Psalms 27:13

27:13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience

the Lord’s favor in the land of the living? ¹ 

Jonah 2:7

2:7 When my life ²  was ebbing away, ³  I called out to ⁴  the Lord,

and my prayer came to your holy temple. ⁵ 

Galatians 6:9

6:9 So we must not grow weary ⁶  in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. ⁷ 

Hebrews 12:3-5

12:3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed ⁸  in your struggle against sin. 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn ⁹  the Lord’s discipline

or give up when he corrects ¹⁰  you.

¹ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence is incomplete: “If I had not believed [I would] see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” The words “Where would I be” are supplied in the translation to clarify the intent of the statement.

² tn Heb “my soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is often used as a metonymy for the life and the animating vitality in the body: “my life” (BDB 659 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 3.c).

³ tn Heb “fainting away from me.” The verb הִתְעַטֵּף (hit’attef, “to faint away”) is used elsewhere to describe (1) the onset of death when a person’s life begins to slip away (Lam 2:12), (2) the loss of one’s senses due to turmoil (Ps 107:5), and (3) the loss of all hope of surviving calamity (Pss 77:4; 142:4; 143:4; BDB 742 s.v. עַטֵף). All three options are reflected in various English versions: “when my life was ebbing away” (JPS, NJPS), “when my life was slipping away” (CEV), “when I felt my life slipping away” (TEV), “as my senses failed me” (NEB), and “when I had lost all hope” (NLT).

⁴ tn Heb “remembered.” The verb זָכַר (zakhar) usually means “to remember, to call to mind” but it can also mean “to call out” (e.g., Nah 2:6) as in the related Akkadian verb zikaru, “to name, to mention.” The idiom “to remember the Lord” here encompasses calling to mind his character and past actions and appealing to him for help (Deut 8:18-19; Ps 42:6-8; Isa 64:4-5; Zech 10:9). Tg. Jonah 2:7 glosses the verb as “I remembered the worship of the Lord,” which somewhat misses the point.

⁵ sn For similar ideas see 2 Chr 30:27; Pss 77:3; 142:3; 143:4-5.

⁶ tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).

⁷ tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).

⁸ tn Grk “until blood.”

⁹ tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.”

¹⁰ tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.