Isaiah 26:20

26:20 Go, my people! Enter your inner rooms!

Close your doors behind you!

Hide for a little while,

until his angry judgment is over! ¹ 

Isaiah 60:22

60:22 The least of you will multiply into ²  a thousand;

the smallest of you will become a large nation.

When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!” ³ 

Habakkuk 2:3-4

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ⁴ 

it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ⁵ 

Even if the message ⁶  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ⁷ 

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

2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, ⁸ 

but the person of integrity ⁹  will live ¹⁰  because of his faithfulness. ¹¹ 

Luke 18:8

18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. ¹²  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith ¹³  on earth?”

James 5:7-9

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  until the Lord’s return. ¹⁵  Think of how the farmer waits ¹⁶  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ¹⁷  for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ¹⁹ 

James 5:2

5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.

James 3:8

3:8 But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless ²⁰  evil, full of deadly poison.

Revelation 22:20

22:20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

[26:20]  ¹ tn Heb “until anger passes by.”

[60:22]  ² tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).

[60:22]  ³ tn Heb “I, the Lord, in its time, I will quickly do it.”

[2:3]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁷ 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.”

[2:4]  ⁸ tn The meaning of this line is unclear, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding the second word, עֲפְּלָה (’apÿlah). Some read this as an otherwise unattested verb עָפַל (’afal, “swell”) from which are derived nouns meaning “mound” and “hemorrhoid.” This “swelling” is then understood in an abstract sense, “swell with pride.” This would yield a translation, “As for the proud, his desires are not right within him” (cf. NASB “as for the proud one”; NIV “he is puffed up”; NRSV “Look at the proud!”). A multitude of other interpretations of this line, many of which involve emendations of the problematic form, may be found in the commentaries and periodical literature. The present translation assumes an emendation to a Pual form of the verb עָלַף (’alaf, “be faint, exhausted”). (See its use in the Pual in Isa 51:20, and in the Hitpael in Amos 8:13 and Jonah 4:8.) In the antithetical parallelism of the verse, it corresponds to חָיָה (khayah, “live”). The phrase לֹא יָשְׁרָה נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹ (lo’ yoshrah nafsho bo), literally, “not upright his desire within him,” is taken as a substantival clause that contrasts with צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “the righteous one”) and serves as the subject of the preceding verb. Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in the sense of “desire” (see BDB 660-61 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ for a list of passages where the word carries this sense).

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “will be preserved.” In the immediate context this probably refers to physical preservation through both the present oppression and the coming judgment (see Hab 3:16-19).

[2:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (’emunah) has traditionally been translated “faith,” but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness.” The antecedent of the suffix has been understood in different ways. It could refer to God’s faithfulness, but in this case one would expect a first person suffix (the original form of the LXX has “my faithfulness” here). Others understand the “vision” to be the antecedent. In this case the reliability of the prophecy is in view. For a statement of this view, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 111-12. The present translation assumes that the preceding word “[the person of] integrity” is the antecedent. In this case the Lord is assuring Habakkuk that those who are truly innocent will be preserved through the coming oppression and judgment by their godly lifestyle, for God ultimately rewards this type of conduct. In contrast to these innocent people, those with impure desires (epitomized by the greedy Babylonians; see v. 5) will not be able to withstand God’s judgment (v. 4a).

[18:8]  ¹² tn Some argue this should be translated “suddenly.” When vindication comes it will be quick. But the more natural meaning is “soon.” God will not forget his elect and will respond to them. It may be that this verse has a prophetic perspective. In light of the eternity that comes, vindication is soon.

[18:8]  ¹³ sn Will he find faith on earth? The Son of Man is looking for those who continue to believe in him, despite the wait.

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “being patient.”

[5:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:9]  ¹⁹ sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.

[3:8]  ²⁰ tc Most mss (C Ψ 1739^c Ï as well as a few versions and fathers) read “uncontrollable” (ἀκατασχετόν, akatasceton), while the most important witnesses (א A B K P 1739* latt) have “restless” (ἀκατάστατον, akatastaton). Externally, the latter reading should be preferred. Internally, however, things get a bit more complex. The notion of being uncontrollable is well suited to the context, especially as a counterbalance to v. 8a, though for this very reason scribes may have been tempted to replace ἀκατάστατον with ἀκατασχετόν. However, in a semantically parallel early Christian text, ἀκατάστατος (akatastato") was considered strong enough of a term to denounce slander as “a restless demon” (Herm. 27:3). On the other hand, ἀκατάστατον may have been substituted for ἀκατασχετόν by way of assimilation to 1:8 (especially since both words were relatively rare, scribes may have replaced the less familiar with one that was already used in this letter). On internal evidence, it is difficult to decide, though ἀκατασχετόν is slightly preferred. However, in light of the strong support for ἀκατάστατον, and the less-than-decisive internal evidence, ἀκατάστατον is preferred instead.