2 Samuel 11:13

11:13 Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house.

Genesis 9:21

9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself ¹  inside his tent.

Genesis 19:32-35

19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ²  so we can have sexual relations ³  with him and preserve ⁴  our family line through our father.” ⁵ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ⁶  and the older daughter ⁷  came and had sexual relations with her father. ⁸  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ⁹  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ¹⁰  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ¹¹  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ¹²  19:35 So they made their father drunk ¹³  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ¹⁴  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ¹⁵ 

Jude 1:6

1:6 You also know that ¹⁶  the angels who did not keep within their proper domain ¹⁷  but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept ¹⁸  in eternal chains ¹⁹  in utter ²⁰  darkness, locked up ²¹  for the judgment of the great Day.

Jude 1:9

1:9 But even ²²  when Michael the archangel ²³  was arguing with the devil and debating with him ²⁴  concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 1:22

1:22 And have mercy on those who waver;

Ruth 3:7

3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. ²⁵  Then Ruth ²⁶  crept up quietly, ²⁷  uncovered his legs, ²⁸  and lay down beside him. ²⁹ 

Ruth 3:1

Naomi Instructs Ruth

3:1 At that time, ³⁰  Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. ³¹ 

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ³²  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ³³  So a man from Bethlehem ³⁴  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ³⁵  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ³⁶ 

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ³⁷  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ³⁸  So a man from Bethlehem ³⁹  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ⁴⁰  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ⁴¹ 

Ruth 1:16

1:16 But Ruth replied,

“Stop urging me to abandon you! ⁴² 

For wherever you go, I will go.

Wherever you live, I will live.

Your people will become my people,

and your God will become my God.

Esther 1:10

Queen Vashti is Removed from Her Royal Position

1:10 On the seventh day, as King Ahasuerus was feeling the effects of the wine, ⁴³  he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him, ⁴⁴ 

Psalms 104:15

104:15 as well as wine that makes people feel so good, ⁴⁵ 

and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, ⁴⁶ 

as well as food that sustains people’s lives. ⁴⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys

9:7 Go, eat your food ⁴⁸  with joy,

and drink your wine with a happy heart,

because God has already approved your works.

Ecclesiastes 10:19

10:19 Feasts ⁴⁹  are made ⁵⁰  for laughter,

and wine makes life merry, ⁵¹ 

but money is the answer ⁵²  for everything.

Daniel 5:2-6

5:2 While under the influence ⁵³  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ⁵⁴  had confiscated ⁵⁵  from the temple in Jerusalem ⁵⁶  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ⁵⁷  5:3 So they brought the gold and silver ⁵⁸  vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God ⁵⁹  in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them. 5:4 As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ⁶⁰  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ⁶¹  The king was watching the back ⁶²  of the hand that was writing. 5:6 Then all the color drained from the king’s face ⁶³  and he became alarmed. ⁶⁴  The joints of his hips gave way, ⁶⁵  and his knees began knocking together.

Daniel 5:30

5:30 And in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, ⁶⁶  was killed. ⁶⁷ 

Nahum 1:10

1:10 Surely they will be totally consumed ⁶⁸ 

like ⁶⁹  entangled thorn bushes, ⁷⁰ 

like the drink of drunkards, ⁷¹ 

like very ⁷²  dry stubble.

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ⁷³  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ⁷⁴ 

[9:21]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb גָּלָה (galah) in the Hitpael verbal stem (וַיִּתְגַּל, vayyitggal) means “to uncover oneself” or “to be uncovered.” Noah became overheated because of the wine and uncovered himself in the tent.

[19:32]  ² tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ³ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

[19:32]  ⁴ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

[19:34]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ¹² tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:35]  ¹³ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:35]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “lied down with him.”

[19:35]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and.” Verse 6 is a continuation of the same sentence begun in v. 5. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “who did not keep their own domain.”

[1:6]  ¹⁸ sn There is an interesting play on words used in this verse. Because the angels did not keep their proper place, Jesus has kept them chained up in another place. The same verb keep is used in v. 1 to describe believers’ status before God and Christ.

[1:6]  ¹⁹ sn In 2 Pet 2:4 a less common word for chains is used.

[1:6]  ²⁰ tn The word ζόφος (zofos, “utter, deepest darkness”) is used only five times in the NT: two in 2 Peter, two in Jude, and one in Hebrews. Jude 6 parallels 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 13 parallels 2 Pet 2:17.

[1:6]  ²¹ tn The words “locked up” are not in Greek, but is expressed in English as a resumptive point after the double prepositional phrase (“in eternal chains in utter darkness”).

[1:9]  ²² tn The word “even” is not in Greek; it is implied by the height of the contrast.

[1:9]  ²³ sn According to Jewish intertestamental literature (such as 1 En. 20), Michael was one of seven archangels.

[1:9]  ²⁴ tn The sentence structure is a bit different in Greek. Literally it reads: “But Michael the archangel, when arguing with the devil and disputing.”

[3:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and Boaz ate and drank and his heart was well and he went to lie down at the end of the heap”; NAB “at the edge of the sheaves.”

[3:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ²⁷ sn Ruth must have waited until Boaz fell asleep, for he does not notice when she uncovers his legs and lies down beside him.

[3:7]  ²⁸ tn See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.

[3:7]  ²⁹ tn The words “beside him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. TEV “at his feet”; CEV “near his feet.”

[3:1]  ³⁰ tn The phrase “sometime later” does not appear in Hebrew but is supplied to mark the implicit shift in time from the events in chapter 2.

[3:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “My daughter, should I not seek for you a resting place so that it may go well for you [or which will be good for you]?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see 2:8-9) and has thus been translated in the affirmative (so also NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ³² tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”

[1:1]  ³³ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ³⁴ sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.

[1:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[1:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ³⁹ sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.

[1:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.

[1:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[1:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “do not urge me to abandon you to turn back from after you.” Most English versions, following the lead of the KJV, use “leave” here. The use of עזב (“abandon”) reflects Ruth’s perspective. To return to Moab would be to abandon Naomi and to leave her even more vulnerable than she already is.

[1:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “as the heart of the king was good with the wine.” Here the proper name (King Ahasuerus) has been substituted for the title in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “King Ahasuerus”; here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. similarly NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT “King Xerxes.”

[104:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”

[104:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).

[104:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”

[9:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “your bread.”

[10:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “bread.” The term לֶחֶם (lekhem) is used literally of “bread” and figuratively (i.e., by metonymy) for a “feast” (BDB 536–37 s.v. לֶחֶם). BDB suggests that עֹשִׂיה לֶחֶם (’osih lekhem) in Eccl 10:19 means “make a feast” (BDB 537 s.v. לֶחֶם 1.a). This obscure line has occasioned numerous proposals: “a feast is made for laughter” (KJV, ASV, NIV); “feasts are made for laughter” (NRSV); “men feast for merrymaking” (Moffatt); “men prepare a meal for enjoyment” (NASB); “the table has its pleasures” (NEB); “they [i.e., rulers of v. 16] make a banquet for revelry” (NJPS); “people prepare a banquet for enjoyment” (MLB); “for laughter they make bread and wine, that the living may feast” (Douay); “bread is made for laughter” (RSV); “bread [and oil] call forth merriment” (NAB).

[10:19]  ⁵⁰ tn The subject of the verb is not specified. When active verbs have an unspecified subject, they are often used in a passive sense: “Bread [feasts] are made….”

[10:19]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and wine gladdens life.”

[10:19]  ⁵² tn Or “and [they think that] money is the answer for everything.”

[5:2]  ⁵³ tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).

[5:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.

[5:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “taken.”

[5:2]  ⁵⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ⁵⁷ sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.

[5:3]  ⁵⁸ tc The present translation reads וְכַסְפָּא (vÿkhaspa’, “and the silver”) with Theodotion and the Vulgate. Cf. v. 2. The form was probably accidentally dropped from the Aramaic text by homoioteleuton.

[5:3]  ⁵⁹ tn Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodotion and the Syriac lack “the house.”

[5:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ⁶¹ sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ⁶² tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[5:6]  ⁶³ tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”

[5:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”

[5:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Aram “his loins went slack.”

[5:30]  ⁶⁶ tn Aram “king of the Chaldeans.”

[5:30]  ⁶⁷ sn The year was 539 B.C. At this time Daniel would have been approximately eighty-one years old. The relevant extra-biblical records describing the fall of Babylon include portions of Herodotus, Xenophon, Berossus (cited in Josephus), the Cyrus Cylinder, and the Babylonian Chronicle.

[1:10]  ⁶⁸ tn The verb אֻכְּלוּ (’ukkÿlu, “they will be consumed”) is an example of the old Qal passive perfect 3rd person common plural which was erroneously pointed by the Masoretes as Pual perfect 3rd person common plural. The Qal passive of אָכַל (’akhal) occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, pointed as Pual (e.g., Exod 3:2; Neh 2:3, 13; Isa 1:20; Nah 1:10). For further discussion on the old Qal passive see H. L. Ginsberg, “Studies on the Biblical Hebrew Verb: Masoretically Misconstrued Internal Passives,” AJSL 46 (1929): 53-56; R. J. Williams, “The Passive Qal Theme in Hebrew,” Essays on the Ancient Semitic World, 43-50; Joüon 1:166-67 §58.a; IBHS 373-76 §22.6 (see especially n. 36 on p. 375).

[1:10]  ⁶⁹ tn The particle עַד (’ad) is taken as a comparative of degree (“like”) by many lexicographers (BDB 724 s.v. I.3; HALOT 787 s.v. 5), English versions (NASB, NRSV, NJPS), and scholars (W. A. Maier, Nahum, 192; R. L. Smith, Micah-Malachi [WBC], 76; R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah [WEC], 42). Although the comparative sense is rare (1 Sam 11:15; 2 Sam 23:19; 2 Kgs 24:20; 1 Chr 4:27), it is suggested by the similes in v. 10 (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 57, §312). The comparative sense is reflected in the Greek versions of Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion. Although Origen took עַד in its more common spatial sense (“up to”), his approach can be dismissed because he misunderstood the entire line: ὅτι ἕως θεμελίου αὐτοῦ ξερσωθήσεται (Joti Jew" qemeliou autou xerswqhsetai, “up to his foundation he shall be laid bare”). The KJV takes עַד in its rare temporal sense (“while”; see BDB 725 s.v. II.2). T. Longman suggests a locative sense: “by the entangled thorns they are like drunkards stinking of drink” (“Nahum,” The Minor Prophets, 2:794, 796; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §310). Because of its difficulty, several scholars have resorted to conjectural emendations of the MT: (1) K. J. Cathcart (Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic [BibOr], 61) suggests emending the MT’s עַד to the temporal particle עוֹד (’od, “again”); (2) The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s כִּי עַד (ki ’ad) to הוֹי עִיר (hoy ’ir, “woe to the city!”) which appears in Nah 3:1; (3) The BHS editors suggest the alternate conjectural emendation of יִבְעֲרוּ כְ (yiv’aru kÿ, “they will burn like …”); (4) H. Junker (Die zwolf kleinen Propheten, 175) suggests emending כִּי עַד (ki ’ad) to כְּיַעַד (kÿya’ad, “like a forest”). Although the Masoretic reading is difficult, it is more plausible than any conjectural emendation.

[1:10]  ⁷⁰ tc The MT reads סִירִים סְבֻכִים (sirim sÿvukhim, “entangled thorn-bushes”), and is supported by the Dead Sea text from Murabba`at: סירים סבכים (see DJD 2:197). The noun סִירִים (“thorn bushes”) is from סִיר (sir, “thorn, thorn bush,” BDB 696 s.v. II סִיר; HALOT 752 s.v. *סִירָה), e.g., Isa 34:13; Hos 2:8; Eccl 7:6. The Qal passive participle סְבֻכִים (sÿvukhim) is from סָבַךְ (savakh, “to interweave,” BDB 687 s.v. סָבַךְ; HALOT 740 s.v. סבך), e.g., Job 8:17, which is related to Assyrian sabaku (“to entwine,” AHw 2:999.a) and Arabic sabaka (“to entwine”; Leslau, 51). The MT is supported by several LXX translators, e.g., Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion. It is also reflected in Vulgate’s spinarum perplexi (“thorn-bushes entangled”). On the other hand, the Syriac Peshitta reflects סָרִים סוֹרְרִים (sarim sorÿrim, “your princes are rebels”) which points to orthographic confusion and a different vocalization. Similar textual confusion is apparent in Origen: θεμελίου αὐτοῦ ξερσωθήσεται (qemeliou autou xerswqhsetai, “his foundation shall be laid bare”) seems to reflect יְסֹדָם יְכָבֵּס (yÿsodam yÿkhabbes, “their foundation shall be washed away”) which was caused by orthographic confusion and transposition of consonants. The MT should be retained.

[1:10]  ⁷¹ tc The MT reading וּכְסָבְאָם סְבוּאִים (ukhÿsav’am sÿvu’im, “and like the drink of drunkards”) is supported by Symmachus (“and as those drinking their drink with one another”) who is known for his wooden literalness to the Hebrew text, and by Vulgate which reads et sicut vino suo inebriati. K. J. Cathcart revocalizes as וּכְסֹבְאִים סְבֻאִים (ukhÿsovÿ’im sÿvu’im, “and like drunkards sodden with drink”; Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic [BibOr], 61). Haldar equates Hebrew סָבָא (sava’) with Ugaritic sp’ (“eat”) due to an interchange between ב (bet) and פ (pe), and produces “and as they consume a consuming” (A. Haldar, Studies in the Book of Nahum, 32). Barr argues that the mem (מ) on MT וּכְסָבְאָם (ukhÿsov’am) is enclitic, and he translates the line as “and as the drunken are getting drunk” (J. Barr, Comparative Philology, 33).

[1:10]  ⁷² tc The BHS editors propose emending the MT’s מָלֵא (male’, “fully”) to the negative interrogative הֲלֹא (halo’, “Has not…?”) and connecting it with the next line: “Has not one plotting evil marched out from you?” However, this emendation is unnecessary because the MT makes sense as it stands, and there is no textual support for the emendation. The MT is supported by the Greek tradition, the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah), and the other versions.

[21:34]  ⁷³ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ⁷⁴ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.