Deuteronomy 32:36

32:36 The Lord will judge his people,

and will change his plans concerning¹ his servants;

when he sees that their power has disappeared,

and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.

Psalms 50:4

50:4 He summons the heavens above,

as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.²

Psalms 96:13

96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly,³

and the nations in accordance with his justice.⁴

Psalms 98:9

98:9 before the Lord!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly,⁵

and the nations in a just manner.

Psalms 135:14

135:14 For the Lord vindicates⁶ his people,

and has compassion on his servants.⁷

Ezekiel 18:30

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct,⁸ O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent⁹ and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity.¹⁰

Ezekiel 34:17

34:17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.

Ezekiel 34:2

34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds¹¹ of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live¹² worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects¹³ – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

¹tn The translation understands the verb in the sense of “be grieved, relent” (cf. HALOT 689 s.v. נחם hitp 2); cf. KJV, ASV “repent himself”; NLT “will change his mind.” Another option is to translate “will show compassion to” (see BDB 637 s.v. נחם); cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV.

²tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”

³tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”

⁴tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”

⁵tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).

⁶tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the Lord “judges on behalf of” his people. The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic actions.

⁷sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.

⁸tn Heb “ways.”

⁹tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

¹⁰tn Or “leading to punishment.”

¹¹tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the Lord is often addressed as shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Ps 8:1). The imagery of shepherds as Israel’s leaders is also employed (Jer 23:1-2).

¹²tn 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.”

¹³tn 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.”