Isaiah 58:10-11

58:10 You must ¹  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ² 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ³ 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ⁴ 

58:11 The Lord will continually lead you;

he will feed you even in parched regions. ⁵ 

He will give you renewed strength, ⁶ 

and you will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring that continually produces water.

Job 11:17

11:17 And life ⁷  will be brighter ⁸  than the noonday;

though there be darkness, ⁹ 

it will be like the morning.

Psalms 37:6

37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,

and publicly defend your just cause. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 97:11

97:11 The godly bask in the light;

the morally upright experience joy. ¹¹ 

Psalms 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ¹²  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ¹³ 

Proverbs 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ¹⁴ 

growing brighter and brighter ¹⁵  until full day. ¹⁶ 

Hosea 6:3

6:3 So let us acknowledge him! ¹⁷ 

Let us seek ¹⁸  to acknowledge ¹⁹  the Lord!

He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn,

as certainly as the winter rain comes,

as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”

Malachi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ²⁰  will rise with healing wings, ²¹  and you will skip about ²²  like calves released from the stall.

[58:10]  ¹ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ² tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ³ tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[58:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.”

[58:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.”

[11:17]  ⁷ tn Some translations add the pronoun to make it specifically related to Job (“your life”), but this is not necessary. The word used here has the nuance of lasting life.

[11:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “and more than the noonday life will arise.” The present translation is an interpretation in the context. The connotation of “arise” in comparison with the noonday, and in contrast with the darkness, supports the interpretation.

[11:17]  ⁹ tn The form in the MT is the 3fsg imperfect verb, “[though] it be dark.” Most commentators revocalize the word to make it a noun (תְּעֻפָה, tÿ’ufah), giving the meaning “the darkness [of your life] will be like the morning.” The contrast is with Job 10:22; here the darkness will shine like the morning.

[37:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”

[97:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.

[112:4]  ¹² tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.

[4:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ¹⁵ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[6:3]  ¹⁷ tn The object (“him”) is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “let us pursue in order to know.” The Hebrew term רָדַף (radaf, “to pursue”) is used figuratively: “to aim to secure” (BDB 923 s.v. רָדַף 2). It describes the pursuit of a moral goal: “Do not pervert justice…nor accept a bribe…pursue [רָדַף] justice” (Deut 16:20); “those who pursue [רָדַף] righteousness and who seek [בָּקַשׁ, baqash] the Lord” (Isa 51:1); “He who pursues [רָדַף] righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor” (Prov 21:20); “Seek [בָּקַשׁ] peace and pursue [רָדַף] it” (Ps 34:15); “they slander me when I pursue [רָדַף] good” (Ps 38:21).

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct with לְ (lamed) denotes purpose: “to know” (לָדַעַת, lada’at).

[4:2]  ²⁰ tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  ²¹ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ²² tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”