37:12 Evil men plot against the godly 4
and viciously attack them. 5
112:10 When the wicked 6 see this, they will worry;
they will grind their teeth in frustration 7 and melt away;
the desire of the wicked will perish. 8
7:54 When they heard these things, they became furious 13 and ground their teeth 14 at him.
1 sn A quotation from Dan 3:6.
2 sn An allusion to Dan 3:6.
3 tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).
4 tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.
5 tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.
6 tn The Hebrew text uses the singular; the representative wicked individual is in view as typifying the group (note the use of the plural form in v. 10).
7 tn Heb “his teeth he will gnash.” In Pss 35:16 and 37:12 this action is associated with a vicious attack.
8 tn This could mean that the desires of the wicked will go unfulfilled. Another possibility is that “desire” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired. In this case the point is that the wicked will lose what they desired so badly and acquired by evil means (see Ps 10:3).
9 sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.
10 tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
11 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
12 tn Or “being thrown out.” The present accusative participle, ἐκβαλλομένους (ekballomenous), related to the object ὑμᾶς (Jumas), seems to suggest that these evildoers will witness their own expulsion from the kingdom.
13 tn This verb, which also occurs in Acts 5:33, means “cut to the quick” or “deeply infuriated” (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπρίω).
14 tn Or “they gnashed their teeth.” This idiom is a picture of violent rage (BDAG 184 s.v. βρύχω). See also Ps 35:16.