Genesis 27:41

27:41 So Esau hated ¹  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ²  Esau said privately, ³  “The time ⁴  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁵  my brother Jacob!”

Genesis 27:2

27:2 Isaac ⁶  said, “Since ⁷  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁸ 

Genesis 13:1

Abram’s Solution to the Strife

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. ⁹  He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. ¹⁰ 

Esther 3:7

3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year ¹¹  of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur ¹²  (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. ¹³  It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). ¹⁴ 

Psalms 37:12-13

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ¹⁵ 

and viciously attack them. ¹⁶ 

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ¹⁷  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ¹⁸ 

Acts 12:2-4

12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. ¹⁹  12:3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, ²⁰  he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.) ²¹  12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ²²  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ²³  planned ²⁴  to bring him out for public trial ²⁵  after the Passover.

[27:41]  ¹ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ² tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ³ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁵ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[27:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaac) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁷ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here introduces a logically foundational statement, upon which the coming instruction will be based.

[27:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “I do not know the day of my death.”

[13:1]  ⁹ tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).

[13:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”

[3:7]  ¹¹ sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.

[3:7]  ¹² tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).

[3:7]  ¹³ tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.

[37:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.

[37:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.

[37:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[12:2]  ¹⁹ sn The expression executed with a sword probably refers to a beheading. James was the first known apostolic martyr (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1-3). On James, not the Lord’s brother, see Luke 5:10; 6:14. This death ended a short period of peace noted in Acts 9:31 after the persecution mentioned in 8:1-3.

[12:3]  ²⁰ tn This could be a reference to the Jewish people (so CEV) or to the Jewish leaders (so NLT). The statement in v. 4 that Herod intended to bring Peter “out to the people” (i.e., for a public trial) may suggest the former is somewhat more likely.

[12:3]  ²¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:4]  ²² sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ²³ tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

[12:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”