14:11 Asa prayed 2 to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. 3 Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. 4 O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!” 5
116:1 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy, 13
116:2 and listened to me. 14
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 15
116:2 and listened to me. 16
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 17
1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, 18 have not ceased praying for you and asking God 19 to fill 20 you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live 21 worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects 22 – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,
1 tn Heb “and Judah turned, and, look, to them [was] the battle in front and behind.”
2 tn Heb “called out.”
3 tn Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
4 tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
5 tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
6 tn The disjunctive vav introduces a circumstantial clause here.
7 tn Heb “drew near.”
8 tn Heb “lifted up their eyes,” an expression that indicates an intentional and careful looking – they looked up and fixed their sights on the distance.
9 tn The construction uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the participle, traditionally rendered “and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them.” The deictic particle calls attention in a dramatic way to what was being seen. It captures the surprise and the sudden realization of the people.
10 tn The verb “feared” is intensified by the adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od): “they feared greatly” or “were terrified.” In one look their defiant boldness seems to have evaporated.
11 sn Their cry to the
12 sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.
13 tn Heb “I love because the
14 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
15 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
16 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
17 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
18 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
19 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
20 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.
21 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
22 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”