Psalms 67:4

67:4 Let foreigners ¹  rejoice and celebrate!

For you execute justice among the nations,

and govern the people living on earth. ²  (Selah)

Psalms 72:2

72:2 Then he will judge ³  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ⁴  equitably.

Isaiah 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ⁵  when he punishes, ⁶ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ⁷ 

Acts 17:31

17:31 because he has set ⁸  a day on which he is going to judge the world ⁹  in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, ¹⁰  having provided proof to everyone by raising ¹¹  him from the dead.”

Acts 24:25

24:25 While Paul ¹²  was discussing ¹³  righteousness, self-control, ¹⁴  and the coming judgment, Felix ¹⁵  became ¹⁶  frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, ¹⁷  I will send for you.”

Romans 2:5-6

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ¹⁸  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ¹⁹  2:6 He ²⁰  will reward ²¹  each one according to his works: ²² 

¹ tn Or “peoples.”

² tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).

³ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

⁴ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

⁵ tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

⁶ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

⁷ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

⁸ tn Or “fixed.”

⁹ sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.

¹⁰ tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”

¹¹ tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") indicates means here.

¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Or “speaking about.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “and self-control.” This 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.

¹⁵ sn See the note on Felix in 23:26.

¹⁶ tn Grk “becoming.” The participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁷ tn Or “when I find time.” BDAG 639 s.v. μεταλαμβάνω 2 has “καιρὸν μ. have an opportunity = find time…Ac 24:25.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

¹⁹ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

²⁰ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²¹ tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

²² sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.