Exodus 34:7

34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ¹  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ²  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Proverbs 17:15

17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent ³  –

both of them are an abomination to the Lord. ⁴ 

Nahum 1:3

1:3 The Lord is slow to anger ⁵  but great in power; ⁶ 

the Lord will certainly not ⁷  allow the wicked ⁸  to go unpunished.

The Divine Warrior Destroys His Enemies but Protects His People

He marches out ⁹  in the whirlwind and the raging storm;

dark storm clouds billow like dust ¹⁰  under his feet. ¹¹ 

Romans 1:18

The Condemnation of the Unrighteous

1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people ¹²  who suppress the truth by their ¹³  unrighteousness, ¹⁴ 

Romans 2:5-6

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ¹⁵  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ¹⁶  2:6 He ¹⁷  will reward ¹⁸  each one according to his works: ¹⁹ 

¹ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

² sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

³ tn Heb “he who justifies the wicked and and he who condemns the righteous” (so NASB). The first colon uses two Hiphil participles, מַצְדִּיק (matsdiq) and מַרְשִׁיעַ (marshia’). The first means “to declare righteous” (a declarative Hiphil), and the second means “to make wicked [or, guilty]” or “to condemn” (i.e., “to declare guilty”). To declare someone righteous who is a guilty criminal, or to condemn someone who is innocent, are both abominations for the Righteous Judge of the whole earth.

⁴ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.”

⁵ tn Heb “long of anger,” i.e., “slow to anger” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Prov 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; Neh 9:17) or restraining anger (Jer 15:15; Prov 25:15). Cf. NCV “The Lord does not become angry quickly.”

⁶ tc The BHS editors suggest emending MT “power” (כֹּחַ, koakh) to “mercy” (חֶסֶד, khesed) as in Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Ps 103:8; Neh 9:17. However, this is unnecessary, it has no textual support, and it misses the rhetorical point intended by Nahum’s modification of the traditional expression.

⁷ tn Or “he will certainly not acquit [the wicked]”; KJV “and will not at all acquit the wicked.” The root נָקַה (naqah, “to acquit”) is repeated for emphasis. The phrase “he will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished” (וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה, vÿnaqqeh lo’ yÿnaqqeh) is an emphatic construction (see GKC 215 §75.hh; IBHS 584-88 §35.3.1).

⁸ tn The words “the wicked” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation; they are implied when this idiom is used (Exod 34:7; Num 14:18). In legal contexts the nuance “the guilty” is most appropriate; in nonlegal contexts the nuance “the wicked” is used.

⁹ tn Heb “His way is in the whirlwind” (so NIV). The noun דַּרְכּוֹ (darko, “his way”) is nuanced here in a verbal sense. The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) often denotes a “journey” (Gen 28:20; 30:36; 45:23; Num 9:10; Josh 9:13; 1 Sam 21:6; 1 Kgs 18:27). The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh) often means “to tread a path” (Job 22:15) and “to march out” (Judg 5:21). The Lord is portrayed as the Divine Warrior marching out to battle (Exod 15:1-12; Deut 33:2; Judg 5:4-5; Pss 18:7-15; 68:4-10, 32-35; 77:16-19; Mic 1:3-4; Hab 3:3-15).

¹⁰ tn Heb “clouds are dust.”

¹¹ tn Heb “of his feet.”

¹² tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).

¹³ tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.

¹⁴ tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

¹⁶ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁸ tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.