Isaiah 26:21

26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, ¹ 

to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.

The earth will display the blood shed on it;

it will no longer cover up its slain. ² 

Isaiah 35:4

35:4 Tell those who panic, ³ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ⁴ 

Isaiah 49:26

49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. ⁵ 

Then all humankind ⁶  will recognize that

I am the Lord, your deliverer,

your protector, ⁷  the powerful ruler of Jacob.” ⁸ 

Isaiah 59:17-18

59:17 He wears his desire for justice ⁹  like body armor, ¹⁰ 

and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. ¹¹ 

He puts on the garments of vengeance ¹² 

and wears zeal like a robe.

59:18 He repays them for what they have done,

dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries

and punishing his enemies. ¹³ 

He repays the coastlands. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 61:2

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ¹⁵ 

to console all who mourn,

Isaiah 63:4

63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,

and then payback time arrived. ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 32:35

32:35 I will get revenge and pay them back

at the time their foot slips;

for the day of their disaster is near,

and the impending judgment ¹⁷  is rushing upon them!”

Deuteronomy 32:41-43

32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,

and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; ¹⁸ 

I will execute vengeance on my foes,

and repay those who hate me! ¹⁹ 

32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh –

the blood of the slaughtered and captured,

the chief ²⁰  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

32:43 Cry out, O nations, with his people,

for he will avenge his servants’ blood;

he will take vengeance against his enemies,

and make atonement for his land and people.

Psalms 94:1

Psalm 94 ²¹ 

94:1 O Lord, the God who avenges!

O God who avenges, reveal your splendor! ²² 

Jeremiah 46:10

46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. ²³ 

It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. ²⁴ 

His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!

It will drink their blood until it is full! ²⁵ 

For the Lord God who rules over all ²⁶  will offer them up as a sacrifice

in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

Micah 6:1

The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

6:1 Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself ²⁷  before the mountains! ²⁸ 

Present your case before the hills!” ²⁹ 

Luke 18:7

18:7 Won’t ³⁰  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ³¹  to him day and night? ³²  Will he delay ³³  long to help them?

Romans 2:5

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ³⁴  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ³⁵ 

Romans 2:8-9

2:8 but ³⁶  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ³⁷  and do not obey the truth but follow ³⁸  unrighteousness. 2:9 There will be ³⁹  affliction and distress on everyone ⁴⁰  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ⁴¹ 

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ⁴²  against those who practice such things.

Romans 1:6-10

1:6 You also are among them, ⁴³  called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁴⁴  1:7 To all those loved by God in Rome, ⁴⁵  called to be saints: ⁴⁶  Grace and peace to you ⁴⁷  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ⁴⁸  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel ⁴⁹  of his Son, is my witness that ⁵⁰  I continually remember you 1:10 and I always ask ⁵¹  in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. ⁵² 

Revelation 6:10-11

6:10 They ⁵³  cried out with a loud voice, ⁵⁴  “How long, ⁵⁵  Sovereign Master, ⁵⁶  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each ⁵⁷  of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached ⁵⁸  of both their fellow servants ⁵⁹  and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.

Revelation 18:20

18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has pronounced judgment ⁶⁰  against her on your behalf!) ⁶¹ 

Revelation 19:2

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ⁶² 

For he has judged ⁶³  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ⁶⁴  poured out by her own hands!” ⁶⁵ 

[26:21]  ¹ tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).

[26:21]  ² sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.

[35:4]  ³ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ⁴ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[49:26]  ⁵ sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.

[49:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[49:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.

[59:17]  ⁹ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”

[59:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”

[59:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”

[59:17]  ¹² tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”

[59:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”

[59:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).

[61:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[63:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.

[32:35]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “prepared things,” “impending things.” See BDB 800 s.v. עָתִיד.

[32:41]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.

[32:41]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).

[32:42]  ²⁰ tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).

[94:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 94. The psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[94:1]  ²² tn Heb “shine forth” (see Pss 50:2; 80:1).

[46:10]  ²³ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.

[46:10]  ²⁴ sn Most commentators think that this is a reference to the Lord exacting vengeance on Pharaoh Necho for killing Josiah, carrying Jehoahaz off into captivity, and exacting heavy tribute on Judah in 609 b.c. (2 Kgs 23:29, 33-35).

[46:10]  ²⁵ tn Or more paraphrastically, “he will kill them/ until he has exacted full vengeance”; Heb “The sword will eat and be sated; it will drink its fill of their blood.”

[46:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.

[6:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”

[6:1]  ²⁸ sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.

[6:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”

[18:7]  ³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ³¹ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ³² tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ³³ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[2:5]  ³⁴ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ³⁵ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:8]  ³⁶ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ³⁷ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[2:9]  ³⁹ tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”

[2:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ⁴¹ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.

[2:2]  ⁴² tn Or “based on truth.”

[1:6]  ⁴³ tn Grk “among whom you also are called.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. The NIV, with its translation “And you also are among those who are called,” takes the phrase ἐν οἳς ἐστε to refer to the following clause rather than the preceding, so that the addressees of the letter (“you also”) are not connected with “all the Gentiles” mentioned at the end of v. 5. It is more likely, however, that the relative pronoun οἳς has τοῖς ἔθνεσιν as its antecedent, which would indicate that the church at Rome was predominantly Gentile.

[1:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “called of Jesus Christ.”

[1:7]  ⁴⁵ map For location see JP4 A1.

[1:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Although the first part of v. 7 is not a complete English sentence, it maintains the “From…to” pattern used in all the Pauline letters to indicate the sender and the recipients. Here, however, there are several intervening verses (vv. 2-6), which makes the first half of v. 7 appear as an isolated sentence fragment.

[1:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:8]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”

[1:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel.”

[1:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “as.”

[1:10]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “remember you, always asking.”

[1:10]  ⁵² tn Grk “succeed in coming to you in the will of God.”

[6:10]  ⁵³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[6:10]  ⁵⁵ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

[6:10]  ⁵⁶ tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).

[6:11]  ⁵⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).

[6:11]  ⁵⁹ tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[18:20]  ⁶⁰ tn On the phrase “pronounced judgment” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 4.b states, “The OT is the source of the expr. κρίνειν τὸ κρ. (cp. Zech 7:9; 8:16; Ezk 44:24) ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς God has pronounced judgment for you against her or God has pronounced on her the judgment she wished to impose on you (HHoltzmann, Hdb. 1893 ad loc.) Rv 18:20.”

[18:20]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “God has judged a judgment of you of her.” Verse 20 is set in parentheses because in it the saints, etc. are addressed directly in the second person.

[19:2]  ⁶² tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ⁶³ tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ⁶⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).