Ezekiel 18:12

18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, ¹  commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to ²  idols, performs abominable acts,

Ezekiel 18:15

18:15 He does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains, does not pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife,

Ezekiel 20:7

20:7 I said to them, “Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, ³  and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”

Ezekiel 20:24

20:24 I did this ⁴  because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on ⁵  their fathers’ idols.

Ezekiel 33:25-26

33:25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, ⁶  pray to ⁷  your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess ⁸  the land? 33:26 You rely ⁹  on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’

Deuteronomy 4:19

4:19 When you look up ¹⁰  to the sky ¹¹  and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation ¹²  – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, ¹³  for the Lord your God has assigned ¹⁴  them to all the people ¹⁵  of the world. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 121:1

Psalm 121 ¹⁷ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁸ 

121:1 I look up ¹⁹  toward the hills.

From where ²⁰  does my help come?

Psalms 123:1-2

Psalm 123 ²¹ 

A song of ascents. ²² 

123:1 I look up ²³  toward you,

the one enthroned ²⁴  in heaven.

123:2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, ²⁵ 

so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

[18:12]  ¹ sn The poor and needy are often mentioned together in the OT (Deut 24:14; Jer 22:16; Ezek 14:69; Ps 12:6; 35:10; 37:14).

[18:12]  ² tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”

[20:7]  ³ tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.

[20:24]  ⁴ tn The words “I did this” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons. Verses 23-24 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text. The translation divides this sentence into two for stylistic reasons.

[20:24]  ⁵ tn Or “they worshiped” (NCV, TEV, CEV); Heb “their eyes were on” or “were after” (cf. v. 16).

[33:25]  ⁶ sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).

[33:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”

[33:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “Will you possess?”

[33:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “stand.”

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lest you lift up your eyes.” In the Hebrew text vv. 16-19 are subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

[4:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:19]  ¹² tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

[4:19]  ¹³ tn In the Hebrew text the verbal sequence in v. 19 is “lest you look up…and see…and be seduced…and worship them…and serve them.” However, the first two actions are not prohibited in and of themselves. The prohibition pertains to the final three actions. The first two verbs describe actions that are logically subordinate to the following actions and can be treated as temporal or circumstantial: “lest, looking up…and seeing…, you are seduced.” See Joüon 2:635 §168.h.

[4:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “allotted.”

[4:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or “nations.”

[4:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

[121:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 121. The psalm affirms that the Lord protects his people Israel. Unless the psalmist addresses an observer (note the second person singular forms in vv. 3-8), it appears there are two or three speakers represented in the psalm, depending on how one takes v. 3. The translation assumes that speaker one talks in vv. 1-2, that speaker two responds to him with a prayer in v. 3 (this assumes the verbs are true jussives of prayer), and that speaker three responds with words of assurance in vv. 4-8. If the verbs in v. 3 are taken as a rhetorical use of the jussive, then there are two speakers. Verses 3-8 are speaker two’s response to the words of speaker one. See the note on the word “sleep” at the end of v. 3.

[121:1]  ¹⁸ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[121:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[121:1]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term מֵאַיִן (me’ayin) is interrogative, not relative, in function. Rather than directly stating that his source of help descends from the hills, the psalmist is asking, “From where does my help come?” Nevertheless, the first line does indicate that he is looking toward the hills for help, probably indicating that he is looking up toward the sky in anticipation of supernatural intervention. The psalmist assumes the dramatic role of one needing help. He answers his own question in v. 2.

[123:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.

[123:1]  ²² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[123:1]  ²³ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[123:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).

[123:2]  ²⁵ sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.