2 Samuel 16:12

16:12 Perhaps the Lord will notice my affliction ¹  and this day grant me good in place of his curse.” ² 

2 Samuel 16:2

16:2 The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?” ³  Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread ⁴  and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.” ⁵ 

2 Samuel 19:4

19:4 The king covered his face and cried out loudly, ⁶  “My son, Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”

Amos 5:15

5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!

Promote ⁷  justice at the city gate! ⁸ 

Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on ⁹  those who are left from ¹⁰  Joseph. ¹¹ 

Zephaniah 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ¹²  all you humble people ¹³  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ¹⁴ 

Strive to do what is right! ¹⁵  Strive to be humble! ¹⁶ 

Maybe you will be protected ¹⁷  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

[16:12]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. It is probably preferable to read with the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate בְּעוֹנִי (bÿ’onyi, “on my affliction”) rather than the Kethib of the MT בָּעַוֹנִי (ba’avoni, “on my wrongdoing”). While this Kethib reading is understandable as an objective genitive (i.e., “the wrong perpetrated upon me”), it does not conform to normal Hebrew idiom for this idea. The Qere of the MT בְּעֵינֵי (bÿ’eni, “on my eyes”), usually taken as synecdoche to mean “my tears,” does not commend itself as a likely meaning. The Hebrew word is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or “emendations of the scribes.”

[16:12]  ² tn Heb “and the Lord will restore to me good in place of his curse this day.”

[16:2]  ³ tn Heb “What are these to you?”

[16:2]  ⁴ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְהַלֶּחֶם (vÿhallekhem, “and the bread”) rather than וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (ulÿhallekhem, “and to the bread”) of the Kethib. The syntax of the MT is confused here by the needless repetition of the preposition, probably taken from the preceding word.

[16:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “to drink.”

[19:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “set up, establish.” In the ancient Near East it was the responsibility especially of the king to establish justice. Here the prophet extends that demand to local leaders and to the nation as a whole (cf. 5:24).

[5:15]  ⁸ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate (see the note in v. 12). This repetition of this phrase serves to highlight a deliberate contrast to the injustices cited in vv. 11-13.

[5:15]  ⁹ tn Or “will show favor to.”

[5:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the remnant of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “what’s left of your people.”

[5:15]  ¹¹ sn Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ¹³ tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”