Exodus 8:15

8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, ¹  he hardened ²  his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted. ³ 

Exodus 8:32

8:32 But Pharaoh hardened ⁴  his heart this time also and did not release the people.

Job 21:11-15

21:11 They allow their children to run ⁵  like a flock;

their little ones dance about.

21:12 They sing ⁶  to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,

and make merry to the sound of the flute.

21:13 They live out ⁷  their years in prosperity

and go down ⁸  to the grave ⁹  in peace.

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

We do not want to ¹⁰  know your ways. ¹¹ 

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that ¹²  we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray ¹³  to him?’ ¹⁴ 

Psalms 10:6

10:6 He says to himself, ¹⁵ 

“I will never ¹⁶  be upended,

because I experience no calamity.” ¹⁷ 

Psalms 50:21-22

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ¹⁸ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ¹⁹ 

But now I will condemn ²⁰  you

and state my case against you! ²¹ 

50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! ²² 

Otherwise I will rip you to shreds ²³ 

and no one will be able to rescue you.

Isaiah 5:18-19

5:18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, ²⁴ 

who pull sin as with cart ropes. ²⁵ 

5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, ²⁶ 

so we can see;

let the plan of the Holy One of Israel ²⁷  take shape ²⁸  and come to pass,

then we will know it!”

Isaiah 26:10

26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,

they do not learn about justice. ²⁹ 

Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; ³⁰ 

they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.

Isaiah 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ³¹ 

Because I have been silent for so long, ³² 

you are not afraid of me. ³³ 

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. ³⁴ 

Matthew 24:49-50

24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee,

Romans 2:4-5

2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know ³⁵  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 2:5 But because of your stubbornness ³⁶  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ³⁷ 

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ³⁸  against those who practice such things.

Romans 3:3-10

3:3 What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? 3:4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being ³⁹  shown up as a liar, ⁴⁰  just as it is written: “so that you will be justified ⁴¹  in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” ⁴² 

3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates ⁴³  the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? ⁴⁴  (I am speaking in human terms.) ⁴⁵  3:6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? 3:7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances ⁴⁶  his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? 3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we say. ⁴⁷  (Their ⁴⁸  condemnation is deserved!)

The Condemnation of the World

3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 3:10 just as it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one,

[8:15]  ¹ tn The word רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah) means “respite, relief.” BDB 926 relates it to the verb רָוַח (ravakh, “to be wide, spacious”). There would be relief when there was freedom to move about.

[8:15]  ² tn וְהַכְבֵּד (vÿhakhbed) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute, functioning as a finite verb. The meaning of the word is “to make heavy,” and so stubborn, sluggish, indifferent. It summarizes his attitude and the outcome, that he refused to keep his promises.

[8:15]  ³ sn The end of the plague revealed clearly God’s absolute control over Egypt’s life and deities – all at the power of the man who prayed to God. Yahweh had made life unpleasant for the people by sending the plague, but he was also the one who could remove it. The only recourse anyone has in such trouble is to pray to the sovereign Lord God. Everyone should know that there is no one like Yahweh.

[8:32]  ⁴ tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word כָּבֵד (kaved); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.

[21:11]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[21:15]  ¹² tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”

[21:15]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.

[10:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he says in his heart/mind.”

[10:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.” The traditional accentuation of the MT understands these words with the following line.

[10:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “who, not in calamity.” If אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is taken as a relative pronoun here, then one could translate, “[I] who [am] not in calamity.” Some emend אֲשֶׁר to אֹשֶׁר (’osher, “happiness”; see HALOT 99 s.v. אֹשֶׁר); one might then translate, “[I live in] happiness, not in calamity.” The present translation assumes that אֲשֶׁר functions here as a causal conjunction, “because, for.” For this use of אֲשֶׁר, see BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.c (where the present text is not cited).

[50:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ²⁰ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[50:22]  ²² tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.

[50:22]  ²³ sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).

[5:18]  ²⁴ sn See the note at v. 8.

[5:18]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Woe to those who pull evil with the ropes of emptiness, and, as [with] ropes of a cart, sin.” Though several textual details are unclear, the basic idea is apparent. The sinners are so attached to their sinful ways (compared here to a heavy load) that they strain to drag them along behind them. If שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness”) is retained, it makes a further comment on their lifestyle, denouncing it as one that is devoid of what is right and destined to lead to nothing but destruction. Because “emptiness” does not form a very tight parallel with “cart” in the next line, some emend שָׁוְא to שֶׂה (she, “sheep”) and עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) to עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”): “Those who pull evil along with a sheep halter are as good as dead who pull sin with a calf rope” (following the lead of the LXX and improving the internal parallelism of the verse). In this case, the verse pictures the sinners pulling sin along behind them as one pulls an animal with a halter. For a discussion of this view, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:163, n. 1. Nevertheless, this emendation is unnecessary. The above translation emphasizes the folly of the Israelites who hold on to their sin (and its punishment) even while they hope for divine intervention.

[5:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.

[5:19]  ²⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[5:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”

[26:10]  ²⁹ tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”

[26:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”

[57:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ³² tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ³³ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

[48:11]  ³⁴ 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.

[2:4]  ³⁵ tn Grk “being unaware.”

[2:5]  ³⁶ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ³⁷ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “based on truth.”

[3:4]  ³⁹ tn Grk “every man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.

[3:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.

[3:4]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary English.

[3:4]  ⁴² tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.

[3:5]  ⁴³ tn Or “shows clearly.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “That God is not unjust to inflict wrath, is he?”

[3:5]  ⁴⁵ sn The same expression occurs in Gal 3:15, and similar phrases in Rom 6:19 and 1 Cor 9:8.

[3:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “abounded unto.”

[3:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”

[3:8]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.