107:10 They sat in utter darkness, 17
bound in painful iron chains, 18
107:11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands, 19
and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king. 20
149:8 They bind 21 their kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city 23 of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help 24 him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note 25 – he gave his promise 26 and did all these things – he will not escape!
17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him 27 for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me.
1 tn Or “keep.”
2 tn Or “waiting for.”
3 tn Grk “unto eternal life.”
4 tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”
5 tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”
6 tn Grk “for wages.”
7 tn The verb ἐκχέω (ekcew) normally means “pour out.” Here, in the passive, it occasionally has a reflexive idea, as BDAG 312 s.v. 3. suggests (with extra-biblical examples).
8 tn Or “in.”
9 tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.
10 tn The three verbs in this verse are all aorist indicative (“have gone down,” “have abandoned,” “have perished”). Although the first and second could be considered constative or ingressive, the last is almost surely proleptic (referring to the certainty of their future judgment). Although it may seem odd that a proleptic aorist is so casually connected to other aorists with a different syntactical force, it is not unparalleled (cf. Rom 8:30).
11 tn Grk “and.” Verse 6 is a continuation of the same sentence begun in v. 5. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
12 tn Grk “who did not keep their own domain.”
13 sn There is an interesting play on words used in this verse. Because the angels did not keep their proper place, Jesus has kept them chained up in another place. The same verb keep is used in v. 1 to describe believers’ status before God and Christ.
14 sn In 2 Pet 2:4 a less common word for chains is used.
15 tn The word ζόφος (zofos, “utter, deepest darkness”) is used only five times in the NT: two in 2 Peter, two in Jude, and one in Hebrews. Jude 6 parallels 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 13 parallels 2 Pet 2:17.
16 tn The words “locked up” are not in Greek, but is expressed in English as a resumptive point after the double prepositional phrase (“in eternal chains in utter darkness”).
17 tn Heb “those who sat in darkness and deep darkness.” Synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of “darkness” experienced by the exiles. The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “deep darkness”) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל + מָוֶת [tsel + mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other authorities prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 107:10 the word refers metonymically to a dungeon, which in turn metaphorically depicts the place of Israel’s exile (see vv. 2-3).
18 tn Heb “those bound in suffering and iron.” “Suffering and iron” is a hendiadys (like English “good and angry”), where both words contribute to one idea. In this case the first word characterizes the second; the iron (chains) contribute to the prisoners’ pain and suffering.
19 tn Heb “the words of God.”
20 tn Heb “the counsel of the Most High.”
21 tn Heb “to bind.”
22 tn Heb “and by their judgments.”
23 tn Heb “place.”
24 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
25 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
26 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
27 tn Heb “place it on his head.”