Psalms 10:3

10:3 Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants;

the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.

Psalms 49:6

49:6 They trust in their wealth

and boast in their great riches.

Psalms 52:1

Psalm 52 10 

For the music director; a well-written song 11  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” 12 

52:1 Why do you boast about your evil plans, 13  O powerful man?

God’s loyal love protects me all day long! 14 

Isaiah 10:15

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? 15 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

Acts 5:36

5:36 For some time ago 16  Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He 17  was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. 18 

Romans 1:29-31

1:29 They are filled 19  with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with 20  envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 1:31 senseless, covenant-breakers, 21  heartless, ruthless.

Romans 11:18

11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Romans 11:2

11:2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

Romans 2:4

2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know 22  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

James 4:16

4:16 But as it is, 23  you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

James 4:2

4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask;

James 2:18

2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” 24  Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by 25  my works.

Jude 1:16

1:16 These people are grumblers and 26  fault-finders who go 27  wherever their desires lead them, 28  and they give bombastic speeches, 29  enchanting folks 30  for their own gain. 31 


tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

tn Heb “the ones who trust.” The substantival participle stands in apposition to “those who deceive me” (v. 5).

tn The imperfect verbal form emphasizes their characteristic behavior.

10 sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.

11 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

12 tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”

13 tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”

14 tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.

15 tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

16 tn Grk “For before these days.”

17 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.

18 tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.

19 tn Grk “being filled” or “having been filled,” referring to those described in v. 28. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

20 tn Grk “malice, full of,” continuing the description. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

21 tn Or “promise-breakers.”

22 tn Grk “being unaware.”

23 tn Grk “but now.”

24 tn There is considerable doubt about where the words of the “someone” end and where James’ reply begins. Some see the quotation running to the end of v. 18; others to the end of v. 19. But most punctuate as shown above. The “someone” is then an objector, and the sense of his words is something like, “Some have faith; others have works; don’t expect everyone to have both.” James’ reply is that faith cannot exist or be seen without works.

25 tn Or “from.”

26 tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

27 tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

28 tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

29 tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

30 sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

31 tn Or “to their own advantage.”