2 Chronicles 14:6-7

14:6 He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. 14:7 He said to the people of Judah: ¹  “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. ²  The land remains ours because we have followed ³  the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.” ⁴  So they built the cities ⁵  and prospered.

2 Chronicles 15:15

15:15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. ⁶  He made them secure on every side. ⁷ 

Joshua 23:1-2

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

23:1 A long time ⁸  passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies, ⁹  and Joshua was very old. ¹⁰  23:2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old.

Joshua 7:1

Achan Sins and is Punished

7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ¹¹  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ¹²  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ¹³  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ¹⁴ 

Job 34:29

34:29 But if God ¹⁵  is quiet, who can condemn ¹⁶  him?

If he hides his face, then who can see him?

Yet ¹⁷  he is over the individual and the nation alike, ¹⁸ 

Proverbs 16:7

16:7 When a person’s ¹⁹  ways are pleasing to the Lord, ²⁰ 

he ²¹  even reconciles his enemies to himself. ²² 

John 14:27

14:27 “Peace I leave with you; ²³  my peace I give to you; I do not give it ²⁴  to you as the world does. ²⁵  Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. ²⁶ 

[14:7]  ¹ tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.

[14:7]  ² tn Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.”

[14:7]  ³ tn Heb “sought.”

[14:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he has given us rest all around.”

[14:7]  ⁵ tn The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[15:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and with all their desire they sought him and he allowed himself to be found by them.”

[15:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the Lord gave them rest all around.”

[23:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “many days.”

[23:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”

[23:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ¹² tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).

[7:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.”

[34:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:29]  ¹⁶ tn The verb in this position is somewhat difficult, although it does make good sense in the sentence – it is just not what the parallelism would suggest. So several emendations have been put forward, for which see the commentaries.

[34:29]  ¹⁷ tn The line simply reads “and over a nation and over a man together.” But it must be the qualification for the points being made in the previous lines, namely, that even if God hides himself so no one can see, yet he is still watching over them all (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 222).

[34:29]  ¹⁸ tn The word translated “alike” (Heb “together”) has bothered some interpreters. In the reading taken here it is acceptable. But others have emended it to gain a verb, such as “he visits” (Beer), “he watches over” (Duhm), “he is compassionate” (Kissane), etc. But it is sufficient to say “he is over.”

[16:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:7]  ²⁰ tn The first line uses an infinitive in a temporal clause, followed by its subject in the genitive case: “in the taking pleasure of the Lord” = “when the Lord is pleased with.” So the condition set down for the second colon is a lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

[16:7]  ²¹ tn The referent of the verb in the second colon is unclear. The straightforward answer is that it refers to the person whose ways please the Lord – it is his lifestyle that disarms his enemies. W. McKane comments that the righteous have the power to mend relationships (Proverbs [OTL], 491); see, e.g., 10:13; 14:9; 15:1; 25:21-22). The life that is pleasing to God will be above reproach and find favor with others. Some would interpret this to mean that God makes his enemies to be at peace with him (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT). This is workable, but in this passage it would seem God would do this through the pleasing life of the believer (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[16:7]  ²² tn Heb “even his enemies he makes to be at peace with him.”

[14:27]  ²³ sn Peace I leave with you. In spite of appearances, this verse does not introduce a new subject (peace). Jesus will use the phrase as a greeting to his disciples after his resurrection (20:19, 21, 26). It is here a reflection of the Hebrew shalom as a farewell. But Jesus says he leaves peace with his disciples. This should probably be understood ultimately in terms of the indwelling of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who has been the topic of the preceding verses. It is his presence, after Jesus has left the disciples and finally returned to the Father, which will remain with them and comfort them.

[14:27]  ²⁴ tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[14:27]  ²⁵ tn Grk “not as the world gives do I give to you.”

[14:27]  ²⁶ tn Or “distressed or fearful and cowardly.”