Numbers 13:31

13:31 But the men ¹  who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!”

Numbers 32:9

32:9 When ²  they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter ³  the land that the Lord had given ⁴  them.

Psalms 11:1-2

Psalm 11 ⁵ 

For the music director; by David.

11:1 In the Lord I have taken shelter. ⁶ 

How can you say to me, ⁷ 

“Flee to a mountain like a bird! ⁸ 

11:2 For look, the wicked ⁹  prepare ¹⁰  their bows, ¹¹ 

they put their arrows on the strings,

to shoot in the darkness ¹²  at the morally upright. ¹³ 

Haggai 1:2

The Indifference of the People

1:2 The Lord who rules over all ¹⁴  says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’” ¹⁵ 

¹ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun at the beginning of the clause forms a strong adversative clause here.

² tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the parallel yet chronologically later verb in the next clause.

³ tn The infinitive construct here with lamed (ל) is functioning as a result clause.

⁴ tn The Lord had not given it yet, but was going to give it. Hence, the perfect should be classified as a perfect of resolve.

⁵ sn Psalm 11. The psalmist rejects the advice to flee from his dangerous enemies. Instead he affirms his confidence in God’s just character and calls down judgment on evildoers.

⁶ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

⁷ tn The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

⁸ tc The MT is corrupt here. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads: “flee [masculine plural!] to your [masculine plural!] mountain, bird.” The Qere (marginal reading) has “flee” in a feminine singular form, agreeing grammatically with the addressee, the feminine noun “bird.” Rather than being a second masculine plural pronominal suffix, the ending כֶם- (-khem) attached to “mountain” is better interpreted as a second feminine singular pronominal suffix followed by an enclitic mem (ם). “Bird” may be taken as vocative (“O bird”) or as an adverbial accusative of manner (“like a bird”). Either way, the psalmist’s advisers compare him to a helpless bird whose only option in the face of danger is to fly away to an inaccessible place.

⁹ tn In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and threaten his people (Ps 3:8).

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form depicts the enemies’ hostile action as underway.

¹¹ tn Heb “a bow.”

¹² sn In the darkness. The enemies’ attack, the precise form of which is not indicated, is compared here to a night ambush by archers; the psalmist is defenseless against this deadly attack.

¹³ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

¹⁴ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Haggai (see 1:5, 7, 9, 14; 2:4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 23). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

¹⁵ tn Heb “the time has not come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built” (similar KJV). A number of English versions refer to “rebuilding” (so NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT) since the reconstruction of Solomon’s temple is actually in view.