Isaiah 33:5

33:5 The Lord is exalted, ¹ 

indeed, ²  he lives in heaven; ³ 

he fills Zion with justice and fairness.

Isaiah 42:1-4

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ⁴ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ⁵  for the nations. ⁶ 

42:2 He will not cry out or shout;

he will not publicize himself in the streets. ⁷ 

42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,

a dim wick he will not extinguish; ⁸ 

he will faithfully make just decrees. ⁹ 

42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed ¹⁰ 

before establishing justice on the earth;

the coastlands ¹¹  will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” ¹² 

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ¹³  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ¹⁴  and upright.

Deuteronomy 32:1

Invocation of Witnesses

32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Deuteronomy 2:3

2:3 “You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north.

Job 35:14

35:14 How much less, then,

when you say that you do not perceive him,

that the case is before him

and you are waiting for him! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ¹⁶ 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ¹⁷ 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

Jeremiah 10:24-25

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. ¹⁸ 

Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. ¹⁹ 

10:25 Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. ²⁰ 

Vent it on the peoples ²¹  who do not worship you. ²² 

For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. ²³ 

They have completely destroyed them ²⁴ 

and left their homeland in utter ruin.

Micah 7:18-20

7:18 There is no other God like you! ²⁵ 

You ²⁶  forgive sin

and pardon ²⁷  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ²⁸ 

You do not remain angry forever, ²⁹ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

7:19 You will once again ³⁰  have mercy on us;

you will conquer ³¹  our evil deeds;

you will hurl our ³²  sins into the depths of the sea. ³³ 

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ³⁴ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ³⁵ 

in ancient times. ³⁶ 

Malachi 2:17

Resistance to the Lord through Self-deceit

2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, ³⁷  and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Romans 2:2-10

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ³⁸  against those who practice such things. 2:3 And do you think, ³⁹  whoever you are, when you judge ⁴⁰  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ⁴¹  that you will escape God’s judgment? 2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know ⁴²  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 2:5 But because of your stubbornness ⁴³  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ⁴⁴  2:6 He ⁴⁵  will reward ⁴⁶  each one according to his works: ⁴⁷  2:7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 2:8 but ⁴⁸  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ⁴⁹  and do not obey the truth but follow ⁵⁰  unrighteousness. 2:9 There will be ⁵¹  affliction and distress on everyone ⁵²  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ⁵³  2:10 but ⁵⁴  glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.

Ephesians 1:8

1:8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

[33:5]  ¹ tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”

[33:5]  ² tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).

[33:5]  ³ tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”

[42:1]  ⁴ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ⁶ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[42:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”

[42:3]  ⁸ sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

[42:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[42:4]  ¹⁰ tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.

[42:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”

[42:4]  ¹² tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).

[32:4]  ¹³ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[35:14]  ¹⁵ sn The point is that if God does not listen to those who do not turn to him, how much less likely is he to turn to one who complains against him.

[99:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you establish fairness.”

[10:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “with justice.”

[10:24]  ¹⁹ tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.

[10:25]  ²⁰ tn Heb “know you.” For this use of the word “know” (יָדַע, yada’) see the note on 9:3.

[10:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “tribes/clans.”

[10:25]  ²² tn Heb “who do not call on your name.” The idiom “to call on your name” (directed to God) refers to prayer (mainly) and praise. See 1 Kgs 18:24-26 and Ps 116:13, 17. Here “calling on your name” is parallel to “acknowledging you.” In many locations in the OT “name” is equivalent to the person. In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in a person’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8). To call someone’s name over something was to claim it for one’s own (2 Sam 12:28).

[10:25]  ²³ tn Heb “have devoured Jacob.”

[10:25]  ²⁴ tn Or “have almost completely destroyed them”; Heb “they have devoured them and consumed them.” The figure of hyperbole is used here; elsewhere Jeremiah and God refer to the fact that they will not be completely consumed. See for example 4:27; 5:10, 18.

[7:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[7:19]  ³⁰ tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

[7:19]  ³¹ tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

[7:19]  ³² tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

[7:19]  ³³ sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).

[7:20]  ³⁴ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[2:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “based on truth.”

[2:3]  ³⁹ tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

[2:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

[2:3]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.

[2:4]  ⁴² tn Grk “being unaware.”

[2:5]  ⁴³ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

[2:6]  ⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.

[2:8]  ⁴⁸ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[2:9]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ⁵³ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.

[2:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “but even,” to emphasize the contrast. The second word has been omitted since it is somewhat redundant in English idiom.