Genesis 49:18

49:18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. ¹ 

Psalms 27:14

27:14 Rely ²  on the Lord!

Be strong and confident! ³ 

Rely on the Lord!

Psalms 37:7

37:7 Wait patiently for the Lord! ⁴ 

Wait confidently ⁵  for him!

Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, ⁶ 

a man who carries out wicked schemes!

Psalms 123:2

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, ⁷ 

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

Psalms 130:5-7

130:5 I rely on ⁸  the Lord,

I rely on him with my whole being; ⁹ 

I wait for his assuring word. ¹⁰ 

130:6 I yearn for the Lord, ¹¹ 

more than watchmen do for the morning,

yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. ¹² 

130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for the Lord exhibits loyal love, ¹³ 

and is more than willing to deliver. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 8:17

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,

who has rejected the family of Jacob; ¹⁵ 

I will wait for him.

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ¹⁶ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 40:31

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ¹⁸  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ¹⁹ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Lamentations 3:25-26

ט (Tet)

3:25 The Lord is good to those who trust ²⁰  in him,

to the one ²¹  who seeks him.

3:26 It is good to wait patiently ²² 

for deliverance from the Lord. ²³ 

Habakkuk 2:3

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ²⁴ 

it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ²⁵ 

Even if the message ²⁶  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ²⁷ 

for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

Zephaniah 3:8

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ²⁸  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ²⁹ 

I have decided ³⁰  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ³¹  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

[49:18]  ¹ sn I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. As Jacob sees the conflicts that lie ahead for Dan and Gad (see v. 19), he offers a brief prayer for their security.

[27:14]  ² tn Or “wait.”

[27:14]  ³ tn Heb “be strong and let your heart be confident.”

[37:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Be quiet before the Lord!”

[37:7]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has וְהִתְחוֹלֵל (vÿhitkholel, Hitpolel of חִיל, khil, “writhe with fear, suffer”) but this idea fits awkwardly here. The text should be changed to וְתוֹחֵל (vÿtokhel; Hiphil of יָחַל, yakhal, “wait”). It appears that the Hebrew text is the product of dittography: (1) the initial וה (vav-he) is accidentally repeated from the preceding word (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) and (2) the final lamed (ל) is accidentally repeated (note the preceding lamed and the initial lamed on the following form, לו).

[37:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “over one who causes his way to be successful.”

[123:2]  ⁷ sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.

[130:5]  ⁸ tn Or “wait for.”

[130:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “my soul waits.”

[130:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his word.”

[130:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my soul for the master.”

[130:6]  ¹² tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[130:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “for with the Lord [is] loyal love.”

[130:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”

[8:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “who hides his face from the house of Jacob.”

[30:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[40:31]  ¹⁸ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[3:25]  ²⁰ tn Heb “wait for him”

[3:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “to the soul…” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= “the soul who seeks him”) for the whole person (= “the person who seeks him”).

[3:26]  ²² tn Heb “waiting and silently.” The two adjectives וְיָחִיל וְדוּמָם (vÿyakhil vÿdumam, “waiting and silently”) form a hendiadys: The first functions verbally and the second functions adverbially: “to wait silently.” The adjective דוּמָם (dumam, “silently”) also functions as a metonymy of association, standing for patience or rest (HALOT 217 s.v.). This metonymical nuance is captured well in less literal English versions: “wait in patience” (TEV) and “wait patiently” (CEV, NJPS). The more literal English versions do not express the metonymy as well: “quietly wait” (KJV, NKJV, ASV), “waits silently” (NASB), “wait quietly” (RSV, NRSV, NIV).

[3:26]  ²³ tn Heb “deliverance of the Lord.” In the genitive-construct, the genitive יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”) denotes source, that is, he is the source of the deliverance: “deliverance from the Lord.”

[2:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.

[2:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.

[2:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”

[3:8]  ²⁸ tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.

[3:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).

[3:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for my decision is.”

[3:8]  ³¹ tn Or “certainly.”