Deuteronomy 33:29

33:29 You have joy, Israel! Who is like you?

You are a people delivered by the Lord,

your protective shield

and your exalted sword.

May your enemies cringe before you;

may you trample on their backs.

Psalms 18:44-45

18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. ¹ 

Foreigners are powerless ²  before me;

18:45 foreigners lose their courage; ³ 

they shake with fear ⁴  as they leave ⁵  their strongholds. ⁶ 

Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ⁷  before you.

Psalms 81:15

81:15 (May those who hate the Lord ⁸  cower in fear ⁹  before him!

May they be permanently humiliated!) ¹⁰ 

Acts 8:13

8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to ¹¹  Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed. ¹² 

Acts 8:21-23

8:21 You have no share or part ¹³  in this matter ¹⁴  because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ¹⁵  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ¹⁶  8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious ¹⁷  and in bondage to sin.”

[18:44]  ¹ tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.

[18:44]  ² tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).

[18:45]  ³ tn Heb “wither, wear out.”

[18:45]  ⁴ tn The meaning of חָרַג (kharag, “shake”) is established on the basis of cognates in Arabic and Aramaic. 2 Sam 22:46 reads חָגַר (khagar), which might mean here, “[they] come limping” (on the basis of a cognate in postbiblical Hebrew). The normal meaning for חָגַר (“gird”) makes little sense here.

[18:45]  ⁵ tn Heb “from.”

[18:45]  ⁶ tn Heb “their prisons.” The besieged cities of the foreigners are compared to prisons.

[66:3]  ⁷ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[81:15]  ⁸ tn “Those who hate the Lord” are also mentioned in 2 Chr 19:2 and Ps 139:21.

[81:15]  ⁹ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.

[81:15]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the Lord. Some propose an emendation to בַּעֲתָתָם (ba’atatam) or בִּעֻתָם (bi’utam; “their terror”; i.e., “may their terror last forever”), but the omission of bet (ב) in the present Hebrew text is difficult to explain, making the proposed emendation unlikely.

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “he kept close company with.”

[8:13]  ¹² sn He was amazed. Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip’s connection to God. Christ is better than anything the culture has to offer.

[8:21]  ¹³ tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.

[8:21]  ¹⁴ tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.

[8:22]  ¹⁵ tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.

[8:23]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself. The literal phrase does not convey this to the modern reader, and in fact some modern translations have simply rendered the phrase as involving bitterness, which misses the point of the envy on Simon’s part. See L&N 88.166. The OT images come from Deut 29:17-18 and Isa 58:6.