Deuteronomy 4:6-7

4:6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding ¹  to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise ²  people.” 4:7 In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him?

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 126:2

126:2 At that time we laughed loudly

and shouted for joy. ³ 

At that time the nations said, ⁴ 

“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”

Proverbs 31:28-29

31:28 Her children rise up ⁵  and call her blessed,

her husband ⁶  also praises her:

31:29 “Many ⁷  daughters ⁸  have done valiantly, ⁹ 

but you surpass them all!”

Proverbs 31:2

31:2 O ¹⁰  my son, O son of my womb,

O son ¹¹  of my vows,

Proverbs 1:10

Admonition to Avoid Easy but Unjust Riches

1:10 My child, if sinners ¹²  try to entice ¹³  you,

do not consent! ¹⁴ 

Revelation 21:9-10

The New Jerusalem Descends

21:9 Then ¹⁵  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, ¹⁶  saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!” 21:10 So ¹⁷  he took me away in the Spirit ¹⁸  to a huge, majestic mountain ¹⁹  and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “it is wisdom and understanding.”

[4:6]  ² tn Heb “wise and understanding.”

[126:2]  ³ tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”

[126:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “they said among the nations.”

[31:28]  ⁵ tn The first word of the nineteenth line begins with ק (qof), the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:28]  ⁶ tn The text uses an independent nominative absolute to draw attention to her husband: “her husband, and he praises her.” Prominent as he is, her husband speaks in glowing terms of his noble wife.

[31:29]  ⁷ tn The first word of the twentieth line begins with ר (resh), the twentieth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:29]  ⁸ tn Or “women” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[31:29]  ⁹ tn The word is the same as in v. 10, “noble, valiant.”

[31:2]  ¹⁰ tn The form מַה (mah), normally the interrogative “what?” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB) is best interpreted here as an exclamation. Tg. Prov 31:2 has “Woe!”

[31:2]  ¹¹ tn In all three occurrences in this verse the word “son” has the Aramaic spelling, ַַבּר (bar), rather than the Hebrew בֵּן (ben). The repetition of the word “son” shows the seriousness of the warning; and the expression “son of my womb” and “son of my vows” are endearing epithets to show the great investment she has made in his religious place in God’s program. For a view that “son of my womb” should be “my own son,” see F. Deist, “Proverbs 31:1, A Case of Constant Mistranslation,” JNSL 6 (1978): 1-3; cf. TEV “my own dear son.”

[1:10]  ¹² tn The term חַטָּא (khatta’) is the common word for “sinner” in the OT. Because the related verb is used once of sling-shot throwers who miss the mark (Judg 20:16), the idea of sin is often explained as “missing the moral mark” (BDB 306-8 s.v.). But the term should not be restricted to the idea of a sin of ignorance or simply falling short of the moral ideal. Its meaning is more likely seen in the related Akkadian term “to revolt, rebel.” It is active rebellion against authority. It is used here in reference to a gang of robbers.

[1:10]  ¹³ tn The imperfect tense verb יְפַתּוּךָ (yÿftukha) may be nuanced in a connotative sense: “(If) they attempt to
persuade you.” The verb פָּתָה (patah) means “to persuade, entice” a person to sin (BDB 834 s.v. פָּתָה 1; see, e.g., Judg 14:15; 16:5; Prov 16:29; Hos 2:16).

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads the root אָבָה (’avah, “to be willing; to consent”). Some medieval Hebrew mss read the root בּוֹא (bo’, “to go”): “do not go with them.” The majority of Hebrew mss and the versions support the MT reading, which is the less common word and so the more likely original reading.

[21:9]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.

[21:10]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation.

[21:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[21:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to a mountain great and high.”