Esther 3:8

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ¹  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ²  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ³ 

Esther 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ⁴  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ⁵  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ⁶ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Esther 9:25

9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ⁷  gave written orders that Haman’s ⁸  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Psalms 7:14-16

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ⁹ 

7:15 he digs a pit ¹⁰ 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ¹¹ 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ¹² 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ¹³ 

Psalms 140:1-8

Psalm 140 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ¹⁵ 

Protect me from violent men, ¹⁶ 

140:2 who plan ways to harm me. ¹⁷ 

All day long they stir up conflict. ¹⁸ 

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ¹⁹ 

a viper’s ²⁰  venom is behind ²¹  their lips. (Selah)

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ²²  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ²³ 

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ²⁴  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!

140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, ²⁵ 

you shield ²⁶  my head in the day of battle.

140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! ²⁷ 

Do not allow their ²⁸  plan to succeed when they attack! ²⁹  (Selah)

Proverbs 6:12-19

6:12 A worthless and wicked person ³⁰ 

walks around saying perverse ³¹  things; ³² 

6:13 he winks with his eyes,

signals with his feet,

and points with his fingers; ³³ 

6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts ³⁴  in his heart,

he spreads contention ³⁵  at all times.

6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;

in an instant ³⁶  he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.

6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,

even ³⁷  seven ³⁸  things that are an abomination to him: ³⁹ 

6:17 haughty eyes, ⁴⁰  a lying tongue, ⁴¹ 

and hands that shed innocent blood, ⁴² 

6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans, ⁴³ 

feet that are swift to run ⁴⁴  to evil,

6:19 a false witness who pours out lies, ⁴⁵ 

and a person who spreads discord ⁴⁶  among family members. ⁴⁷ 

Proverbs 12:2

12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,

but the Lord ⁴⁸  condemns a person with wicked schemes. ⁴⁹ 

Isaiah 32:7

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; ⁵⁰ 

he dreams up evil plans ⁵¹ 

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right. ⁵² 

Isaiah 59:3

59:3 For your hands are stained with blood

and your fingers with sin;

your lips speak lies,

your tongue utters malicious words.

Jeremiah 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 Then some people ⁵³  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ⁵⁴  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ⁵⁵  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ⁵⁶  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

Ezekiel 11:2

11:2 The Lord ⁵⁷  said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.

Nahum 1:11

1:11 From you, O Nineveh, ⁵⁸  one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord,

a wicked military strategist. ⁵⁹ 

Luke 20:19

20:19 Then ⁶⁰  the experts in the law ⁶¹  and the chief priests wanted to arrest ⁶²  him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But ⁶³  they were afraid of the people.

Luke 22:2-6

22:2 The ⁶⁴  chief priests and the experts in the law ⁶⁵  were trying to find some way ⁶⁶  to execute ⁶⁷  Jesus, ⁶⁸  for they were afraid of the people. ⁶⁹ 

22:3 Then ⁷⁰  Satan ⁷¹  entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. ⁷²  22:4 He went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard ⁷³  how he might ⁷⁴  betray Jesus, ⁷⁵  handing him over to them. ⁷⁶  22:5 They ⁷⁷  were delighted ⁷⁸  and arranged to give him money. ⁷⁹  22:6 So ⁸⁰  Judas ⁸¹  agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus ⁸²  when no crowd was present. ⁸³ 

Acts 23:12

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came, ⁸⁴  the Jews formed ⁸⁵  a conspiracy ⁸⁶  and bound themselves with an oath ⁸⁷  not to eat or drink anything ⁸⁸  until they had killed Paul.

Romans 1:30

1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents,

[3:8]  ¹ tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

[3:8]  ² tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

[3:8]  ³ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

[5:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

[5:14]  ⁶ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”

[9:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[7:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.

[7:15]  ¹¹ tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.

[7:16]  ¹² tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[140:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[140:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”

[140:2]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.

[140:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

[140:3]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “under.”

[140:4]  ²² tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ²³ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”

[140:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

[140:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

[140:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “cover.”

[140:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”

[140:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).

[140:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).

[6:12]  ³⁰ sn The terms describe one who is both worthless and wicked. Some suggest that בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) is a compound of the negative בְּלִי (bÿli) and a noun יַעַל (ya’al, “profit; worth”). Others suggest that the root is from בַּעַל (ba’al, “lord [of goats]”) or a derivative of בָּלַע (bala’) with reduplication (“confusion” or “engulfing ruin”), or a proper name from Babylonian Bililu. See B. Otzen, TDOT 2:131-36; and D. W. Thomas, “בְּלִיַּעַל in the Old Testament,” Biblical and Patristic Studies in Memory of Robert Pierce Casey, 11-19. Whatever the etymology, usage shows that the word describes people who violate the law (Deut 15:9; Judg 19:22; 1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Prov 16:27; et al.) or act in a contemptuous and foolish manner against cultic observance or social institutions (1 Sam 10:27; 25:17; 30:22); cf. NRSV “a scoundrel and a villain” (NAB and NIV similar). The present instruction will focus on the devious practice of such wicked and worthless folk.

[6:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “crooked” or “twisted.” This term can refer to something that is physically twisted or crooked, or something morally perverse. Cf. NAB “crooked talk”; NRSV “crooked speech.”

[6:12]  ³² tn Heb “walks around with a perverse mouth.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause, an organ of speech put for what is said. This is an individual who says perverted or twisted things.

[6:13]  ³³ sn The sinister sign language and gestures of the perverse individual seem to indicate any kind of look or gesture that is put on and therefore a form of deception if not a way of making insinuations. W. McKane suggests from the presence of חֹרֵשׁ (khoresh) in v. 14 that there may be some use of magic here (Proverbs [OTL], 325).

[6:14]  ³⁴ tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of manner, explaining the circumstances that inform his evil plans.

[6:14]  ³⁵ tn The word “contention” is from the root דִּין (din); the noun means “strife, contention, quarrel.” The normal plural form is represented by the Qere, and the contracted form by the Kethib.

[6:15]  ³⁶ tn This word is a substantive that is used here as an adverbial accusative – with suddenness, at an instant.

[6:16]  ³⁷ tn The conjunction has the explicative use here (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §434).

[6:16]  ³⁸ sn This saying involves a numerical ladder, paralleling six things with seven things (e.g., also 30:15, 18, 21, 24, 29). The point of such a numerical arrangement is that the number does not exhaust the list (W. M. Roth, “The Numerical Sequence x / x +1 in the Old Testament,” VT 12 [1962]: 300-311; and his “Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament,” VT 13 [1965]: 86).

[6:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “his soul.”

[6:17]  ⁴⁰ sn The expression “high/ lofty [רָמוֹת, ramot] eyes” refers to a proud look suggesting arrogant ambition (cf. NCV “a proud look”). The use of “eyes” is a metonymy of adjunct, the look in the eyes accompanying the attitude. This term “high” is used in Num 15:30 for the sin of the “high hand,” i.e., willful rebellion or defiant sin. The usage of “haughty eyes” may be illustrated by its use with the pompous Assyrian invader (Isa 10:12-14) and the proud king of the book of Daniel (11:12). God does not tolerate anyone who thinks so highly of himself and who has such ambition.

[6:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “a tongue of deception.” The genitive noun functions attributively. The term “tongue” functions as a metonymy. The term is used of false prophets who deceive (Jer 14:14), and of a deceiver who betrays (Ps 109:2). The Lord hates deceptive speech because it is destructive (26:28).

[6:17]  ⁴² sn The hands are the instruments of murder (metonymy of cause), and God hates bloodshed. Gen 9:6 prohibited shedding blood because people are the image of God. Even David being a man of blood (in war mostly) was not permitted to build the Temple (1 Chr 22:8). But shedding innocent blood was a greater crime – it usually went with positions of power, such as King Manasseh filling the streets with blood (2 Kgs 21:16), or princes doing it for gain (Ezek 22:27).

[6:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “heart that devises plans of wickedness.” The latter term is an attributive genitive. The heart (metonymy of subject) represents the will; here it plots evil schemes. The heart is capable of evil schemes (Gen 6:5); the heart that does this is deceitful (Prov 12:20; 14:22).

[6:18]  ⁴⁴ tc The MT reads “make haste to run,” that is, be eager to seize the opportunity. The LXX omits “run,” that is, feet hastening to do evil. It must have appeared to the LXX translator that the verb was unnecessary; only one verb occurs in the other cola.

[6:19]  ⁴⁵ sn The Lord hates perjury and a lying witness (e.g., Ps 40:4; Amos 2:4; Mic 1:4). This is a direct violation of the law (Exod 20).

[6:19]  ⁴⁶ sn Dissension is attributed in Proverbs to contentious people (21:9; 26:21; 25:24) who have a short fuse (15:8).

[6:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “brothers,” although not limited to male siblings only. Cf. NRSV, CEV “in a family”; TEV “among friends.”

[12:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “a man of wicked plans.” The noun מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot, “evil plans”) functions as an attributive genitive: “an evil-scheming man.” Cf. NASB “a man who devises evil”; NAB “the schemer.”

[32:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”

[32:7]  ⁵¹ tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”

[32:7]  ⁵² tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

[18:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.

[18:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.

[18:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”

[18:18]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.

[11:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:11]  ⁵⁸ tn The words “O Nineveh” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity. The preceding pronoun is feminine singular, indicating the personified city is in view. See 2:1 (2:2 HT).

[1:11]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “a counselor of wickedness”; NASB “a wicked counselor”; NAB “the scoundrel planner.”

[20:19]  ⁶⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:19]  ⁶¹ tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[20:19]  ⁶² tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”

[20:19]  ⁶³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[22:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:2]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “were seeking how.”

[22:2]  ⁶⁷ tn The Greek verb here means “to get rid of by execution” (BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2; cf. also L&N 20.71, which states, “to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures”).

[22:2]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁶⁹ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.

[22:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:3]  ⁷¹ sn The cross is portrayed as part of the cosmic battle between Satan and God; see Luke 4:1-13; 11:14-23.

[22:3]  ⁷² tn Grk “Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”

[22:4]  ⁷³ tn The full title στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ (strathgo" tou Jierou; “officer of the temple” or “captain of the temple guard”) is sometimes shortened to στρατηγός as here (L&N 37.91).

[22:4]  ⁷⁴ tn Luke uses this frequent indirect question to make his point (BDF §267.2).

[22:4]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:4]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “how he might hand him over to them,” in the sense of “betray him.”

[22:5]  ⁷⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:5]  ⁷⁸ sn The leaders were delighted when Judas contacted them about betraying Jesus, because it gave them the opportunity they had been looking for, and they could later claim that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.

[22:5]  ⁷⁹ sn Matt 26:15 states the amount of money they gave Judas was thirty pieces of silver (see also Matt 27:3-4; Zech 11:12-13).

[22:6]  ⁸⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the arrangement worked out in the preceding verse.

[22:6]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ⁸² tn Grk “betray him to them”; the referent of the first pronoun (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ⁸³ tn Grk “apart from the crowd.”

[23:12]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12]  ⁸⁶ tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12]  ⁸⁸ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.