Exodus 14:4

14:4 I will harden ¹  Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them. I will gain honor ²  because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, and the Egyptians will know ³  that I am the Lord.” So this is what they did. ⁴ 

Joshua 11:20

11:20 for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses. ⁵ 

Ezekiel 38:10-16

38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, ⁶  and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade ⁷  a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against ⁸  those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack ⁹  the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center ¹⁰  of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ¹¹  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice ¹²  38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 38:16 You will advance ¹³  against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself ¹⁴  through you, O Gog.

Joel 3:11-14

3:11 Lend your aid ¹⁵  and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves ¹⁶  to that place.”

Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! ¹⁷ 

3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up

to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

3:13 Rush forth with ¹⁸  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

Come, stomp the grapes, ¹⁹  for the winepress is full!

The vats overflow.

Indeed, their evil is great! ²⁰ 

3:14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,

for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! ²¹ 

[14:4]  ¹ tn In this place the verb חָזַק (hazaq) is used; it indicates that God would make Pharaoh’s will strong or firm.

[14:4]  ² tn The form is וְאִכָּבְדָה (vÿ’ikkavÿda), the Niphal cohortative; coming after the perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives expressing the future, this cohortative indicates the purpose of the hardening and chasing. Yahweh intended to gain glory by this final and great victory over the strength of Pharaoh. There is irony in this expression since a different form of the word was used frequently to describe Pharaoh’s hard heart. So judgment will not only destroy the wicked – it will reveal the glory and majesty of the sovereignty of God.

[14:4]  ³ tn This is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. But it announces the fulfillment of an long standing purpose – that they might know.

[14:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they did so.”

[11:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “for from the Lord it was to harden their heart[s] to meet for the battle with Israel, in order to annihilate them, so that they would receive no mercy, in order annihilate them, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

[38:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”

[38:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “go up against.”

[38:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “come (to).”

[38:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”

[38:12]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”

[38:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “young lions.”

[38:14]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”

[38:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “come up.”

[38:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “reveal my holiness.”

[3:11]  ¹⁵ tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).

[3:11]  ¹⁶ tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.

[3:11]  ¹⁷ tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a prayer for the Lord’s intervention is not out of place here.

[3:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “send.”

[3:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²⁰ sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).

[3:14]  ²¹ sn The decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the verdict handed out by the divine judge.