Isaiah 7:4

7:4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! ¹  Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated ²  by these two stubs of smoking logs, ³  or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

Isaiah 57:9-11

57:9 You take olive oil as tribute ⁴  to your king, ⁵ 

along with many perfumes. ⁶ 

You send your messengers to a distant place;

you go all the way to Sheol. ⁷ 

57:10 Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, ⁸ 

but you do not say, ‘I give up.’ ⁹ 

You get renewed energy, ¹⁰ 

so you don’t collapse. ¹¹ 

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ¹² 

Because I have been silent for so long, ¹³ 

you are not afraid of me. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 53:5

53:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹⁵ 

even by things that do not normally cause fear. ¹⁶ 

For God annihilates ¹⁷  those who attack you. ¹⁸ 

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. ¹⁹ 

Matthew 28:2-5

28:2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord ²⁰  descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 28:3 His ²¹  appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 28:4 The ²²  guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 28:5 But the angel said ²³  to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know ²⁴  that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ²⁵ 

Luke 12:4-5

12:4 “I ²⁶  tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, ²⁷  and after that have nothing more they can do. 12:5 But I will warn ²⁸  you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, ²⁹  has authority to throw you ³⁰  into hell. ³¹  Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Luke 21:9

21:9 And when you hear of wars and rebellions, ³²  do not be afraid. ³³  For these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.” ³⁴ 

Luke 21:1

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ³⁵  looked up ³⁶  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³⁷ 

Luke 3:14-15

3:14 Then some soldiers ³⁸  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ³⁹  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ⁴⁰  or by false accusation, ⁴¹  and be content with your pay.”

3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation ⁴²  and they all wondered ⁴³  whether perhaps John ⁴⁴  could be the Christ, ⁴⁵ 

[7:4]  ¹ tn Heb “guard yourself and be quiet,” but the two verbs should be coordinated.

[7:4]  ² tn Heb “and let not your heart be weak”; ASV “neither let thy heart be faint.”

[7:4]  ³ sn The derogatory metaphor indicates that the power of Rezin and Pekah is ready to die out.

[57:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “you journey with oil.”

[57:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.

[57:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”

[57:9]  ⁷ sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.

[57:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “by the greatness [i.e., “length,” see BDB 914 s.v. רֹב 2] of your way you get tired.”

[57:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “it is hopeless” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NRSV “It is useless.”

[57:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the life of your hand you find.” The term חַיָּה (khayyah, “life”) is here used in the sense of “renewal” (see BDB 312 s.v.) while יָד (yad) is used of “strength.”

[57:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you do not grow weak.”

[57:11]  ¹² tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ¹⁴ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

[53:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).

[53:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.

[53:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.

[53:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”

[53:5]  ¹⁹ tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.

[28:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[28:3]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[28:4]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[28:5]  ²³ tn Grk “But answering, the angel said.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[28:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “for I know.”

[28:5]  ²⁵ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[12:4]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:4]  ²⁷ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[12:5]  ²⁸ tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.

[12:5]  ²⁹ sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.

[12:5]  ³⁰ tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.

[12:5]  ³¹ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[21:9]  ³² tn Social and political chaos also precedes the end. This term refers to revolutions (L&N 39.34).

[21:9]  ³³ tn This is not the usual term for fear, but refers to a deep sense of terror and emotional distress (Luke 24:37; BDAG 895 s.v. πτοέω).

[21:9]  ³⁴ sn The end will not come at once. This remark about timing not only indicates that there will be events before the end, but that some time will also pass before it comes.

[21:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ³⁷ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[3:14]  ³⁸ tn Grk “And soldiers.”

[3:14]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

[3:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

[3:14]  ⁴¹ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.

[3:15]  ⁴² tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokwnto") is taken temporally.

[3:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”

[3:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.

[3:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”