9:16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice;
the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. 1 (Higgaion. 2 Selah)
64:9 and all people will fear. 3
They will proclaim 4 what God has done,
and reflect on his deeds.
67:4 Let foreigners 5 rejoice and celebrate!
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth. 6 (Selah)
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 7
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 8
96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 9
and the nations in accordance with his justice. 10
98:9 before the Lord!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 11
and the nations in a just manner.
2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, 12 and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”
3:5 “I 17 will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, 18 and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, 19 who refuse to help 20 the immigrant 21 and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
3:6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, 22 you, sons of Jacob, have not perished. 3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored 23 my commandments 24 and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’ 3:8 Can a person rob 25 God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! 26 3:9 You are bound for judgment 27 because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. 28
3:10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse 29 so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.
1 tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).
2 tn This is probably a technical musical term.
3 tc Many medieval Hebrew
4 tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.
5 tn Or “peoples.”
6 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”).
7 tn Heb “look, the eye of the
8 tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”
9 tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”
10 tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”
11 tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).
12 tn Heb “in the eyes of the
13 tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”
14 tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”
15 tn Or “gift.”
16 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
17 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the
18 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”
19 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”
20 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”
21 tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”
22 tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.
23 tn Heb “turned aside from.”
24 tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”
25 tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (’aqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qava’, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).
26 sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).
27 tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).
28 tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
29 tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet ha’otsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gÿdolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”