Revelation 13:10

13:10 If anyone is meant for captivity,

into captivity he will go.

If anyone is to be killed by the sword, ¹ 

then by the sword he must be killed.

This ²  requires steadfast endurance ³  and faith from the saints.

Exodus 9:16-17

9:16 But ⁴  for this purpose I have caused you to stand: ⁵  to show you ⁶  my strength, and so that my name may be declared ⁷  in all the earth. 9:17 You are still exalting ⁸  yourself against my people by ⁹  not releasing them.

Isaiah 37:26-27

37:26 ¹⁰ Certainly you must have heard! ¹¹ 

Long ago I worked it out,

in ancient times I planned ¹²  it,

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins. ¹³ 

37:27 Their residents are powerless; ¹⁴ 

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field

or green vegetation. ¹⁵ 

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ¹⁶ 

when it is scorched by the east wind. ¹⁷ 

Ezekiel 29:18-20

29:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar ¹⁸  of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. ¹⁹  Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 29:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre ²⁰ , because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord.

Daniel 2:37-38

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 2:38 Wherever human beings, ²¹  wild animals, ²²  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ²³  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 5:19

5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ²⁴  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ²⁵  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished.

John 19:11

19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority ²⁶  over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you ²⁷  is guilty of greater sin.” ²⁸ 

¹ tc Many mss (C 051* 2351 Ï^A pc) read “if anyone will kill with the sword, it is necessary for him to be killed with the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτενεῖ, δεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Other mss (א 1006 1611* 1854 al) are similar except that they read a present tense “kills” (ἀποκτείνει, apokteinei) in this sentence. Both of these variants may be regarded as essentially saying the same thing. On the other hand, codex A reads “if anyone is to be killed by the sword, he is to be killed by the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Thus the first two variants convey the idea of retribution, while the last variant, supported by codex A, does not. (There are actually a dozen variants here, evidence that scribes found the original text quite difficult. Only the most important variants are discussed in this note.) The first two variants seem to be in line with Jesus’ comments in Matt 26:52: “everyone who takes up the sword will die by the sword.” The last variant, however, seems to be taking up an idea found in Jer 15:2: “Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.” Though G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 169-70, gives four arguments in favor of the first reading (i.e., “whoever kills with the sword must with the sword be killed”), the arguments he puts forward can be read equally as well to support the latter alternative. In the end, the reading in codex A seems to be original. The fact that this sentence seems to be in parallel with 10a (which simply focuses on God’s will and suffering passively and is therefore akin to the reading in codex A), and that it most likely gave rise to the others as the most difficult reading, argues for its authenticity.

² tn On ὧδε (Jwde) here, BDAG 1101 s.v. 2 states: “a ref. to a present event, object, or circumstance, in this case, at this point, on this occasion, under these circumstances…in this case moreover 1 Cor 4:2. ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν…Rv 13:18; cf. 17:9. ὧδέ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονή…13:10; 14:12.”

³ tn Or “perseverance.”

⁴ tn The first word is a very strong adversative, which, in general, can be translated “but, howbeit”; BDB 19 s.v. אוּלָם suggests for this passage “but in very deed.”

⁵ tn The form הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךָ (he’emadtikha) is the Hiphil perfect of עָמַד (’amad). It would normally mean “I caused you to stand.” But that seems to have one or two different connotations. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 73) says that it means “maintain you alive.” The causative of this verb means “continue,” according to him. The LXX has the same basic sense – “you were preserved.” But Paul bypasses the Greek and writes “he raised you up” to show God’s absolute sovereignty over Pharaoh. Both renderings show God’s sovereign control over Pharaoh.

⁶ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct הַרְאֹתְךָ (har’otÿkha) is the purpose of God’s making Pharaoh come to power in the first place. To make Pharaoh see is to cause him to understand, to experience God’s power.

⁷ tn Heb “in order to declare my name.” Since there is no expressed subject, this may be given a passive translation.

⁷ tn מִסְתּוֹלֵל (mistolel) is a Hitpael participle, from a root that means “raise up, obstruct.” So in the Hitpael it means to “raise oneself up,” “elevate oneself,” or “be an obstructionist.” See W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:363; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 116.

⁸ tn The infinitive construct with lamed here is epexegetical; it explains how Pharaoh has exalted himself – “by not releasing the people.”

¹⁰ tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.

¹¹ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.

¹² tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).

¹³ tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.

¹³ tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.

¹⁵ tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.

¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isa^a; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.

¹⁶ tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).

¹⁷ sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571 b.c.

¹⁹ tn Heb “for which he worked,” referring to the assault on Tyre (v. 18).

²² tn Aram “the sons of man.”

²³ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

²⁴ tn Aram “hand.”

²⁵ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

²⁶ tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

²⁸ tn Or “power.”

²⁹ tn Or “who delivered me over to you.”

³⁰ tn Grk “has the greater sin” (an idiom).