37:37 Take note of the one who has integrity! Observe the godly! 2
For the one who promotes peace has a future. 3
57:1 The godly 4 perish,
but no one cares. 5
Honest people disappear, 6
when no one 7 minds 8
that the godly 9 disappear 10 because of 11 evil. 12
57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;
they rest on their beds. 13
6:13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” 20 6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham 21 inherited the promise. 6:16 For people 22 swear by something greater than themselves, 23 and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. 24 6:17 In the same way 25 God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, 26 and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him 27 may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, 28
1 tn Heb “Therefore, behold, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”
2 tn Or “upright.”
3 tn Heb “for [there is] an end for a man of peace.” Some interpret אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see the next verse and Ps 109:13; cf. NEB, NRSV).
3 tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”
4 tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”
5 tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”
6 tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.
7 tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
8 tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”
9 tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”
10 tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).
11 tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.
4 tn Heb “he enters peace, they rest on their beds, the one who walks straight ahead of himself.” The tomb is here viewed in a fairly positive way as a place where the dead are at peace and sleep undisturbed.
5 tn The words “your way” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
6 tc The LXX lacks “until the end.”
7 tn The word “receive” is added in the translation for clarification.
8 sn The deuterocanonical writings known as the Story of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon appear respectively as chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Daniel in the Greek version of this book. Although these writings are not part of the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, they were popular among certain early communities who valued traditions about the life of Daniel.
6 sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.
7 sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.
7 tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.
8 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.
9 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
10 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
11 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
10 tn Grk “in which.”
11 tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”
11 tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.
12 sn The curtain refers to the veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies.
13 tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.
14 tn Or “sojourners.”
14 tn Grk “now.”