Psalms 125:1-2

Psalm 125 ¹ 

A song of ascents. ² 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, ³ 

so the Lord surrounds his people,

now and forevermore.

Isaiah 54:17

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ⁴ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ⁵ 

says the Lord.

John 10:27-30

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ⁶  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ⁷  no one will snatch ⁸  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ⁹  and no one can snatch ¹⁰  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ¹¹  are one.” ¹² 

Romans 8:33-39

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ¹³  It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ ¹⁴  is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ¹⁵  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ¹⁶  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ¹⁷  through him ¹⁸  who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, ¹⁹  nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 12:28

12:28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe.

Revelation 11:15

The Seventh Trumpet

11:15 Then ²⁰  the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:

“The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ, ²¹ 

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Revelation 21:1-4

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21:1 Then ²²  I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, ²³  and the sea existed no more. 21:2 And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence ²⁴  of God is among human beings. ²⁵  He ²⁶  will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. ²⁷  21:4 He ²⁸  will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” ²⁹ 

¹ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

⁵ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”

⁶ tn Grk “And I give.”

⁷ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

⁸ tn Or “no one will seize.”

⁹ tn Or “is superior to all.”

¹⁰ tn Or “no one can seize.”

¹¹ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

¹² tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

¹³ sn An allusion to Isa 50:8 where the reference is singular; Paul applies this to all believers (“God’s elect” is plural here).

¹⁴ tc ‡ A number of significant and early witnesses, along with several others (Ì^46vid א A C F G L Ψ 6 33 81 104 365 1505 al lat bo), read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after Χριστός (Cristos, “Christ”) in v. 34. But the shorter reading is not unrepresented (B D 0289 1739 1881 Ï sa). Once ᾿Ιησοῦς got into the text, what scribe would omit it? Although the external evidence is on the side of the longer reading, internally such an expansion seems suspect. The shorter reading is thus preferred. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

¹⁵ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

¹⁷ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

¹⁸ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

¹⁹ tn BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 6 takes this term as a reference to angelic or transcendent powers (as opposed to merely human rulers). To clarify this, the adjective “heavenly” has been supplied in the translation. Some interpreters see this as a reference to fallen angels or demonic powers, and this view is reflected in some recent translations (NIV, NLT).

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

²³ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”

²⁴ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

²⁵ tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ἀνθρώπων, anqrwpwn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (λαοί, laoi).

²⁶ tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²⁷ tc ‡ Most mss (א Ï^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (αὐτῶν θεός, autwn qeos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (Ï^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (ἔσται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν θεὸς αὐτῶν, estai met’ autwn qeo" autwn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

²⁸ tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

²⁹ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”