Deuteronomy 32:35

32:35 I will get revenge and pay them back

at the time their foot slips;

for the day of their disaster is near,

and the impending judgment ¹  is rushing upon them!”

Deuteronomy 32:41-42

32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,

and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; ² 

I will execute vengeance on my foes,

and repay those who hate me! ³ 

32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh –

the blood of the slaughtered and captured,

the chief ⁴  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

Isaiah 35:4

35:4 Tell those who panic, ⁵ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ⁶ 

Isaiah 59:17

59:17 He wears his desire for justice ⁷  like body armor, ⁸ 

and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. ⁹ 

He puts on the garments of vengeance ¹⁰ 

and wears zeal like a robe.

Jeremiah 50:28

50:28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon.

They are coming to Zion to declare there

how the Lord our God is getting revenge,

getting revenge for what they have done to his temple. ¹¹ 

Nahum 1:2

God Takes Vengeance against His Enemies

1:2 The Lord is a zealous ¹²  and avenging ¹³  God;

the Lord is avenging and very angry. ¹⁴ 

The Lord takes vengeance ¹⁵  against his foes;

he sustains his rage ¹⁶  against his enemies.

Romans 12:19

12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, ¹⁷  for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ¹⁸  says the Lord.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ¹⁹  to this present world, ²⁰  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ²¹  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 1:8

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ²²  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Hebrews 10:30

10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ²³  and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ²⁴ 

[32:35]  ¹ tn Heb “prepared things,” “impending things.” See BDB 800 s.v. עָתִיד.

[32:41]  ² tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.

[32:41]  ³ tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).

[32:42]  ⁴ tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).

[35:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ⁶ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[59:17]  ⁷ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”

[59:17]  ⁸ tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”

[59:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”

[59:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”

[50:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Hark! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his temple.” For the meaning “Hark!” for the noun קוֹל (qol) see BDB 877 s.v. קוֹל 1.f and compare the usage in Jer 10:22. The syntax is elliptical because there is no main verb. The present translation has supplied the verb “come” as many other English versions have done. The translation also expands the genitival expression “vengeance for his temple” to explain what all the commentaries agree is involved.

[1:2]  ¹² tn Heb “jealous.” The Hebrew term קַנּוֹא (qanno’, “jealous, zealous”) refers to God’s zealous protection of his people and his furious judgment against his enemies. The root קָנָא (qana’) can denote jealous envy (Gen 26:14; 30:1; 37:11; Pss 37:1; 73:3; 106:16; Prov 3:31; 23:17; 24:1, 19; Ezek 31:9), jealous rivalry (Eccl 4:4; 9:6; Isa 11:13), marital jealousy (Num 5:14, 15, 18, 25, 30; Prov 6:34; 27:4), zealous loyalty (Num 11:29; 25:11, 13; 2 Sam 21:2; 1 Kgs 19:10, 14; 2 Kgs 10:16; Ps 69:10; Song 8:6; Isa 9:6; 37:32; 42:13; 59:17; 63:15; Zech 1:14; 8:2), jealous anger (Deut 32:16, 21; Ps 78:58), and zealous fury (Exod 34:14; Deut 5:9; 29:19; 1 Kgs 14:22; Job 5:2; Pss 79:5; 119:139; Prov 14:30; Isa 26:11; Ezek 5:13; 8:3; 16:38, 42; 23:25; 35:11; 36:5, 6; 38:19; Zeph 1:18). See BDB 888 s.v. קָנָא; E. Reuter, TDOT 13:47-58.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn The syntax of this line has been understood in two ways: (1) as a single clause with the Lord as the subject: “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord” (NRSV; NASB) or “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God” (NIV); and (2) as two parallel clauses: “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges” (KJV). The LXX reflects the latter. Masoretic accentuation and Hebrew syntax support the former. Accentuation links קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם (qano’ vÿnoqem, “jealous and avenging”) together rather than dividing them into separate clauses. Normal word order suggests that קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם (“jealous and avenging”) are attributive adjectives modifying אֵל (’el, “God”). In verbless clauses such as this, the predicate normally precedes the subject; thus, “a jealous and avenging God” (אֵל קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם, ’el qanno’ vÿnoqem) is the predicate and “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) is the subject.

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “exceedingly wrathful”; Heb “a lord of wrath.” The idiom “lord of wrath” (וּבַעַל חֵמָה, uva’al khemah) means “wrathful” or “full of wrath” (Prov 22:24; 29:22). The noun “lord” (בַעַל) is used in construct as an idiom to describe a person’s outstanding characteristic or attribute (e.g., Gen 37:19; 1 Sam 28:7; 2 Kgs 1:8; Prov 1:17; 18:9; 22:24; 23:2; 24:8; Eccl 7:12; 8:8; 10:11, 20; Isa 41:15; 50:8; Dan 8:6, 20); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3.

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn The term נָקַם (naqam, “avenge, vengeance”) is used three times in 1:2 for emphasis. The Lord will exact just retribution against his enemies (the Assyrians) to avenge their wickedness against his people (Judah).

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn The verb “rage” (נָטַר, natar) is used elsewhere of keeping a vineyard (Song 1:6; 8:11-12) and guarding a secret (Dan 7:28). When used of anger, it does not so much mean “to control anger” or “to be slow to anger” (HALOT 695 s.v.) but “to stay angry” (TWOT 2:576). It describes a person bearing a grudge, seeking revenge, and refusing to forgive (Lev 19:18). It is often used as a synonym of שָׁמַר (shamar, “to maintain wrath, stay angry”) in collocation with לְעוֹלָם (lÿ’olam, “forever, always”) and לָעַד (la’ad, “continually”) to picture God harboring rage against his enemies forever (Jer 3:5, 12; Amos 1:11; Ps 103:9). The long-term rage depicted by נָטַר (“maintain rage”) serves as an appropriate bridge to the following statement in Nahum that the Lord is slow to anger but furious in judgment. God seeks vengeance against his enemies; he continually rages and maintains his anger; he is slow to anger, but will eventually burst out with the full fury of his wrath.

[12:19]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.

[12:19]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[12:2]  ¹⁹ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ²¹ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[1:8]  ²² tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”

[10:30]  ²³ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[10:30]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Deut 32:36.