2 Chronicles 9:8
Context9:8 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored 1 you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! 2 Because of your God’s love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, 3 he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions.” 4
Psalms 2:1-6
Context2:1 Why 6 do the nations rebel? 7
Why 8 are the countries 9 devising 10 plots that will fail? 11
2:2 The kings of the earth 12 form a united front; 13
the rulers collaborate 14
against the Lord and his anointed king. 15
2:3 They say, 16 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 17
Let’s free ourselves from 18 their ropes!”
2:4 The one enthroned 19 in heaven laughs in disgust; 20
the Lord taunts 21 them.
2:5 Then he angrily speaks to them
and terrifies them in his rage, 22 saying, 23
2:6 “I myself 24 have installed 25 my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”
Isaiah 7:6-7
Context7:6 They say, “Let’s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. 26 Then we’ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king.” 27 7:7 For this reason the sovereign master, 28 the Lord, says:
“It will not take place;
it will not happen.
Isaiah 9:6-7
Context9:6 For a child has been 29 born to us,
a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility
and is called: 30
Extraordinary Strategist, 31
Mighty God, 32
Everlasting Father, 33
Prince of Peace. 34
9:7 His dominion will be vast 35
and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. 36
He will rule on David’s throne
and over David’s kingdom, 37
establishing it 38 and strengthening it
by promoting justice and fairness, 39
from this time forward and forevermore.
The Lord’s intense devotion to his people 40 will accomplish this.
Luke 19:14
Context19:14 But his citizens 41 hated 42 him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man 43 to be king 44 over us!’
Luke 19:27
Context19:27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, 45 bring them here and slaughter 46 them 47 in front of me!’”
[9:8] 2 tn Heb “as king for the
[9:8] 3 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
[9:8] 4 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
[2:1] 5 sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.
[2:1] 6 tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.
[2:1] 7 tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.
[2:1] 8 tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:1] 9 tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).
[2:1] 10 tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).
[2:1] 11 tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.
[2:2] 12 sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.
[2:2] 13 tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.
[2:2] 14 tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).
[2:2] 15 tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).
[2:3] 16 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
[2:3] 17 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
[2:3] 18 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
[2:4] 19 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).
[2:4] 20 tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
[2:4] 21 tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”
[2:5] 22 sn And terrifies them in his rage. This line focuses on the effect that God’s angry response (see previous line) has on the rebellious kings.
[2:5] 23 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification to indicate that the speaker is the Lord (cf. RSV, NIV).
[2:6] 24 tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”
[2:6] 25 tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”
[7:6] 26 tn Heb “and let us break it open for ourselves”; NASB “make for ourselves a breach in its walls”; NLT “fight our way into.”
[7:6] 27 tn Heb “and we will make the son of Tabeel king in its midst.”
[7:7] 28 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 14, 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[9:6] 29 tn The Hebrew perfect (translated “has been born” and “has been given”) is used here as the prophet takes a rhetorical stance in the future. See the note at 9:1.
[9:6] 30 tn Or “and dominion was on his shoulders and he called his name.” The prefixed verbs with vav (ו) consecutive are used with the same rhetorical sense as the perfects in v. 6a. See the preceding note. There is great debate over the syntactical structure of the verse. No subject is indicated for the verb “he called.” If all the titles that follow are ones given to the king, then the subject of the verb must be indefinite, “one calls.” However, some have suggested that one to three of the titles that follow refer to God, not the king. For example, the traditional punctuation of the Hebrew text suggests the translation, “and the Extraordinary Strategist, the Mighty God calls his name, ‘Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’”
[9:6] 31 tn Some have seen two titles here (“Wonderful” and “Counselor,” cf. KJV, ASV). However, the pattern of the following three titles (each contains two elements) and the use of the roots פָּלַא (pala’) and יָעַץ (ya’ats) together in Isa 25:1 (cf. כִּי עָשִׂיתָ פֶּלֶא עֵצוֹת מֵרָחוֹק אֱמוּנָה אֹמֶן) and 28:29 (cf. הִפְלִיא עֵצָה) suggest otherwise. The term יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets) could be taken as appositional (genitive or otherwise) of species (“a wonder, i.e., a wonder as a counselor,” cf. NAB “Wonder-Counselor”) or as a substantival participle for which פָּלַא provides the direct object (“one who counsels wonders”). יוֹעֵץ is used as a royal title elsewhere (cf. Mic 4:9). Here it probably refers to the king’s ability to devise military strategy, as suggested by the context (cf. vv. 3-4 and the following title אֵל גִּבּוֹר, ’el gibor). In Isa 11:2 (also a description of this king) עֵצָה (’etsah) is linked with גְּבוּרָה (gÿvurah, the latter being typically used of military might, cf. BDB 150 s.v.). Note also עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה לַמִּלְחָמָה in Isa 36:5. פֶּלֶא (pele’) is typically used of God (cf. however Lam 1:9). Does this suggest the deity of the messianic ruler? The NT certainly teaches he is God, but did Isaiah necessarily have this in mind over 700 years before his birth? Since Isa 11:2 points out that this king will receive the spirit of the Lord, which will enable him to counsel, it is possible to argue that the king’s counsel is “extraordinary” because it finds its source in the divine spirit. Thus this title does not necessarily suggest that the ruler is deity.
[9:6] 32 tn גִּבּוֹר (gibbor) is probably an attributive adjective (“mighty God”), though one might translate “God is a warrior” or “God is mighty.” Scholars have interpreted this title is two ways. A number of them have argued that the title portrays the king as God’s representative on the battlefield, whom God empowers in a supernatural way (see J. H. Hayes and S. A. Irvine, Isaiah, 181-82). They contend that this sense seems more likely in the original context of the prophecy. They would suggest that having read the NT, we might in retrospect interpret this title as indicating the coming king’s deity, but it is unlikely that Isaiah or his audience would have understood the title in such a bold way. Ps 45:6 addresses the Davidic king as “God” because he ruled and fought as God’s representative on earth. Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (See Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). According to proponents of this view, Isa 9:6 probably envisions a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself. The other option is to regard this title as a reference to God, confronting Isaiah’s readers with the divinity of this promised “child.” The use of this same title that clearly refers to God in a later passage (Isa 10:21) supports this interpretation. Other passages depict Yahweh as the great God and great warrior (Deut 10:17; Jer. 32:18). Although this connection of a child who is born with deity is unparalleled in any earlier biblical texts, Isaiah’s use of this title to make this connection represents Isaiah’s attempt (at God’s behest) to advance Israel in their understanding of the ideal Davidic king for whom they long.
[9:6] 33 tn This title must not be taken in an anachronistic Trinitarian sense. (To do so would be theologically problematic, for the “Son” is the messianic king and is distinct in his person from God the “Father.”) Rather, in its original context the title pictures the king as the protector of his people. For a similar use of “father” see Isa 22:21 and Job 29:16. This figurative, idiomatic use of “father” is not limited to the Bible. In a Phoenician inscription (ca. 850-800
[9:6] 34 tn This title pictures the king as one who establishes a safe socio-economic environment for his people. It hardly depicts him as a meek individual, for he establishes peace through military strength (as the preceding context and the first two royal titles indicate). His people experience safety and prosperity because their invincible king destroys their enemies. See Pss 72 and 144 for parallels to these themes.
[9:7] 35 tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”
[9:7] 36 tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”
[9:7] 37 tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 38 tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”
[9:7] 39 tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”
[9:7] 40 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.
[19:14] 41 tn Or “subjects.” Technically these people were not his subjects yet, but would be upon his return. They were citizens of his country who opposed his appointment as their king; later the newly-appointed king will refer to them as his “enemies” (v. 27).
[19:14] 42 tn The imperfect is intense in this context, suggesting an ongoing attitude.
[19:14] 43 tn Grk “this one” (somewhat derogatory in this context).
[19:27] 45 tn Grk “to rule over them.”
[19:27] 46 tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).
[19:27] 47 sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.