Psalms 30:4

30:4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers ¹  of his;

give thanks to his holy name. ² 

Psalms 60:6

60:6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: ³ 

“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;

the Valley of Succoth I will measure off. ⁴ 

Habakkuk 1:12-13

Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns

1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; ⁵ 

my sovereign God, ⁶  you are immortal. ⁷ 

Lord, you have made them ⁸  your instrument of judgment. ⁹ 

Protector, ¹⁰  you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. ¹¹ 

1:13 You are too just ¹²  to tolerate ¹³  evil;

you are unable to condone ¹⁴  wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ¹⁵ 

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ¹⁶  those more righteous than they are? ¹⁷ 

Hebrews 12:10

12:10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness.

¹ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

² tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 97:12.The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.

³ tn Heb “in his holy place.”

⁴ sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Succoth for the region east of the Jordan.

⁵ tn Heb “Are you not from antiquity, O Lord?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, of course.” The present translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question, rendering it as an affirmation. When used in a temporal sense the phrase מִקֶדֶם (miqedem) means “from antiquity, ancient times,” often referring to earlier periods in Israel’s history. See its use in Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10; Mic 5:2.

⁶ tn Heb “My God, my holy one.” God’s “holiness” in this context is his sovereign transcendence as the righteous judge of the world (see vv. 12b-13a), thus the translation “My sovereign God.”

⁷ tc The MT reads, “we will not die,” but an ancient scribal tradition has “you [i.e., God] will not die.” This is preferred as a more difficult reading that can explain the rise of the other variant. Later scribes who copied the manuscripts did not want to associate the idea of death with God in any way, so they softened the statement to refer to humanity.

⁸ tn Heb “him,” a collective singular referring to the Babylonians. The plural pronoun “them” has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

⁹ tn Heb “for judgment.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “Rock” or “Cliff.” This divine epithet views God as a place where one can go to be safe from danger. The translation “Protector” conveys the force of the metaphor (cf. KJV, NEB “O mighty God”).

¹¹ tn Heb “to correct, reprove.”

¹² tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.

¹³ tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.

¹⁶ tn Or “swallow up.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”