Genesis 49:7

49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,

and their fury, for it was cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob,

and scatter them in Israel! ¹ 

Proverbs 27:4

27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming, ² 

but who can stand before jealousy? ³ 

Proverbs 29:10

29:10 Bloodthirsty people ⁴  hate someone with integrity; ⁵ 

as for the upright, they seek his life. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 22:17

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking

for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.

Your eyes and your heart are set

on killing some innocent person

and committing fraud and oppression. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 16:3-4

16:3 and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 16:4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water; ⁸  you were certainly not rubbed down with salt, nor wrapped with blankets. ⁹ 

Ezekiel 19:2-3

19:2 and say:

“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!

She lay among young lions; ¹⁰  she reared her cubs.

19:3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.

He learned to tear prey; he devoured people. ¹¹ 

Ezekiel 35:6

35:6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

Revelation 16:6

16:6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets,

so ¹²  you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!” ¹³ 

Revelation 17:6

17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. ¹⁴  I ¹⁵  was greatly astounded ¹⁶  when I saw her.

[49:7]  ¹ sn Divide…scatter. What is predicted here is a division of their tribes. Most commentators see here an anticipation of Levi being in every area but not their own. That may be part of it, but not entirely what the curse intended. These tribes for their ruthless cruelty would be eliminated from the power and prestige of leadership.

[27:4]  ² tn Heb “fierceness of wrath and outpouring [= flood] of anger.” A number of English versions use “flood” here (e.g., NASB, NCV, NLT).

[27:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “jealousy” here probably has the negative sense of “envy” rather than the positive sense of “zeal.” It is a raging emotion (like “anger” and “wrath,” this word has nuances of heat, intensity) that defies reason at times and can be destructive like a consuming fire (e.g., 6:32-35; Song 8:6-7). The rhetorical question is intended to affirm that no one can survive a jealous rage. (Whether one is the subject who is jealous or the object of the jealousy of someone else is not so clear.)

[29:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “men of bloods.” The Hebrew word for “blood” is written in the plural to reflect the shedding of blood. So the expression “men of bloods” means people who shed blood – murderers, bloodthirsty men, or those who would not hesitate to commit murder in order to get what they want.

[29:10]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew word describes the “blameless” or “innocent” who maintain integrity. The bloodthirsty despise people who insist on decency and integrity.

[29:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the upright seek his life.” There are two ways this second line can be taken. (1) One can see it as a continuation of the first line, meaning that the bloodthirsty men also “seek the life of the upright” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The difficulty is that the suffix is singular but the apparent referent is plural. (2) One can take it is as a contrast: “but as for the upright, they seek his life” – a fairly straightforward rendering (cf. ASV). The difficulty here is that “seeking a life” is normally a hostile act, but it would here be positive: “seeking” a life to preserve it. The verse would then say that the bloodthirsty hate the innocent, but the righteous protect them (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 637; cf. NAB, NASB, TEV).

[22:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “Your eyes and your heart do not exist except for dishonest gain and for innocent blood to shed [it] and for fraud and for oppression to do [them].” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to English style and the significance of “eyes” and “heart” explained before they are introduced into the translation.

[16:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “in water you were not washed for cleansing” or “with water you were not washed smooth” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:473, n. 57, for a discussion of possible meanings of this hapax legomenon).

[16:4]  ⁹ sn Arab midwives still cut the umbilical cords of infants and then proceed to apply salt and oil to their bodies.

[19:2]  ¹⁰ sn Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Gen 49:9 seems to be the background for Judah being compared to lions.

[19:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a man.”

[16:6]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this judgment is the result of what these wicked people did to the saints and prophets.

[16:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “They are worthy”; i.e., of this kind of punishment. By extension, “they got what they deserve.”

[17:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.

[17:6]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).