1 Samuel 2:25

2:25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons ¹  would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided ²  to kill them.

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ³  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ⁴  like our God!

1 Samuel 25:16

25:16 Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks.

1 Samuel 25:20

25:20 Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them.

Proverbs 29:1

29:1 The one who stiffens his neck ⁵  after numerous rebukes ⁶ 

will suddenly be destroyed ⁷  without remedy. ⁸ 

Hosea 9:9

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

9:9 They have sunk deep into corruption ⁹ 

as in the days of Gibeah.

He will remember their wrongdoing.

He will repay them for their sins.

Hosea 10:9

Failure to Learn from the Sin and Judgment of Gibeah

10:9 O Israel, you have sinned since the time ¹⁰  of Gibeah,

and there you have remained.

Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

Romans 1:32

1:32 Although they fully know ¹¹  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ¹²  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ¹³ 

Revelation 18:4-5

18:4 Then ¹⁴  I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 18:5 because her sins have piled ¹⁵  up all the way to heaven ¹⁶  and God has remembered ¹⁷  her crimes. ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Eli’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “desired.”

³ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

⁴ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

⁵ tn The idiom “to harden the neck” (מַקְשֶׁה־עֹרֶף, maqsheh-’oref) is the idea of resisting the rebukes and persisting in obstinacy (e.g., Exod 32:9). The opposite of a “stiff neck” would be the bending back, i.e., submission.

⁶ tn The Hebrew construction is אִישׁ תּוֹכָחוֹת (’ish tokhakhot, “a man of rebukes”), meaning “a man who has (or receives) many rebukes.” This describes a person who is deserving of punishment and who has been given many warnings. The text says, then, “a man of rebukes hardening himself.”

⁷ sn The stubborn person refuses to listen; he will suddenly be destroyed when the calamity strikes (e.g., Prov 6:15; 13:18; 15:10).

⁸ tn Or “healing” (NRSV).

⁷ tn Or more literally, “they are deeply corrupted.” The two verbs הֶעְמִיקוּ־שִׁחֵתוּ (he’miqu-shikhetu; literally, “they have made deep, they act corruptly”) are coordinated without a conjunction vav to form a verbal hendiadys: the second verb represents the main idea, while the first functions adverbially (GKC 386-87 §120.g). Here Gesenius suggests “they are deeply/radically corrupted.” Several translations mirror the syntax of this hendiadys: “They have deeply corrupted themselves” (KJV, ASV, NRSV), “They have been grievously corrupt” (NJPS), and “They are hopelessly evil” (TEV). Others reverse the syntax for the sake of a more graphic English idiom: “They have gone deep in depravity” (NASB) and “They have sunk deep into corruption” (NIV). Some translations fail to represent the hendiadys at all: “You are brutal and corrupt” (CEV). The translation “They are deeply corrupted” mirrors the Hebrew syntax, but “They have sunk deep into corruption” is a more graphic English idiom and is preferred here (cf. NAB “They have sunk to the depths of corruption”).

⁹ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

¹¹ tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹² tn Grk “are worthy of death.”

¹³ sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

¹⁵ tn On ἐκολλήθησαν (ekollhqhsan) BDAG 556 s.v. κολλάω 2.a.β states, “fig. cling to = come in close contact with (cp. Ps 21:16; 43:26 ἐκολλήθη εἰς γῆν ἡ γαστὴρ ἡμῶν. The act.=‘bring into contact’ PGM 5, 457 κολλήσας τ. λίθον τῷ ὠτίῳ) ἐκολλήθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἄχρι τ. οὐρανοῦ the sins have touched the heaven = reached the sky (two exprs. are telescoped) Rv 18:5.”

¹⁶ tn Or “up to the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

¹⁷ tn That is, remembered her sins to execute judgment on them.

¹⁸ tn Or “her sins.”