Exodus 21:14

21:14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly, ¹  you will take him even from my altar that he may die.

Deuteronomy 19:11

19:11 However, suppose a person hates someone else ²  and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, ³  and then flees to one of these cities.

Deuteronomy 19:1

Laws Concerning Manslaughter

19:1 When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he ⁴  is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses,

Deuteronomy 18:10-11

18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, ⁵  anyone who practices divination, ⁶  an omen reader, ⁷  a soothsayer, ⁸  a sorcerer, ⁹  18:11 one who casts spells, ¹⁰  one who conjures up spirits, ¹¹  a practitioner of the occult, ¹²  or a necromancer. ¹³ 

Deuteronomy 18:1

Provision for Priests and Levites

18:1 The Levitical priests ¹⁴  – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. ¹⁵ 

Deuteronomy 19:9-12

19:9 and then you are careful to observe all these commandments ¹⁶  I am giving ¹⁷  you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities ¹⁸  to these three. 19:10 You must not shed innocent blood ¹⁹  in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty. ²⁰  19:11 However, suppose a person hates someone else ²¹  and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, ²²  and then flees to one of these cities. 19:12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger ²³  to die.

Deuteronomy 20:1

Laws Concerning War with Distant Enemies

20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry ²⁴  and troops ²⁵  who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

Deuteronomy 23:7-9

23:7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; ²⁶  you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner ²⁷  in his land. 23:8 Children of the third generation born to them ²⁸  may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Purity in Personal Hygiene

23:9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure. ²⁹ 

Deuteronomy 24:11

24:11 You must stand outside and the person to whom you are making the loan will bring out to you what he is offering as security. ³⁰ 

Psalms 10:7-10

10:7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; ³¹ 

his tongue injures and destroys. ³² 

10:8 He waits in ambush near the villages; ³³ 

in hidden places he kills the innocent.

His eyes look for some unfortunate victim. ³⁴ 

10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; ³⁵ 

he lies in ambush, waiting to catch ³⁶  the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed ³⁷  by pulling in his net. ³⁸ 

10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ³⁹ 

Psalms 11:2

11:2 For look, the wicked ⁴⁰  prepare ⁴¹  their bows, ⁴² 

they put their arrows on the strings,

to shoot in the darkness ⁴³  at the morally upright. ⁴⁴ 

Psalms 35:7-8

35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me

and dug a pit to trap me. ⁴⁵ 

35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! ⁴⁶ 

Let the net they hid catch them!

Let them fall into destruction! ⁴⁷ 

Psalms 57:4-6

57:4 I am surrounded by lions;

I lie down ⁴⁸  among those who want to devour me; ⁴⁹ 

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are a sharp sword. ⁵⁰ 

57:5 Rise up ⁵¹  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ⁵² 

57:6 They have prepared a net to trap me; ⁵³ 

I am discouraged. ⁵⁴ 

They have dug a pit for me. ⁵⁵ 

They will fall ⁵⁶  into it! (Selah)

Proverbs 1:18-19

1:18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood, ⁵⁷ 

they ambush their own lives! ⁵⁸ 

1:19 Such ⁵⁹  are the ways ⁶⁰  of all who gain profit unjustly; ⁶¹ 

it ⁶²  takes away the life ⁶³  of those who obtain it! ⁶⁴ 

Mark 6:19

6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But ⁶⁵  she could not

Mark 6:24-26

6:24 So ⁶⁶  she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother ⁶⁷  said, “The head of John the baptizer.” ⁶⁸  6:25 Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request: ⁶⁹  “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” 6:26 Although it grieved the king deeply, ⁷⁰  he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests.

Acts 20:3

20:3 where he stayed ⁷¹  for three months. Because the Jews had made ⁷²  a plot ⁷³  against him as he was intending ⁷⁴  to sail ⁷⁵  for Syria, he decided ⁷⁶  to return through Macedonia. ⁷⁷ 

Acts 23:21

23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, ⁷⁸  because more than forty of them ⁷⁹  are lying in ambush ⁸⁰  for him. They ⁸¹  have bound themselves with an oath ⁸²  not to eat or drink anything ⁸³  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ⁸⁴ 

[21:14]  ¹ tn The word עָרְמָה (’ormah) is problematic. It could mean with prior intent, which would be connected with the word in Prov 8:5, 12 which means “understanding” (or “prudence” – fully aware of the way things are). It could be connected also to an Arabic word for “enemy” which would indicate this was done with malice or evil intentions (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 270). The use here seems parallel to the one in Josh 9:4, an instance involving intentionality and clever deception.

[19:11]  ² tn Heb “his neighbor.”

[19:11]  ³ tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”

[19:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.

[18:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem qÿsamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.

[18:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, mÿ’onen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).

[18:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, mÿnakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).

[18:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, mikhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.

[18:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a binder of binding” (חֹבֵר חָבֶר, khover khaver). The connotation is that of immobilizing (“binding”) someone or something by the use of magical words (cf. Ps 58:6; Isa 47:9, 12).

[18:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “asker of a [dead] spirit” (שֹׁאֵל אוֹב, sho’el ’ov). This is a form of necromancy (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4).

[18:11]  ¹² tn Heb “a knowing [or “familiar”] [spirit]” (יִדְּעֹנִי, yiddÿ’oniy), i.e., one who is expert in mantic arts (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3).

[18:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “a seeker of the dead.” This is much the same as “one who conjures up spirits” (cf. 1 Sam 28:6-7).

[18:1]  ¹⁴ tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.

[18:1]  ¹⁵ sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).

[19:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”

[19:9]  ¹⁸ sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.

[19:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “innocent blood must not be shed.” The Hebrew phrase דָּם נָקִי (dam naqiy) means the blood of a person to whom no culpability or responsibility adheres because what he did was without malice aforethought (HALOT 224 s.v דָּם 4.b).

[19:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and blood will be upon you” (cf. KJV, ASV); NRSV “thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.”

[19:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “his neighbor.”

[19:11]  ²² tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”

[19:12]  ²³ tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (go’el haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.

[20:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “horse and chariot.”

[20:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[23:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “brother.”

[23:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “sojourner.”

[23:8]  ²⁸ sn Concessions were made to the Edomites and Egyptians (as compared to the others listed in vv. 1-6) because the Edomites (i.e., Esauites) were full “brothers” of Israel and the Egyptians had provided security and sustenance for Israel for more than four centuries.

[23:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “evil.” The context makes clear that this is a matter of ritual impurity, not moral impurity, so it is “evil” in the sense that it disbars one from certain religious activity.

[24:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “his pledge.”

[10:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “[with] a curse his mouth is full, and lies and injury.”

[10:7]  ³² tn Heb “under his tongue are destruction and wickedness.” The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 90:10. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10.

[10:8]  ³³ tn Heb “he sits in the ambush of the villages.”

[10:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “his eyes for an unfortunate person lie hidden.” The language may picture a lion (see v. 9) peering out from its hiding place in anticipation that an unsuspecting victim will soon come strolling along.

[10:9]  ³⁵ tn Or “in its den.”

[10:9]  ³⁶ tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.

[10:9]  ³⁷ tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.

[10:9]  ³⁸ tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”

[10:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidekeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (ba’atsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition -בְּ (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqÿshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelka’im, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelkhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel ka’im, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [’aniy] in v. 9).

[11:2]  ⁴⁰ tn In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and threaten his people (Ps 3:8).

[11:2]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form depicts the enemies’ hostile action as underway.

[11:2]  ⁴² tn Heb “a bow.”

[11:2]  ⁴³ sn In the darkness. The enemies’ attack, the precise form of which is not indicated, is compared here to a night ambush by archers; the psalmist is defenseless against this deadly attack.

[11:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[35:7]  ⁴⁵ tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).

[35:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.

[35:8]  ⁴⁷ tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

[57:4]  ⁴⁸ tn The cohortative form אֶשְׁכְּבָה (’eshkÿvah, “I lie down”) is problematic, for it does not seem to carry one of the normal functions of the cohortative (resolve or request). One possibility is that the form here is a “pseudo-cohortative” used here in a gnomic sense (IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3b).

[57:4]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew verb לָהַט (lahat) is here understood as a hapax legomenon meaning “devour” (see HALOT 521 s.v. II להט), a homonym of the more common verb meaning “to burn.” A more traditional interpretation takes the verb from this latter root and translates, “those who are aflame” (see BDB 529 s.v.; cf. NASB “those who breathe forth fire”).

[57:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “my life, in the midst of lions, I lie down, devouring ones, sons of mankind, their teeth a spear and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.” The syntax of the verse is difficult. Another option is to take “my life” with the preceding verse. For this to make sense, one must add a verb, perhaps “and may he deliver” (cf. the LXX), before the phrase. One might then translate, “May God send his loyal love and faithfulness and deliver my life.” If one does take “my life” with v. 4, then the parallelism of v. 5 is altered and one might translate: “in the midst of lions I lie down, [among] men who want to devour me, whose teeth….”

[57:5]  ⁵¹ tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:5]  ⁵² tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[57:6]  ⁵³ tn Heb “for my feet.”

[57:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “my life bends low.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[57:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “before me.”

[57:6]  ⁵⁶ tn The perfect form is used rhetorically here to express the psalmist’s certitude. The demise of the enemies is so certain that he can speak of it as already accomplished.

[1:18]  ⁵⁷ sn They think that they are going to shed innocent blood, but in their blindness they do not realize that it is their own blood they shed. Their greed will lead to their destruction. This is an example of ironic poetic justice. They do not intend to destroy themselves; but this is what they accomplish.

[1:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “their own souls.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a metonymy (= soul) of association (= life). The noun נֶפֶשׁ often refers to physical “life” (Exod 21:23; Num 17:3; Judg 5:18; Prov 12:10; BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).

[1:19]  ⁵⁹ tn The exclamation כֵּן (ken, “so; thus; such”) marks a conclusion (BDB 485 s.v.). It draws a comparison between the destruction of the wicked in v. 18 and the concluding statement in v. 19.

[1:19]  ⁶⁰ tc The MT reads אָרְחוֹת (’orkhot, “paths; ways” as figure for mode of life): “so are the ways [or, paths] of all who gain profit unjustly.” The BHS editors suggest emending the text to אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end” as figure for their fate) by simple metathesis between ח (khet) and ר (resh) and by orthographic confusion between י (yod) and ו (vav), both common scribal errors: “so is the fate of all who gain profit unjustly.” The external evidence supports MT, which is also the more difficult reading. It adequately fits the context which uses “way” and “path” imagery throughout 1:10-19.

[1:19]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “those who unjustly gain unjust gain.” The participle בֹּצֵעַ (boysea’, “those who unjustly gain”) is followed by the cognate accusative of the same root בָּצַע (batsa’, “unjust gain”) to underscore the idea that they gained their wealth through heinous criminal activity.

[1:19]  ⁶² tn The subject of the verb is the noun בָּצַע (“unjust gain”), which is also the referent of the 3rd person masculine singular suffix on בְּעָלָיו (bÿ’alav, “its owners”). Greed takes away the life of those who live by greed (e.g., 15:27; 26:27). See G. R. Driver, “Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 (1951): 173-74.

[1:19]  ⁶³ tn The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a metonymy (= soul) of association (= life). The noun נֶפֶשׁ often refers to physical “life” (Exod 21:23; Num 17:3; Judg 5:18; Prov 12:10; BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).

[1:19]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “its owners.”

[6:19]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[6:24]  ⁶⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[6:24]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “She said”; the referent (the girl’s mother) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:24]  ⁶⁸ tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark employs the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (though twice he does use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[6:25]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “she asked, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant and has not been translated.

[6:26]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”

[20:3]  ⁷¹ tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”

[20:3]  ⁷² tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ⁷³ sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).

[20:3]  ⁷⁴ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:3]  ⁷⁵ tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.

[20:3]  ⁷⁶ tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ⁷⁷ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[23:21]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mh peisqh" autoi") has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.

[23:21]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autwn andre") “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.

[23:21]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:21]  ⁸² tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone… ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”

[23:21]  ⁸³ 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.

[23:21]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”