Genesis 17:3

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ¹  and God said to him, ² 

Jude 1:22

1:22 And have mercy on those who waver;

Jude 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ³  a slave ⁴  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ⁵  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ⁶  God the Father and kept for ⁷  Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:13

1:13 wild sea waves, ⁸  spewing out the foam of ⁹  their shame; ¹⁰  wayward stars ¹¹  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ¹²  have been reserved.

Nehemiah 9:9

9:9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea. ¹³ 

Job 42:5-6

42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye has seen you. ¹⁴ 

42:6 Therefore I despise myself, ¹⁵ 

and I repent in dust and ashes!

Psalms 106:44-45

106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,

when he heard their cry for help.

106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,

and relented ¹⁶  because of his great loyal love.

Isaiah 6:1-5

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ¹⁷  I saw the sovereign master ¹⁸  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs ¹⁹  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ²⁰  and they used the remaining two to fly. 6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ²¹  is the Lord who commands armies! ²²  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, ²³  and the temple was filled with smoke.

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, ²⁴  for my lips are contaminated by sin, ²⁵  and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. ²⁶  My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” ²⁷ 

Daniel 10:7-8

10:7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. ²⁸  On the contrary, they were overcome with fright ²⁹  and ran away to hide. 10:8 I alone was left to see this great vision. My strength drained from ³⁰  me, and my vigor disappeared; ³¹  I was without energy. ³² 

Matthew 17:6

17:6 When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. ³³ 

Luke 5:8

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, ³⁴  for I am a sinful man!” ³⁵ 

Acts 7:34

7:34 I have certainly seen the suffering ³⁶  of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. ³⁷  Now ³⁸  come, I will send you to Egypt.’ ³⁹ 

Hebrews 12:21

12:21 In fact, the scene ⁴⁰  was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.” ⁴¹ 

Revelation 1:17

1:17 When ⁴²  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ⁴³  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last,

[17:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.

[17:3]  ² tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ³ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁵ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[1:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ¹¹ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ¹² tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.

[9:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Sea of Reeds.” Traditionally this is identified as the Red Sea, and the modern designation has been used in the translation for clarity.

[42:5]  ¹⁴ sn This statement does not imply there was a vision. He is simply saying that this experience of God was real and personal. In the past his knowledge of God was what he had heard – hearsay. This was real.

[42:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “despise what I said.” There is no object on the verb; Job could be despising himself or the things he said (see L. J. Kuyper, “Repentance of Job,” VT 9 [1959]: 91-94).

[106:45]  ¹⁶ tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway.

[6:1]  ¹⁷ sn That is, approximately 740 b.c.

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ²⁰ sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[6:3]  ²¹ tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

[6:3]  ²² tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[6:4]  ²³ tn On the phrase אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים (’ammot hassippim, “pivots of the frames”) see HALOT 763 s.v. סַף.

[6:5]  ²⁴ tn Isaiah uses the suffixed (perfect) form of the verb for rhetorical purposes. In this way his destruction is described as occurring or as already completed. Rather than understanding the verb as derived from דָּמַה (damah, “be destroyed”), some take it from a proposed homonymic root דמה, which would mean “be silent.” In this case, one might translate, “I must be silent.”

[6:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a man unclean of lips am I.” Isaiah is not qualified to praise the king. His lips (the instruments of praise) are “unclean” because he has been contaminated by sin.

[6:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”

[6:5]  ²⁷ tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[10:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the vision.”

[10:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “great trembling fell on them.”

[10:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “did not remain in.”

[10:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “was changed upon me for ruin.”

[10:8]  ³² tn Heb “strength.”

[17:6]  ³³ tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[5:8]  ³⁴ sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.

[5:8]  ³⁵ sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.

[7:34]  ³⁶ tn Or “mistreatment.”

[7:34]  ³⁷ tn Or “to set them free.”

[7:34]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And now.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:34]  ³⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 3:7-8, 10.

[12:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “that which appeared.”

[12:21]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “I am terrified and trembling.”

[1:17]  ⁴² tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:17]  ⁴³ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.