Isaiah 14:29-32

14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,

just because the club that beat you has been broken! ¹ 

For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,

and its fruit will be a darting adder. ² 

14:30 The poor will graze in my pastures; ³ 

the needy will rest securely.

But I will kill your root by famine;

it will put to death all your survivors. ⁴ 

14:31 Wail, O city gate!

Cry out, O city!

Melt with fear, ⁵  all you Philistines!

For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,

and there are no stragglers in its ranks. ⁶ 

14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? ⁷ 

Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;

the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

Obadiah 1:19

1:19 The people of the Negev ⁸  will take possession ⁹  of Esau’s mountain,

and the people of the Shephelah ¹⁰  will take

possession ¹¹  of the land of ¹²  the Philistines.

They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

and the people of Benjamin will take possession ¹³  of Gilead. ¹⁴ 

Zechariah 9:6-7

9:6 A mongrel people will live in Ashdod, for I will greatly humiliate the Philistines. 9:7 I will take away their abominable religious practices; ¹⁵  then those who survive will become a community of believers in our God, ¹⁶  like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

Acts 8:26

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

8:26 Then an angel of the Lord ¹⁷  said to Philip, ¹⁸  “Get up and go south ¹⁹  on the road that goes down from Jerusalem ²⁰  to Gaza.” (This is a desert ²¹  road.) ²² 

Acts 8:40

8:40 Philip, however, found himself ²³  at Azotus, ²⁴  and as he passed through the area, ²⁵  he proclaimed the good news ²⁶  to all the towns ²⁷  until he came to Caesarea. ²⁸ 

[14:29]  ¹ sn The identity of this “club” (also referred to as a “serpent” in the next line) is uncertain. It may refer to an Assyrian king, or to Ahaz. For discussion see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:331-32. The viper/adder referred to in the second half of the verse is his successor.

[14:29]  ² tn Heb “flying burning one.” The designation “burning one” may allude to the serpent’s appearance or the effect of its poisonous bite. (See the note at 6:2.) The qualifier “flying” probably refers to the serpent’s quick, darting movements, though one might propose a homonym here, meaning “biting.” (See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:332, n. 18.) Some might think in terms of a mythological flying, fire breathing dragon (cf. NAB “a flying saraph”; CEV “a flying fiery dragon”), but this proposal does not make good sense in 30:6, where the phrase “flying burning one” appears again in a list of desert animals.

[14:30]  ³ tc The Hebrew text has, “the firstborn of the poor will graze.” “Firstborn” may be used here in an idiomatic sense to indicate the very poorest of the poor. See BDB 114 s.v. בְּכוֹר. The translation above assumes an emendation of בְּכוֹרֵי (bÿkhorey, “firstborn of”) to בְּכָרַי (bekharay, “in my pastures”).

[14:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “your remnant” (so NAB, NRSV).

[14:31]  ⁵ tn Or “despair” (see HALOT 555 s.v. מוג). The form נָמוֹג (namog) should be taken here as an infinitive absolute functioning as an imperative. See GKC 199-200 §72.v.

[14:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there is no one going alone in his appointed places.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. בּוֹדֵד (boded) appears to be a participle from בָּדַד (badad, “be separate”; see BDB 94 s.v. בָּדַד). מוֹעָד (mo’ad) may mean “assembly” or, by extension, “multitude” (see HALOT 558 s.v. *מוֹעָד), but the referent of the third masculine pronominal suffix attached to the noun is unclear. It probably refers to the “nation” mentioned in the next line.

[14:32]  ⁷ sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.

[1:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Negev”; ASV “the South”; NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev.

[1:19]  ⁹ sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:19]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:19]  ¹² tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ¹³ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:19]  ¹⁴ sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and I will take away their blood from their mouth and their abominations from between their teeth.” These expressions refer to some type of abominable religious practices, perhaps eating meat with the blood still in it (less likely NCV “drinking blood”) or eating unclean or forbidden foods.

[9:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they will be a remnant for our God”; cf. NIV “will belong to our God”; NLT “will worship our God.”

[8:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[8:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Lord spoke to Philip, saying.” The redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[8:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Get up and go about noon.” The phrase κατὰ μεσημβρίαν (kata meshmbrian) can be translated either “about noon” (L&N 67.74) or “toward the south” (L&N 82.4). Since the angel’s command appears to call for immediate action (“Get up”) and would not therefore need a time indicator, a directional reference (“toward the south”) is more likely here.

[8:26]  ²⁰ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:26]  ²¹ tn Or “wilderness.”

[8:26]  ²² tn The words “This is a desert road” are probably best understood as a comment by the author of Acts, but it is possible they form part of the angel’s speech to Philip, in which case the verse would read: “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza – the desert road.”

[8:40]  ²³ tn Or “appeared.”

[8:40]  ²⁴ sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.

[8:40]  ²⁵ tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[8:40]  ²⁶ tn Or “he preached the gospel.”

[8:40]  ²⁷ tn Or “cities.”

[8:40]  ²⁸ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.