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.
