Deuteronomy 31:8

31:8 The Lord is indeed going before you – he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”

Joshua 1:9

1:9 I repeat, ¹  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ²  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ³ 

Psalms 27:1

Psalm 27 ⁴ 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! ⁵ 

I fear no one! ⁶ 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! ⁷ 

Proverbs 28:1

28:1 The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, ⁸ 

but the righteous person is as confident ⁹  as a lion.

Isaiah 51:12-13

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹⁰ 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ¹¹ 

51:13 Why do you forget ¹²  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ¹³ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ¹⁴ 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ¹⁶ 

Because I have been silent for so long, ¹⁷ 

you are not afraid of me. ¹⁸ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ² tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[27:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

[27:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

[27:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[28:1]  ⁸ sn The line portrays the insecurity of a guilty person – he flees because he has a guilty conscience, or because he is suspicious of others around him, or because he fears judgment.

[28:1]  ⁹ tn The verb בָּטַח (batakh) means “to trust; to be secure; to be confident.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “bold.”

[51:12]  ¹⁰ tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.

[51:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ¹³ tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ¹⁵ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.

[57:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ¹⁸ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.