2 Chronicles 18:20-21

18:20 Then a spirit ¹  stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 18:21 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ²  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ³  Go out and do as you have proposed.’

Exodus 9:16

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.

Deuteronomy 2:30

2:30 But King Sihon of Heshbon was unwilling to allow us to pass near him because the Lord our ⁸  God had made him obstinate ⁹  and stubborn ¹⁰  so that he might deliver him over to you ¹¹  this very day.

Deuteronomy 2:1

The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to Moab

2:1 Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea ¹²  just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time.

Deuteronomy 2:25

2:25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth ¹³  with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.” ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 46:10

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ¹⁵  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

Acts 4:28

4:28 to do as much as your power ¹⁶  and your plan ¹⁷  had decided beforehand ¹⁸  would happen.

Romans 9:22

9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects ¹⁹  of wrath ²⁰  prepared for destruction? ²¹ 

Ephesians 1:11

1:11 In Christ ²²  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ²³  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

[18:20]  ¹ tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of verse 23. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 23 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, ruakh-yÿhvah) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, as in Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-22 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 23. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ (ruakh); he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.

[18:21]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:21]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

[9:16]  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.”

[9:16]  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.

[9:16]  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.

[9:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “in order to declare my name.” Since there is no expressed subject, this may be given a passive translation.

[2:30]  ⁸ tc The translation follows the LXX in reading the first person pronoun. The MT, followed by many English versions, has a second person masculine singular pronoun, “your.”

[2:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “hardened his spirit” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “made his spirit stubborn.”

[2:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “made his heart obstinate” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “made his heart defiant.”

[2:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “into your hand.”

[2:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.

[2:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “under heaven” (so NIV, NRSV).

[2:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from before you.”

[46:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[4:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.

[4:28]  ¹⁷ tn Or “purpose,” “will.”

[4:28]  ¹⁸ 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.

[9:22]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

[9:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

[9:22]  ²¹ tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

[1:11]  ²² tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ²³ tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.