2 Kings 6:26-28

6:26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master, O king!” 6:27 He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” ¹  6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’

Job 29:12-14

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ²  had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ³ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁴ 

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, ⁵ 

my just dealing ⁶  was like a robe and a turban;

Luke 18:3-5

18:3 There was also a widow ⁷  in that city ⁸  who kept coming ⁹  to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 18:4 For ¹⁰  a while he refused, but later on ¹¹  he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor have regard for people, ¹²  18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will give her justice, or in the end she will wear me out ¹³  by her unending pleas.’” ¹⁴ 

[6:27]  ¹ tn Heb “From where can I help you, from the threshing floor or the winepress?” The rhetorical question expresses the king’s frustration. He has no grain or wine to give to the masses.

[29:12]  ² tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).

[29:13]  ³ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁴ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[29:14]  ⁵ tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.

[29:14]  ⁶ tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.

[18:3]  ⁷ sn This widow was not necessarily old, since many people lived only into their thirties in the 1st century.

[18:3]  ⁸ tn Or “town.”

[18:3]  ⁹ tn This is an iterative imperfect; the widow did this on numerous occasions.

[18:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And for.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:4]  ¹¹ tn Grk “after these things.”

[18:4]  ¹² tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:5]  ¹³ tn The term ὑπωπιάζω (Jupwpiazw) in this context means “to wear someone out by continual annoying” (L&N 25.245).

[18:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “by her continual coming,” but the point of annoyance to the judge is her constant pleas for justice (v. 3).