2 Chronicles 30:9

30:9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and sons will be shown mercy by their captors and return to this land. The Lord your God is merciful and compassionate; he will not reject you ¹  if you return to him.”

Ezra 7:6

7:6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

Ezra 7:27-28

7:27 ² Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem! 7:28 He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ³  O Lord, listen attentively ⁴  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ⁵  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ⁶  in the presence of this man.”

Now ⁷  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 2:4-8

2:4 The king responded, ⁸  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven 2:5 and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined ⁹  and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.” 2:6 Then the king, with his consort ¹⁰  sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, ¹¹  I gave him a time. 2:7 I said to the king, “If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates ¹²  that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah, 2:8 and a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king’s nature preserve, ¹³  so that he will give me timber for beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the temple and for the city wall ¹⁴  and for the house to which I go.” So the king granted me these requests, ¹⁵  for the good hand of my God was on me.

Psalms 106:46

106:46 He caused all their conquerors ¹⁶ 

to have pity on them.

Proverbs 16:7

16:7 When a person’s ¹⁷  ways are pleasing to the Lord, ¹⁸ 

he ¹⁹  even reconciles his enemies to himself. ²⁰ 

Daniel 1:9-10

1:9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. ²¹  1:10 But he ²²  responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ²³  your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ²⁴  If that happened, ²⁵  you would endanger my life ²⁶  with the king!”

Acts 7:10

7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made ²⁷  him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

[30:9]  ¹ tn Heb “turn [his] face from you.”

[7:27]  ² sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.

[1:11]  ³ tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “fear.”

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “said to me.”

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.” So also in v. 7.

[2:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”

[2:7]  ¹² tn Heb “across the river,” here and often elsewhere in the Book of Nehemiah.

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Or “forest.” So HALOT 963 s.v. פַּרְדֵּס 2.

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tc One medieval Hebrew MS, the Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate, and the Arabic read here the plural וּלְחוֹמוֹת (ulÿkhomot, “walls”) against the singular וּלְחוֹמַת (ulÿkhomat) in the MT. The plural holem vav (וֹ) might have dropped out due to dittography or the plural form might have been written defectively.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text does not include the expression “these requests,” but it is implied.

[106:46]  ¹⁶ tn Or “captors.”

[16:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:7]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “even his enemies he makes to be at peace with him.”

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.

[1:10]  ²² tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:10]  ²³ tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.

[1:10]  ²⁵ tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[1:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.

[7:10]  ²⁷ tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.