Proverbs 14:14

14:14 The backslider ¹  will be paid back ²  from his own ways,

but a good person will be rewarded ³  for his.

Proverbs 22:8

22:8 The one who sows ⁴  iniquity will reap trouble,

and the rod of his fury ⁵  will end.

Job 4:8

4:8 Even as I have seen, ⁶  those who plow ⁷  iniquity ⁸ 

and those who sow trouble reap the same. ⁹ 

Isaiah 3:10-11

3:10 Tell the innocent ¹⁰  it will go well with them, ¹¹ 

for they will be rewarded for what they have done. ¹² 

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!

For they will get exactly what they deserve. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 2:19

2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.

Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. ¹⁴ 

Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful ¹⁵ 

it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, ¹⁶ 

to show no respect for me,” ¹⁷ 

says the Lord God who rules over all. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 6:19

6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: ¹⁹ 

‘Take note! ²⁰  I am about to bring disaster on these people.

It will come as punishment for their scheming. ²¹ 

For they have paid no attention to what I have said, ²² 

and they have rejected my law.

Galatians 6:7-8

6:7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. ²³  For a person ²⁴  will reap what he sows, 6:8 because the person who sows to his own flesh ²⁵  will reap corruption ²⁶  from the flesh, ²⁷  but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

¹ tn Heb “a turning away of heart.” The genitive לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a backslidden heart.” The term סוּג (sug) means “to move away; to move backwards; to depart; to backslide” (BDB 690 s.v. I סוּג). This individual is the one who backslides, that is, who departs from the path of righteousness.

² tn Heb “will be filled”; cf. KJV, ASV. The verb (“to be filled, to be satisfied”) here means “to be repaid,” that is, to partake in his own evil ways. His faithlessness will come back to haunt him.

³ tn The phrase “will be rewarded” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

⁴ sn The verse is making an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis) between sowing and sinning. One who sins is like one who sows, for there will be a “harvest” or a return on the sin – trouble.

⁵ tc There is a variant reading in the LXX; instead of “the rod of his wrath” it reads “the punishment of his deeds.” C. H. Toy wishes to emend שֵׁבֶט (shevet) to שֶׁבֶר (shever), “the produce of his work” (Proverbs [ICC], 416). But the Hebrew text is not obscure, and שֶׁבֶר does not exactly mean “produce.” The expression “rod of his wrath” may not follow the imagery of 8a very closely, but it is nonetheless understandable. The “rod” is a symbol of power; “wrath” is a metonymy of cause indicating what wrath will do, and an objective genitive. The expression signifies that in reaping trouble for his sins this person will no longer be able to unleash his fury on others. The LXX adds: “A man who is cheerful and a giver God blesses” (e.g., 2 Cor 9:7).

⁶ tn The perfect verb here represents the indefinite past. It has no specific sighting in mind, but refers to each time he has seen the wicked do this.

⁷ sn The figure is an implied metaphor. Plowing suggests the idea of deliberately preparing (or cultivating) life for evil. This describes those who are fundamentally wicked.

⁸ tn The LXX renders this with a plural “barren places.”

⁹ tn Heb “reap it.”

¹⁰ tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”

¹¹ tn Heb “that it is good.”

¹² tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”

¹³ tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”

¹⁴ tn Or “teach you a lesson”; Heb “rebuke/chide you.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “how evil and bitter.” The reference is to the consequences of their acts. This is a figure of speech (hendiadys) where two nouns or adjectives joined by “and” introduce a main concept modified by the other noun or adjective.

¹⁶ tn Heb “to leave the Lord your God.” The change in person is intended to ease the problem of the rapid transition, which is common in Hebrew style but not in English, from third to first person between this line and the next.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and no fear of me was on you.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh, [the God of] hosts.” For the title Lord God see the study note on 1:6. For the title “who rules over all” see the following study note. The title “the Lord who rules over all” is a way of rendering the title “Yahweh of armies.” It is an abbreviation of a longer title “Yahweh the God of armies” which occurs five times in Jeremiah (see, e.g., 44:7). The abbreviated title occurs seventy-seven times in the book of Jeremiah. On thirty-two occasions it is further qualified by the title “the God of Israel,” showing his special relation to Israel. On six occasions it is preceded by the title “Lord” (see, e.g., 46:10) and twice it is preceded by the title “the King” (see, e.g., 51:17). Both titles emphasize his sovereignty. Twice it is said that he is the maker of all things (10:16; 51:19), and once it is said that he made the earth and the people and animals on it and gives them into the control of whomever he wishes (27:4-5). On two occasions it is emphasized that he also made the heavenly elements and controls the natural elements of wind, rain, thunder, and hail (31:35; 51:14-16). All this is consistent with usage elsewhere where the “armies” over which he has charge are identified as (1) the angels which surround his throne (Isa 6:3, 5; 1 Kgs 22:19) and which he sends to protect his servants (2 Kgs 6:17), (2) the natural forces of thunder, rain, and hail (Isa 29:6; Josh 10:11; Judg 5:4, 5) through which he sends the enemy into panic and “gums” up their chariot wheels, (3) the armies of Israel (1 Sam 17:45) which he leads into battle (Num 10:34-35; Josh 5:14, 15) and for whom he fights as a mighty warrior (Exod 15:3; Isa 42:13; Ps 24:8), and even (4) the armies of the nations which he musters against his disobedient people (Isa 13:14). This title is most commonly found in the messenger formula “Thus says…” introducing both oracles of judgment (on Israel [e.g., 9:7, 15] and on the nations [e.g. 46:19; 50:18]; and see in general 25:29-32). It emphasizes his sovereignty as the king and creator, the lord of creation and of history, and the just judge who sees and knows all (11:20; 20:12) and judges each person and nation according to their actions (Jer 32:18-19). In the first instance (in the most dominant usage) this will involve the punishment of his own people through the agency of the Babylonians (cf., e.g., 25:8-9). But it will also include the punishment of all nations, including Babylon itself (cf. Jer 25:17-26, 32-38), and will ultimately result in the restoration of his people and a new relation with them (30:8; 31:35-37).

¹⁹ tn Heb “earth.”

²⁰ tn Heb “Behold!”

²¹ tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”

²² tn Heb “my word.”

²³ tn Or “is not mocked,” “will not be ridiculed” (L&N 33.409). BDAG 660 s.v. μυκτηρίζω has “of God οὐ μ. he is not to be mocked, treated w. contempt, perh. outwitted Gal 6:7.”

²⁴ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

²⁵ tn BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

²⁶ tn Or “destruction.”

²⁷ tn See the note on the previous occurrence of the word “flesh” in this verse.