Psalms 103:4

103:4 who delivers ¹  your life from the Pit, ² 

who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,

Genesis 48:16

48:16 the Angel ³  who has protected me ⁴ 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ⁵ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

Genesis 48:2

48:2 When Jacob was told, ⁶  “Your son Joseph has just ⁷  come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed.

Genesis 4:9

4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” ⁸  And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” ⁹ 

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ¹⁰ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ¹¹ 

and at the cost of your own blood ¹²  you have purchased ¹³  for God

persons ¹⁴  from every tribe, language, ¹⁵  people, and nation.

¹ tn Or “redeems.”

² tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.

³ sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

⁴ tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

⁵ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

⁶ tn Heb “and one told and said.” The verbs have no expressed subject and can be translated with the passive voice.

⁷ tn Heb “Look, your son Joseph.”

⁸ sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the Lord confronts a guilty sinner with a rhetorical question (see Gen 3:9-13), asking for an explanation of what has happened.

⁹ tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”

¹⁰ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

¹¹ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

¹² tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

¹³ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

¹⁴ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹⁵ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.