Discovery Box1 Corinthians 2:8
Context2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Job 12:19
Context12:19 He leads priests away stripped 1
and overthrows 2 the potentates. 3
Job 12:21
Context12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen
Psalms 2:1-6
Context2:1 Why 7 do the nations rebel? 8
Why 9 are the countries 10 devising 11 plots that will fail? 12
2:2 The kings of the earth 13 form a united front; 14
the rulers collaborate 15
against the Lord and his anointed king. 16
2:3 They say, 17 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 18
Let’s free ourselves from 19 their ropes!”
2:4 The one enthroned 20 in heaven laughs in disgust; 21
the Lord taunts 22 them.
2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them
and terrifies them in his rage, 23 saying, 24
2:6 “I myself 25 have installed 26 my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”
Isaiah 19:11-13
Context19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; 27
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” 28
19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? 29
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.
19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis 30 are misled;
the rulers 31 of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
Isaiah 40:23
Context40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
Acts 4:25-28
Context4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through 32 your servant David our forefather, 33
‘Why do the nations 34 rage, 35
and the peoples plot foolish 36 things?
4:26 The kings of the earth stood together, 37
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his 38 Christ.’ 39
4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against 40 your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 41 4:28 to do as much as your power 42 and your plan 43 had decided beforehand 44 would happen.
[12:19] 1 tn Except for “priests,” the phraseology is identical to v. 17a.
[12:19] 2 tn The verb has to be defined by its context: it can mean “falsify” (Exod 23:8), “make tortuous” (Prov 19:3), or “plunge” into misfortune (Prov 21:12). God overthrows those who seem to be solid.
[12:19] 3 tn The original meaning of אֵיתָן (’eytan) is “perpetual.” It is usually an epithet for a torrent that is always flowing. It carries the connotations of permanence and stability; here applied to people in society, it refers to one whose power and influence does not change. These are the pillars of society.
[12:21] 4 tn The expression in Hebrew uses מְזִיחַ (mÿziakh, “belt”) and the Piel verb רִפָּה (rippah, “to loosen”) so that “to loosen the belt of the mighty” would indicate “to disarm/incapacitate the mighty.” Others have opted to change the text: P. Joüon emends to read “forehead” – “he humbles the brow of the mighty.”
[12:21] 5 tn The word אָפַק (’afaq, “to be strong”) is well-attested, and the form אָפִיק (’afiq) is a normal adjective formation. So a translation like “mighty” (KJV, NIV) or “powerful” is acceptable, and further emendations are unnecessary.
[2:1] 6 sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.
[2:1] 7 tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.
[2:1] 8 tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.
[2:1] 9 tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:1] 10 tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).
[2:1] 11 tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).
[2:1] 12 tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.
[2:2] 13 sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.
[2:2] 14 tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.
[2:2] 15 tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).
[2:2] 16 tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).
[2:3] 17 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
[2:3] 18 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
[2:3] 19 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
[2:4] 20 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).
[2:4] 21 tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
[2:4] 22 tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”
[2:5] 23 sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.
[2:5] 24 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).
[2:6] 25 tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”
[2:6] 26 tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”
[19:11] 27 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
[19:11] 28 tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.
[19:12] 29 tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.
[19:13] 30 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
[19:13] 31 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
[4:25] 32 tn Grk “by the mouth of” (an idiom).
[4:25] 33 tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”
[4:25] 35 sn The Greek word translated rage includes not only anger but opposition, both verbal and nonverbal. See L&N 88.185.
[4:25] 36 tn Or “futile”; traditionally, “vain.”
[4:26] 37 tn Traditionally, “The kings of the earth took their stand.”
[4:26] 38 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[4:26] 39 sn A quotation from Ps 2:1-2.
[4:27] 40 sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.
[4:27] 41 sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”
[4:28] 42 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
[4:28] 43 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
[4:28] 44 tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.
