Discovery Box2 Chronicles 25:8
Context25:8 Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you 1 before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.” 2
2 Chronicles 25:11
Context25:11 Amaziah boldly led his army to the Valley of Salt, 3 where he defeated 4 10,000 Edomites. 5
Psalms 27:14
ContextBe strong and confident! 7
Rely on the Lord!
Proverbs 18:10
Context18:10 The name of the Lord 8 is like 9 a strong tower; 10
the righteous person runs 11 to it and is set safely on high. 12
Proverbs 20:18
Context20:18 Plans 13 are established by counsel,
so 14 make war 15 with guidance.
Isaiah 8:9
Context8:9 You will be broken, 16 O nations;
you will be shattered! 17
Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth!
Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!
Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! 18
Joel 3:9-10
Context3:9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for a holy war!
Call out the warriors!
Let all these fighting men approach and attack! 19
3:10 Beat your plowshares 20 into swords,
and your pruning hooks 21 into spears! 22
Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ 23
Ephesians 6:10
Context6:10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
[25:8] 1 tn Heb “cause you to stumble.”
[25:8] 2 tn Heb “to cause to stumble.”
[25:11] 3 tn Heb “and Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people and went to the Valley of Salt.”
[25:11] 4 tn Or “struck down.”
[25:11] 5 tn Heb “sons of Seir.”
[27:14] 7 tn Heb “be strong and let your heart be confident.”
[18:10] 8 sn The “name of the
[18:10] 9 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
[18:10] 10 tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.
[18:10] 11 sn The metaphor of “running” to the
[18:10] 12 tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.
[20:18] 13 tn The noun form is plural, but the verb is singular, suggesting either an abstract plural or a collective plural is being used here.
[20:18] 14 tn The clause begins with vav (ו) on “with guidance.” But the clause has an imperative for its main verb. One could take the imperfect tense in the first colon as an imperfect of injunction, and then this clause would be also instructional. But the imperfect tense is a Niphal, and so it is better to take the first colon as the foundational clause and the second colon as the consequence (cf. NAB): If that is true, then you should do this.
[20:18] 15 sn There have been attempts by various commentators to take “war” figuratively to mean life’s struggles, litigation, or evil inclinations. But there is no need and little justification for such interpretations. The proverb simply describes the necessity of taking counsel before going to war.
[8:9] 16 tn The verb רֹעוּ (ro’u) is a Qal imperative, masculine plural from רָעַע (ra’a’, “break”). Elsewhere both transitive (Job 34:24; Ps 2:9; Jer 15:12) and intransitive (Prov 25:19; Jer 11:16) senses are attested for the Qal of this verb. Because no object appears here, the form is likely intransitive: “be broken.” In this case the imperative is rhetorical (like “be shattered” later in the verse) and equivalent to a prediction, “you will be broken.” On the rhetorical use of the imperative in general, see IBHS 572 §34.4c; GKC 324 §110.c.
[8:9] 17 tn The imperatival form (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speaker’s firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. See the note on “be broken.”
[8:9] 18 tn The initial imperative (“get ready for battle”) acknowledges the reality of the nations’ hostility; the concluding imperative (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speakers’ firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. (See the note on “be broken.”) One could paraphrase, “Okay, go ahead and prepare for battle since that’s what you want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll be shattered.” This rhetorical use of the imperatives is comparable to saying to a child who is bent on climbing a high tree, “Okay, go ahead, climb the tree and break your arm!” What this really means is: “Okay, go ahead and climb the tree since that’s what you really want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll break your arm.” The repetition of the statement in the final two lines of the verse gives the challenge the flavor of a taunt (ancient Israelite “trash talking,” as it were).
[3:9] 19 tn Heb “draw near and go up.”
[3:10] 20 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
[3:10] 21 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
[3:10] 22 sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.
[3:10] 23 sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.
