1 Samuel 30:6

30:6 David was very upset, for the men ¹  were thinking of stoning him; ²  each man grieved bitterly ³  over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

Psalms 56:3

56:3 When ⁴  I am afraid,

I trust in you.

Psalms 71:1

Psalm 71 ⁵ 

71:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Psalms 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ⁶ 

It is the God of Israel ⁷  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ⁸ 

Psalms 138:3

138:3 When ⁹  I cried out for help, you answered me.

You made me bold and energized me. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 41:10

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ¹¹ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ¹² 

Zechariah 10:12

10:12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, ¹³  and they will walk about ¹⁴  in my name,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 10:2

10:2 For the household gods ¹⁵  have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and as for the dreamers, they have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd. ¹⁶ 

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁷  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹⁸  to fill ¹⁹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Ephesians 3:16

3:16 I pray that ²⁰  according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

Ephesians 6:10

Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare

6:10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power.

Philippians 4:13

4:13 I am able to do all things ²¹  through the one ²²  who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:1

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ²³  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Philippians 1:10

1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

[30:6]  ¹ tn Heb “people.”

[30:6]  ² tn Heb “said to stone him.”

[30:6]  ³ tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”

[56:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “[in] a day.”

[71:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 71. The psalmist prays for divine intervention and expresses his confidence that God will protect and vindicate him. The first three verses are very similar to Ps 31:1-3a.

[68:35]  ⁶ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ⁷ tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ⁸ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[138:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the day.”

[138:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”

[41:10]  ¹¹ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ¹² tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[10:12]  ¹³ tc Heb “I will strengthen them in the Lord.” Because of the perceived problem of the Lord saying he will strengthen the people “in the Lord,” both BHK and BHS suggest emending גִּבַּרְתִּים (gibbartim, “I will strengthen them”) to גְּבֻרָתָם (gevuratam, “their strength”). This is unnecessary, however, for the Lord frequently refers to himself in that manner (see Zech 2:11).

[10:12]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac presuppose יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu, “they will glory”) for יִתְהַלְּכוּ (yithallÿkhu, “they will walk about”). Since walking about is a common idiom in Zechariah (cf. 1:10, 11; 6:7 [3x]) to speak of dominion, and dominion is a major theme of the present passage, there is no reason to reject the MT reading, which is followed by most modern English versions.

[10:2]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim, “teraphim”) refers to small images used as means of divination and in other occult practices (cf. Gen 31:19, 34-35; 1 Sam 19:13, 16; Hos 3:4). A number of English versions transliterate the Hebrew term (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) or simply use the generic term “idols” (so KJV, NIV, TEV).

[10:2]  ¹⁶ sn Shepherd is a common OT metaphor for the king (see esp. Jer 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 23:1-2; 50:6; Ezek 34).

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.

[4:13]  ²¹ tn The Greek word translated “all things” is in emphatic position at the beginning of the Greek sentence.

[4:13]  ²² tc Although some excellent witnesses lack explicit reference to the one strengthening Paul (so א* A B D* I 33 1739 lat co Cl), the majority of witnesses (א² D² [F G] Ψ 075 1881 Ï sy) add Χριστῷ (Cristw) here (thus, “through Christ who strengthens me”). But this kind of reading is patently secondary, and is a predictable variant. Further, the shorter reading is much harder, for it leaves the agent unspecified.

[4:1]  ²³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.