Deuteronomy 8:13-14

8:13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything, 8:14 be sure ¹  you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery,

Deuteronomy 32:15

Israel’s Rebellion

32:15 But Jeshurun ²  became fat and kicked,

you ³  got fat, thick, and stuffed!

Then he deserted the God who made him,

and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.

Esther 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ⁴  King Ahasuerus promoted ⁵  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ⁶  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Esther 3:5-6

3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he ⁷  was filled with rage. 3:6 But the thought of striking out against ⁸  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ⁹  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ¹⁰  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ¹¹  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 5:9-11

Haman Expresses His Hatred of Mordecai

5:9 Now Haman went forth that day pleased and very much encouraged. ¹²  But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and he did not rise nor tremble in his presence, ¹³  Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai. 5:10 But Haman restrained himself and went on to his home.

He then sent for his friends to join him, ¹⁴  along with his wife Zeresh. 5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ¹⁵  his many sons, ¹⁶  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Job 21:7-15

The Wicked Prosper

21:7 “Why do the wicked go on living, ¹⁷ 

grow old, ¹⁸  even increase in power?

21:8 Their children ¹⁹  are firmly established

in their presence, ²⁰ 

their offspring before their eyes.

21:9 Their houses are safe ²¹  and without fear; ²² 

and no rod of punishment ²³  from God is upon them. ²⁴ 

21:10 Their bulls ²⁵  breed ²⁶  without fail; ²⁷ 

their cows calve and do not miscarry.

21:11 They allow their children to run ²⁸  like a flock;

their little ones dance about.

21:12 They sing ²⁹  to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,

and make merry to the sound of the flute.

21:13 They live out ³⁰  their years in prosperity

and go down ³¹  to the grave ³²  in peace.

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ³³  know your ways. ³⁴ 

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that ³⁵  we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray ³⁶  to him?’ ³⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 8:11

8:11 When ³⁸  a sentence ³⁹  is not executed ⁴⁰  at once against a crime, ⁴¹ 

the human heart ⁴²  is encouraged to do evil. ⁴³ 

Jeremiah 48:11

48:11 “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed.

It has never been taken into exile.

Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs,

never poured out from one jar to another.

They are like wine which tastes like it always did,

whose aroma has remained unchanged. ⁴⁴ 

Jeremiah 48:29

48:29 I have heard how proud the people of Moab are,

I know how haughty they are.

I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are,

what a high opinion they have of themselves. ⁴⁵ 

Ezekiel 28:2-5

28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince ⁴⁶  of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud ⁴⁷  and you said, “I am a god; ⁴⁸ 

I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –

yet you are a man and not a god,

though you think you are godlike. ⁴⁹ 

28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; ⁵⁰ 

no secret is hidden from you. ⁵¹ 

28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;

you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

28:5 By your great skill ⁵²  in trade you have increased your wealth,

and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

Daniel 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ⁵³  by my own mighty strength ⁵⁴  and for my majestic honor?”

[8:14]  ¹ tn The words “be sure” are not in the Hebrew text; vv. 12-14 are part of the previous sentence. For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation and the words “be sure” repeated from v. 11 to indicate the connection.

[32:15]  ² tn To make the continuity of the referent clear, some English versions substitute “Jacob” here (NAB, NRSV) while others replace “Jeshurun” with “Israel” (NCV, CEV, NLT) or “the Lord’s people” (TEV).

[32:15]  ³ tc The LXX reads the third person masculine singular (“he”) for the MT second person masculine singular (“you”), but such alterations are unnecessary in Hebrew poetic texts where subjects fluctuate frequently and without warning.

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[3:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in NASB and NRSV.

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

[3:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

[5:9]  ¹² tn Heb “happy and good of heart”; NASB “glad and pleased of heart”; NIV “happy and in high spirits.”

[5:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “tremble from before him”; NIV “nor showed fear in his presence”; TEV “or show any sign of respect as he passed.”

[5:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “sent and brought.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (a figure of speech in which a single idea is expressed through two words or phrases), in which case the two verbs could be translated simply as “summoned” (so NAB) or “sent for” (NASB).

[5:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ¹⁶ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[21:7]  ¹⁷ sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 154) clarifies that Job’s question is of a universal scope. In the government of God, why do the wicked exist at all? The verb could be translated “continue to live.”

[21:7]  ¹⁸ tn The verb עָתַק (’ataq) means “to move; to proceed; to advance.” Here it is “to advance in years” or “to grow old.” This clause could serve as an independent clause, a separate sentence; but it more likely continues the question of the first colon and is parallel to the verb “live.”

[21:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “their seed.”

[21:8]  ²⁰ tn The text uses לִפְנֵיהֶם עִמָּם (lifnehem ’immam, “before them, with them”). Many editors think that these were alternative readings, and so omit one or the other. Dhorme moved עִמָּם (’immam) to the second half of the verse and emended it to read עֹמְדִים (’omÿdim, “abide”). Kissane and Gordis changed only the vowels and came up with עַמָּם (’ammam, “their kinfolk”). But Gordis thinks the presence of both of them in the line is evidence of a conflated reading (p. 229).

[21:9]  ²¹ tn The word שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace, safety”) is here a substantive after a plural subject (see GKC 452 §141.c, n. 3).

[21:9]  ²² tn The form מִפָּחַד (mippakhad) is translated “without fear,” literally “from fear”; the preposition is similar to the alpha privative in Greek. The word “fear, dread” means nothing that causes fear or dread – they are peaceful, secure. See GKC 382 §119.w.

[21:9]  ²³ tn Heb “no rod of God.” The words “punishment from” have been supplied in the translation to make the metaphor understandable for the modern reader by stating the purpose of the rod.

[21:9]  ²⁴ sn In 9:34 Job was complaining that there was no umpire to remove God’s rod from him, but here he observes no such rod is on the wicked.

[21:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his bull,” but it is meant to signify the bulls of the wicked.

[21:10]  ²⁶ tn The verb used here means “to impregnate,” and not to be confused with the verb עָבַר (’avar, “to pass over”).

[21:10]  ²⁷ tn The use of the verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) in this place is interesting. It means “to rebuke; to abhor; to loathe.” In the causative stem it means “to occasion impurity” or “to reject as loathsome.” The rabbinic interpretation is that it does not emit semen in vain, and so the meaning is it does not fail to breed (see E. Dhorme, Job, 311; R. Gordis, Job, 229).

[21:11]  ²⁸ tn The verb שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to send forth,” but in the Piel “to release; to allow to run free.” The picture of children frolicking in the fields and singing and dancing is symbolic of peaceful, prosperous times.

[21:12]  ²⁹ tn The verb is simply “they take up [or lift up],” but the understood object is “their voices,” and so it means “they sing.”

[21:13]  ³⁰ tc The Kethib has “they wear out” but the Qere and the versions have יְכַלּוּ (yÿkhallu, “bring to an end”). The verb כָּלָה (kalah) means “to finish; to complete,” and here with the object “their days,” it means that they bring their life to a (successful) conclusion. Both readings are acceptable in the context, with very little difference in the overall meaning (which according to Gordis is proof the Qere does not always correct the Kethib).

[21:13]  ³¹ tc The MT has יֵחָתּוּ (yekhattu, “they are frightened [or broken]”), taking the verb from חָתַת (khatat, “be terrified”). But most would slightly repoint it to יֵחָתוּ (yekhatu), an Aramaism, “they go down,” from נָחַת (nakhat, “go down”). See Job 17:16.

[21:13]  ³² tn The word רֶגַע (rega’) has been interpreted as “in a moment” or “in peace” (on the basis of Arabic raja`a, “return to rest”). Gordis thinks this is a case of talhin – both meanings present in the mind of the writer.

[21:14]  ³³ tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ³⁴ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[21:15]  ³⁵ tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”

[21:15]  ³⁶ tn The verb פָּגַע (paga’) means “to encounter; to meet,” but also “to meet with request; to intercede; to interpose.” The latter meaning is a derived meaning by usage.

[21:15]  ³⁷ tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.

[8:11]  ³⁸ tn The particle אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is used as a conjunction in a conditional/temporal clause to introduce the protasis (“when” or “if”), and עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken) introduces the apodosis (“then”); cf. BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.d.

[8:11]  ³⁹ tn The noun פִתְגָם (fitgam, “decision; announcement; edict; decree”) is a loanword from Persian patigama (HALOT 984 s.v. פִּתְגָם; BDB 834 s.v. פִּתְגָם). The Hebrew noun occurs twice in the OT (Eccl 8:11; Esth 1:20), twice in the Apocrypha (Sir 5:11; 8:9), and five times in Qumran (11QtgJob 9:2; 29:4; 30:1; 34:3; 1QapGen 22:27). The English versions consistently nuance this as a judicial sentence against a crime: “sentence” (KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, MLB, YLT), “sentence for a crime” (NIV), “sentence imposed” (NJPS), “sentence on a crime” (Moffatt).

[8:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “is not done.” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah, “to do”) refers to a judicial sentence being carried out (HALOT 892 s.v. 2). The Niphal can denote “be executed; be carried out” of a sentence (Eccl 8:11) or royal decree (Esth 9:1; BDB 795 s.v. 1.a). Similarly, the Qal can denote “to execute” vengeance (Judg 11:36) or judgment (1 Sam 28:18; Isa 48:14; Ezek 25:11; 28:26; Ps 149:7, 9; BDB 794 s.v.).

[8:11]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the evil.”

[8:11]  ⁴² tn Heb “the heart of the sons of man.” The singular noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) is used collectively. The term לֵב is often used figuratively (metonymy) in reference to inclinations and determinations of the will (BDB 525 s.v. 4), moral character (BDB 525 s.v. 6), and as a synecdoche for the man himself (BDB 525 s.v. 7).

[8:11]  ⁴³ tn Heb “is full to do evil.” The verb מָלֵא (male’, “to fill”) is used figuratively (metonymy): the lack of swift judicial punishment only emboldens the wicked to commit more crimes without fear of retribution. Most English versions translate the term literally: “are filled” (NIV, MLB, YLT), “is fully set” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV). However, several versions nuance it figuratively: “emboldened” (ASV, NJPS) and “boldly” (NEB). Moffatt renders the line, “Because sentence on a crime is not executed at once, the mind of man is prone to evil practices.”

[48:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Therefore his taste remains in him and his aroma is not changed.” The metaphor is changed into a simile in an attempt to help the reader understand the figure in the context.

[48:29]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “We have heard of the pride of Moab – [he is] exceedingly proud – of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his haughtiness, and the loftiness of his heart.” These words are essentially all synonyms, three of them coming from the same Hebrew root (גָּאָה, ga’ah) and one of the words being used twice (גָּאוֹן). Since the first person singular is used in the next verse, the present translation considers the “we” of this verse to refer to the plural of majesty or the plural referring to the divine council in such passages as Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8 and has translated in the singular to avoid possible confusion of who the “we” are. Most understand the reference to be to Jeremiah and his fellow Judeans.

[28:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).

[28:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[28:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “I am divine.”

[28:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and you made your heart (mind) like the heart (mind) of gods.”

[28:3]  ⁵⁰ sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.

[28:3]  ⁵¹ sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.

[28:5]  ⁵² tn Or “wisdom.”

[4:30]  ⁵³ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ⁵⁴ tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”