Genesis 27:10

27:10 Then you will take ¹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ²  and ³  bless you before he dies.”

Genesis 43:14

43:14 May the sovereign God ⁴  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ⁵  your other brother ⁶  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ⁷ 

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ⁸  O Lord, listen attentively ⁹  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ¹⁰  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ¹¹  in the presence of this man.”

Now ¹²  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 2:4

2:4 The king responded, ¹³  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven

Psalms 37:5

37:5 Commit your future to the Lord! ¹⁴ 

Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 90:16-17

90:16 May your servants see your work! ¹⁶ 

May their sons see your majesty! ¹⁷ 

90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us! ¹⁸ 

Make our endeavors successful!

Yes, make them successful! ¹⁹ 

Psalms 118:25

118:25 Please Lord, deliver!

Please Lord, grant us success! ²⁰ 

Psalms 122:6

122:6 Pray ²¹  for the peace of Jerusalem!

May those who love her prosper! ²² 

Psalms 127:1

Psalm 127 ²³ 

A song of ascents, ²⁴  by Solomon.

127:1 If the Lord does not build a house, ²⁵ 

then those who build it work in vain.

If the Lord does not guard a city, ²⁶ 

then the watchman stands guard in vain.

Proverbs 3:6

3:6 Acknowledge ²⁷  him in all your ways, ²⁸ 

and he will make your paths straight. ²⁹ 

Philippians 4:6

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

Philippians 4:1

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ³⁰  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Philippians 3:10-11

3:10 My aim is to know him, ³¹  to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, ³²  and to be like him in his death, 3:11 and so, somehow, ³³  to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

[27:10]  ¹ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. It carries forward the tone of instruction initiated by the command to “go…and get” in the preceding verse.

[27:10]  ² tn The form is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the future nuance of the preceding verbs of instruction, but by switching the subject to Jacob, indicates the expected result of the subterfuge.

[27:10]  ³ tn Heb “so that.” The conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[43:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[43:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “release to you.” After the jussive this perfect verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) probably indicates logical consequence, as well as temporal sequence.

[43:14]  ⁶ sn Several Jewish commentators suggest that the expression your other brother refers to Joseph. This would mean that Jacob prophesied unwittingly. However, it is much more likely that Simeon is the referent of the phrase “your other brother” (see Gen 42:24).

[43:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “if I am bereaved I am bereaved.” With this fatalistic sounding statement Jacob resolves himself to the possibility of losing both Benjamin and Simeon.

[1:11]  ⁸ tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).

[1:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

[1:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fear.”

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

[1:11]  ¹² tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

[2:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “said to me.”

[37:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “roll your way upon the Lord.” The noun “way” may refer here to one’s activities or course of life.

[37:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he will act.” Verse 6 explains what is meant; the Lord will vindicate those who trust in him.

[90:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “may your work be revealed to your servants.” In this context (note v. 17) the verb form יֵרָאֶה (yera’eh) is best understood as an unshortened jussive (see Gen 1:9; Isa 47:3).

[90:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your majesty to their sons.” The verb “be revealed” is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[90:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the Lord’s “beauty,” but here it seems to refer to his favor (see BDB 653 s.v.) or kindness (HALOT 706 s.v.).

[90:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”

[118:25]  ²⁰ sn A petition for deliverance and success seems odd in a psalm thanking God for deliverance, but it is not unique (see Ps 9:19-20). The people ask God to continue to intervene for them as he has for the psalmist.

[122:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “ask [for].”

[122:6]  ²² tn Or “be secure.”

[127:1]  ²³ sn Psalm 127. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist teaches that one does not find security by one’s own efforts, for God alone gives stability and security.

[127:1]  ²⁴ 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.

[127:1]  ²⁵ sn The expression build a house may have a double meaning here. It may refer on the surface level to a literal physical structure in which a family lives, but at a deeper, metaphorical level it refers to building, perpetuating, and maintaining a family line. See Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 11:38; 1 Chr 17:10, 25. Having a family line provided security in ancient Israel.

[127:1]  ²⁶ sn The city symbolizes community security, which is the necessary framework for family security.

[3:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “know him.” The verb יָדַע (yadah, “to know”) includes mental awareness of who God is and the consequential submission to his lordship. To know him is to obey him. The sage is calling for a life of trust and obedience in which the disciple sees the Lord in every event and relies on him. To acknowledge the Lord in every event means trusting and obeying him for guidance in right conduct.

[3:6]  ²⁸ tn The term דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is figurative (hypocatastasis: implied comparison) referring to a person’s course of life, actions and undertakings (Prov 2:8; 3:6, 23; 11:5; 20:24; 29:27; 31:3; BDB 203 s.v. 5; cf. TEV “in everything you do”; NCV, NLT “in all you do”). This is a call for total commitment in trust for obedience in all things.

[3:6]  ²⁹ tn The verb יָשָׁר (yashar) means “to make smooth; to make straight” (BDB 444 s.v.). This phrase means “to make the way free from obstacles,” that is, to make it successful (e.g., Isa 40:3). The straight, even road is the right road; God will make the way smooth for the believer.

[4:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:10]  ³¹ tn The articular infinitive τοῦ γνῶναι (tou gnwnai, “to know”) here expresses purpose. The words “My aim is” have been supplied in the translation to emphasize this nuance and to begin a new sentence (shorter sentences are more appropriate for English style).

[3:10]  ³² tn Grk “to know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.”

[3:11]  ³³ tn On εἰ πῶς (ei pws) as “so, somehow” see BDAG 279, s.v. εἰ 6.n.