Psalms 102:13-28

102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. ¹ 

For it is time to have mercy on her,

for the appointed time has come.

102:14 Indeed, ²  your servants take delight in her stones,

and feel compassion for ³  the dust of her ruins. ⁴ 

102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, ⁵ 

and all the kings of the earth will respect ⁶  his splendor,

102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,

and reveals his splendor,

102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, ⁷ 

and does not reject ⁸  their request. ⁹ 

102:18 The account of his intervention ¹⁰  will be recorded for future generations;

people yet to be born will praise the Lord.

102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; ¹¹ 

from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, ¹² 

102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,

and to set free those condemned to die, ¹³ 

102:21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,

and praise him ¹⁴  in Jerusalem, ¹⁵ 

102:22 when the nations gather together,

and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. ¹⁶ 

102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; ¹⁷ 

he has cut short my days.

102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! ¹⁸ 

You endure through all generations. ¹⁹ 

102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;

the skies are your handiwork.

102:26 They will perish,

but you will endure. ²⁰ 

They will wear out like a garment;

like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. ²¹ 

102:27 But you remain; ²² 

your years do not come to an end.

102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,

and their descendants ²³  will live securely in your presence.” ²⁴ 

The Song of Songs 2:11-13

2:11 Look! The winter has passed,

the winter rains are over and gone.

2:12 The pomegranates have appeared ²⁵  in the land,

the time for pruning and singing ²⁶  has come;

the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

2:13 The fig tree has budded,

the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance.

Arise, come away my darling;

my beautiful one, come away with me!”

Jeremiah 29:11

29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ²⁷  ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you ²⁸  a future filled with hope. ²⁹ 

Daniel 9:2

9:2 in the first year of his reign ³⁰  I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books ³¹  that, according to the word of the LORD ³²  disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem ³³  were seventy in number.

Daniel 9:24-27

9:24 “Seventy weeks ³⁴  have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to ³⁵  rebellion,

to bring sin ³⁶  to completion, ³⁷ 

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual ³⁸  righteousness,

to seal up ³⁹  the prophetic vision, ⁴⁰ 

and to anoint a most holy place. ⁴¹ 

9:25 So know and understand:

From the issuing of the command ⁴²  to restore and rebuild

Jerusalem ⁴³  until an anointed one, a prince arrives, ⁴⁴ 

there will be a period of seven weeks ⁴⁵  and sixty-two weeks.

It will again be built, ⁴⁶  with plaza and moat,

but in distressful times.

9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,

an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. ⁴⁷ 

As for the city and the sanctuary,

the people of the coming prince will destroy ⁴⁸  them.

But his end will come speedily ⁴⁹  like a flood. ⁵⁰ 

Until the end of the war that has been decreed

there will be destruction.

9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. ⁵¹ 

But in the middle of that week

he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt.

On the wing ⁵²  of abominations will come ⁵³  one who destroys,

until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”

Daniel 11:35

11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

Daniel 12:4

12:4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, ⁵⁴  and knowledge will increase.”

Daniel 12:9

12:9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.

Habakkuk 2:3

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ⁵⁵ 

it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ⁵⁶ 

Even if the message ⁵⁷  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ⁵⁸ 

for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

Acts 1:7

1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know ⁵⁹  the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

Galatians 4:4

4:4 But when the appropriate time ⁶⁰  had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Revelation 6:10-11

6:10 They ⁶¹  cried out with a loud voice, ⁶²  “How long, ⁶³  Sovereign Master, ⁶⁴  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each ⁶⁵  of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached ⁶⁶  of both their fellow servants ⁶⁷  and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.

Revelation 11:15-18

The Seventh Trumpet

11:15 Then ⁶⁸  the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:

“The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ, ⁶⁹ 

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

11:16 Then ⁷⁰  the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ⁷¹  and worshiped God 11:17 with these words: ⁷² 

“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ⁷³ 

the one who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and begun to reign. ⁷⁴ 

11:18 The ⁷⁵  nations ⁷⁶  were enraged,

but ⁷⁷  your wrath has come,

and the time has come for the dead to be judged,

and the time has come to give to your servants, ⁷⁸ 

the prophets, their reward,

as well as to the saints

and to those who revere ⁷⁹  your name, both small and great,

and the time has come ⁸⁰  to destroy those who destroy ⁸¹  the earth.”

[102:13]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”

[102:14]  ² tn Or “for.”

[102:14]  ³ tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.

[102:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.

[102:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).

[102:15]  ⁶ tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[102:17]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).

[102:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “despise.”

[102:17]  ⁹ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.

[102:18]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[102:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”

[102:19]  ¹² tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.

[102:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[102:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his praise.”

[102:21]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[102:22]  ¹⁶ tn “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”

[102:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).

[102:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”

[102:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”

[102:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “stand.”

[102:26]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.

[102:27]  ²² tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.

[102:28]  ²³ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[102:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “before you will be established.”

[2:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “are seen.”

[2:12]  ²⁶ tn Alternately, “the time of singing” or “the time of pruning.” The homonymic root זָמִיר (zamir) means “song, singing” (HALOT 273 s.v. I זָמִיר; DCH 3:117 s.v. זָמִיר a), while זָמִיר II means “pruning, trimming” (HALOT 273 s.v. II; DCH 3:117 s.v. II). The intended root is debated among the ancient versions (LXX, Aquila, Symmachus, Vulgate, Targum), Hebrew lexicographers (HALOT 273; DCH 3:117), and translations: “singing” (KJV, NIV, NASB margin, NJPS margin), “pruning” (NASB, NJPS). However, rather than choosing between these two roots, it is likely that this is an example of intentional ambiguity. The preceding line draws out the meaning of זָמִיר (“trimming, pruning”): “The pomegranates are seen in the land, the time of pruning has come.” The following line draws out the meaning of זָמִיר (“singing”): “The time of singing has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.” This homonymic wordplay creates an example of “janus parallelism” between the three poetic lines which play off both root meanings of the intentionally ambiguous homonym. This elegant wordplay and the AB:BA “janus parallelism” may be represented thus: “The pomegranates are seen in the land, the time has come for pruning // singing, the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.”

[29:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the Lord, plans of well-being and not for harm to give to you….”

[29:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea where one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.

[9:2]  ³⁰ tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.

[9:2]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew text has “books”; the word “sacred” has been added in the translation to clarify that it is Scriptures that are referred to.

[9:2]  ³² sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters which constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears eight times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.

[9:2]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:24]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days), cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.

[9:24]  ³⁵ tc Or “to finish.” The present translation reads the Qere (from the root תָּמַם, tamam) with many witnesses. The Kethib has “to seal up” (from the root הָתַם, hatam), a confusion with a reference later in the verse to sealing up the vision.

[9:24]  ³⁶ tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).

[9:24]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lÿkhalle’) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kala’, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.

[9:24]  ³⁸ tn Or “everlasting.”

[9:24]  ³⁹ sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication. Cf. 1 Kgs 21:8; Jer 32:10, 11, 44.

[9:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:24]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.

[9:25]  ⁴² tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).

[9:25]  ⁴³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:25]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.

[9:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “sevens” (also later in this line and in v. 26).

[9:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

[9:26]  ⁴⁷ sn The expression have nothing is difficult. Presumably it refers to an absence of support or assistance for the anointed one at the time of his “cutting off.” The KJV rendering “but not for himself,” apparently suggesting a vicarious death, cannot be defended.

[9:26]  ⁴⁸ tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (’im, “with) rather than the noun עַם (’am, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”

[9:26]  ⁴⁹ tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[9:26]  ⁵⁰ sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.

[9:27]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “one seven” (also later in this line).

[9:27]  ⁵² tn The referent of the Hebrew word כְּנַף (kÿnaf, “wing”) is unclear here. The LXX and Theodotion have “the temple.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV) take this to mean “a wing of the temple,” but this is not clear.

[9:27]  ⁵³ tn The Hebrew text does not have this verb, but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “will run back and forth”; KJV “shall run to and fro”; NIV “will go here and there”; CEV “will go everywhere.”

[2:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.

[2:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.

[2:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”

[1:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”

[4:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “the fullness of time” (an idiom for the totality of a period of time, with the implication of proper completion; see L&N 67.69).

[6:10]  ⁶¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ⁶² tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[6:10]  ⁶³ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

[6:10]  ⁶⁴ tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).

[6:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).

[6:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:15]  ⁶⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[11:15]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:16]  ⁷⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[11:16]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[11:17]  ⁷² tn Grk “saying.”

[11:17]  ⁷³ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[11:17]  ⁷⁴ tn The aorist verb ἐβασίλευσας (ebasileusa") has been translated ingressively.

[11:18]  ⁷⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:18]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “The Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[11:18]  ⁷⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:18]  ⁷⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:18]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “who fear.”

[11:18]  ⁸⁰ tn The words “the time has come” do not occur except at the beginning of the verse; the phrase has been repeated for emphasis and contrast. The Greek has one finite verb (“has come”) with a compound subject (“your wrath,” “the time”), followed by three infinitive clauses (“to be judged,” “to give,” “to destroy”). The rhetorical power of the repetition of the finite verb in English thus emulates the rhetorical power of its lone instance in Greek.

[11:18]  ⁸¹ tn Or “who deprave.” There is a possible wordplay here on two meanings for διαφθείρω (diafqeirw), with the first meaning “destroy” and the second meaning either “to ruin” or “to make morally corrupt.” See L&N 20.40.