James 3:14

3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth.

Psalms 52:1

Psalm 52 ¹ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” ³ 

52:1 Why do you boast about your evil plans, ⁴  O powerful man?

God’s loyal love protects me all day long! ⁵ 

Psalms 52:7

52:7 “Look, here is the man who would not make ⁶  God his protector!

He trusted in his great wealth

and was confident about his plans to destroy others.” ⁷ 

Proverbs 25:14

25:14 Like cloudy skies and wind that produce no rain, ⁸ 

so is the one who boasts ⁹  of a gift not given. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 27:1

27:1 Do not boast ¹¹  about tomorrow; ¹² 

for you do not know ¹³  what a day may bring forth.

Isaiah 47:7-8

47:7 You said,

‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ ¹⁴ 

You did not think about these things; ¹⁵ 

you did not consider how it would turn out. ¹⁶ 

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly, ¹⁷ 

who lives securely,

who says to herself, ¹⁸ 

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ¹⁹ 

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’ ²⁰ 

Isaiah 47:10

47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; ²¹ 

you thought, ²²  ‘No one sees me.’

Your self-professed ²³  wisdom and knowledge lead you astray,

when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ ²⁴ 

Isaiah 47:1

Babylon Will Fall

47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,

O virgin ²⁵  daughter Babylon!

Sit on the ground, not on a throne,

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ²⁶  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

Colossians 4:7-8

Personal Greetings and Instructions

4:7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave ²⁷  in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ²⁸  4:8 I sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing ²⁹  and that he may encourage your hearts.

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ³⁰  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ³¹  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Revelation 18:7

18:7 As much as ³²  she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, ³³  to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ³⁴  ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’

[52:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.

[52:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[52:1]  ³ tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”

[52:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”

[52:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.

[52:7]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action. The evildoer customarily rejected God and trusted in his own abilities. Another option is to take the imperfect as generalizing, “[here is the man who] does not make.”

[52:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “he was strong in his destruction.” “Destruction” must refer back to the destructive plans mentioned in v. 2. The verb (derived from the root עָזַז, ’azaz, “be strong”) as it stands is either an imperfect (if so, probably used in a customary sense) or a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive). However the form should probably be emended to וַיָּעָז (vayya’az), a Qal preterite (with vav [ו] consecutive) from עָזַז. Note the preterite form without vav (ו) consecutive in the preceding line (וַיִּבְטַח, vayyivtakh, “and he trusted”). The prefixed vav (ו) was likely omitted by haplography (note the suffixed vav [ו] on the preceding עָשְׁרוֹ, ’oshro, “his wealth”).

[25:14]  ⁸ sn The emblem now is one of clouds and winds that would be expected to produce rain; they gain attention and raise people’s expectations but prove to be disappointing when no rain is forthcoming, and hence could be thought of as deceitful.

[25:14]  ⁹ tn The form מִתְהַלֵּל (mithallel) is the Hitpael participle of the well-known word for “praise”; but in this stem it means “to praise oneself” or “to boast.” The description of “windbag” seems appropriate in this context.

[25:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a gift of falsehood.” This would mean that the individual brags about giving a gift, when there is no gift.

[27:1]  ¹¹ tn The form אַל־תִּתְהַלֵּל (’al-tithallel) is the Hitpael jussive negated; it is from the common verb “to praise,” and so in this setting means “to praise oneself” or “to boast.”

[27:1]  ¹² sn The word “tomorrow” is a metonymy of subject, meaning what will be done tomorrow, or in the future in general.

[27:1]  ¹³ sn The expression “you do not know” balances the presumption of the first line, reminding the disciple of his ignorance and therefore his need for humility (e.g., Matt 6:34; Luke 12:20; Jas 4:13-16).

[47:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

[47:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

[47:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

[47:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

[47:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”

[47:10]  ²² tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”

[47:10]  ²³ tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[47:10]  ²⁴ tn See the note at v. 8.

[47:1]  ²⁵ tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).

[47:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[4:7]  ²⁷ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.

[4:7]  ²⁸ tn Grk “all things according to me.”

[4:8]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the things concerning us.”

[1:6]  ³⁰ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ³¹ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[18:7]  ³² tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).

[18:7]  ³³ tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

[18:7]  ³⁴ tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.