Psalms 25:3

25:3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.

Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted and humiliated.

Psalms 25:21

25:21 May integrity and godliness protect me,

for I rely on you!

Psalms 27:14

27:14 Rely on the Lord!

Be strong and confident!

Rely on the Lord!

Psalms 130:5

130:5 I rely on the Lord,

I rely on him with my whole being;

I wait for his assuring word.

Psalms 135:7

135:7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,

makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,

and brings the wind out of his storehouses.

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you.

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.

Isaiah 30:23

30:23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,

and the ground will produce crops in abundance.

At that time 10  your cattle will graze in wide pastures.

Lamentations 3:25-26

ט (Tet)

3:25 The Lord is good to those who trust 11  in him,

to the one 12  who seeks him.

3:26 It is good to wait patiently 13 

for deliverance from the Lord. 14 

Micah 7:7

7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament. 15 

Habakkuk 3:17-19

3:17 When 16  the fig tree does not bud,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

when the olive trees do not produce, 17 

and the fields yield no crops; 18 

when the sheep disappear 19  from the pen,

and there are no cattle in the stalls,

3:18 I will rejoice because of 20  the Lord;

I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. 21 

He gives me the agility of a deer; 22 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 23 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) 24 


tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).

tn Or “wait.”

tn Heb “be strong and let your heart be confident.”

tn Or “wait for.”

tn Heb “my soul waits.”

tn Heb “his word.”

tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed which you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”

10 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

11 tn Heb “wait for him”

12 tn Heb “to the soul…” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= “the soul who seeks him”) for the whole person (= “the person who seeks him”).

13 tn Heb “waiting and silently.” The two adjectives וְיָחִיל וְדוּמָם (vÿyakhil vÿdumam, “waiting and silently”) form a hendiadys: The first functions verbally and the second functions adverbially: “to wait silently.” The adjective דוּמָם (dumam, “silently”) also functions as a metonymy of association, standing for patience or rest (HALOT 217 s.v.). This metonymical nuance is captured well in less literal English versions: “wait in patience” (TEV) and “wait patiently” (CEV, NJPS). The more literal English versions do not express the metonymy as well: “quietly wait” (KJV, NKJV, ASV), “waits silently” (NASB), “wait quietly” (RSV, NRSV, NIV).

14 tn Heb “deliverance of the Lord.” In the genitive-construct, the genitive יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”) denotes source, that is, he is the source of the deliverance: “deliverance from the Lord.”

15 tn Heb “me.” In the interest of clarity the nature of the prophet’s cry has been specified as “my lament” in the translation.

16 tn Or “though.”

17 tn Heb “the produce of the olive disappoints.”

18 tn Heb “food.”

19 tn Or “are cut off.”

20 tn Or “in.”

21 tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

22 tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

23 tn Heb “he makes me walk on my high places.”

24 tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”