Job 16:4

16:4 I also could speak ¹  like you,

if ²  you were in my place;

I could pile up ³  words against you

and I could shake my head at you. ⁴ 

Job 19:21-22

19:21 Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,

for the hand of God has struck me.

19:22 Why do you pursue me like God does? ⁵ 

Will you never be satiated with my flesh? ⁶ 

Psalms 69:20

69:20 Their insults are painful ⁷  and make me lose heart; ⁸ 

I look ⁹  for sympathy, but receive none, ¹⁰ 

for comforters, but find none.

Psalms 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ¹¹ 

I have nowhere to run; ¹² 

no one is concerned about my life. ¹³ 

Proverbs 19:7

19:7 All the relatives ¹⁴  of a poor person hate him; ¹⁵ 

how much more do his friends avoid him –

he pursues them ¹⁶  with words, but they do not respond. ¹⁷ 

Lamentations 1:2

ב (Bet)

1:2 She weeps bitterly at night;

tears stream down her cheeks. ¹⁸ 

She has no one to comfort her

among all her lovers. ¹⁹ 

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

Lamentations 1:9

ט (Tet)

1:9 Her menstrual flow ²⁰  has soiled ²¹  her clothing; ²² 

she did not consider ²³  the consequences of her sin. ²⁴ 

Her demise ²⁵  was astonishing, ²⁶ 

and there was no one to comfort her.

She cried, “Look, ²⁷  O Lord, on my ²⁸  affliction

because my ²⁹  enemy boasts!”

Matthew 26:56

26:56 But this has happened so that ³⁰  the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Matthew 26:2

26:2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over ³¹  to be crucified.” ³² 

Matthew 4:16-17

4:16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,

and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.” ³³ 

4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: ³⁴  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

[16:4]  ¹ tn For the use of the cohortative in the apodosis of conditional sentences, see GKC 322 §109.f.

[16:4]  ² tn The conjunction לוּ (lu) is used to introduce the optative, a condition that is incapable of fulfillment (see GKC 494-95 §159.l).

[16:4]  ³ tn This verb אַחְבִּירָה (’akhbirah) is usually connected to חָבַר (khavar, “to bind”). There are several suggestions for this word. J. J. Finkelstein proposed a second root, a homonym, meaning “to make a sound,” and so here “to harangue” (“Hebrew habar and Semitic HBR,” JBL 75 [1956]: 328-31; see also O. Loretz, “HBR in Job 16:4,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 293-94, who renders it “I could make noisy speeches”). Other suggestions have been for new meanings based on cognate studies, such as “to make beautiful” (i.e., make polished speeches).

[16:4]  ⁴ sn The action is a sign of mockery (see Ps 22:7[8]; Isa 37:22; Matt 27:39).

[19:22]  ⁵ sn Strahan comments, “The whole tragedy of the book is packed into these extraordinary words.”

[19:22]  ⁶ sn The idiom of eating the pieces of someone means “slander” in Aramaic (see Dan 3:8), Arabic and Akkadian.

[69:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.

[69:20]  ⁸ tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.

[69:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “wait.”

[69:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.

[142:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ¹² tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

[19:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “brothers,” but not limited only to male siblings in this context.

[19:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “hate him.” The verb שָׂנֵא (sane’) may be nuanced “reject” here (metonymy of effect, cf. CEV). The kind of “dislike” or “hatred” family members show to a poor relative is to have nothing to do with him (NIV “is shunned”). If relatives do this, how much more will the poor person’s friends do so.

[19:7]  ¹⁶ tn The direct object “them” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[19:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “not they.” The last line of the verse is problematic. The preceding two lines are loosely synonymous in their parallelism, but the third adds something like: “he pursues [them with] words, but they [do] not [respond].” Some simply say it is a corrupt remnant of a separate proverb and beyond restoration. The basic idea does make sense, though. The idea of his family and friends rejecting the poor person reveals how superficial they are, and how they make themselves scarce. Since they are far off, he has to look for them “with words” (adverbial accusative), that is, “send word” for help. But they “are nowhere to be found” (so NIV). The LXX reads “will not be delivered” in place of “not they” – clearly an attempt to make sense out of the cryptic phrase, and, in the process, showing evidence for that text.

[1:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “her tears are on her cheek.”

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “lovers.” The term “lovers” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis), comparing Jerusalem’s false gods and foreign political alliances to sexually immoral lovers. Hosea uses similar imagery (Hos 2:5, 7, 10, 13). It may also function as a double entendre, first evoking a disconcerting picture of a funeral where the widow has no loved ones present to comfort her. God also does not appear to be present to comfort Jerusalem and will later be called her enemy. The imagery in Lamentations frequently capitalizes on changing the reader’s expectations midstream.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “uncleanness.” The noun טֻמְאָה (tum’ah, “uncleanness”) refers in general to the state of ritual uncleanness and specifically to (1) sexual uncleanness (Num 5:19); (2) filthy mass (Ezek 24:11; 2 Chr 29:16); (3) ritual uncleanness (Lev 16:16, 19; Ezek 22:15; 24:13; 36:25, 29; 39:24; Zech 13:2); (4) menstrual uncleanness (Lev 15:25, 26, 30; 18:19; Ezek 36:17); (5) polluted meat (Judg 13:7, 14). Here, Jerusalem is personified as a woman whose menstrual uncleanness has soiled even her own clothes; this is a picture of the consequences of the sin of Jerusalem: uncleanness = her sin, and soiling her own clothes = consequences of sin. The poet may also be mixing metaphors allowing various images (of shame) to circulate in the hearer’s mind, including rape and public exposure. By not again mentioning sin directly (a topic relatively infrequent in this book), the poet lays a general acknowledgment of sin in 1:8 alongside an exceptionally vivid picture of the horrific circumstances which have come to be. It is no simplistic explanation that sin merits such inhumane treatment. Instead 1:9 insists that no matter the legal implications of being guilty, the Lord should be motivated to aid Jerusalem (and therefore her people) because her obscene reality is so revolting.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “her uncleanness is in her skirts.”

[1:9]  ²² tn Heb “her skirts.” This term is a synecdoche of specific (skirts) for general (clothing).

[1:9]  ²³ tn The basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind” (HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר). Although it is often used in reference to recollection of past events or consideration of present situations, it also may mean “to consider, think about” the future outcome of conduct (e.g., Isa 47:7) (BDB 270 s.v. 5). The same term is used is 7a.

[1:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “she did not consider her end.” The noun אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) here refers to an outcome or the consequences of an action; in light of 1:8 here it is the consequence of sin or immoral behavior (Num 23:10; 24:20; Deut 32:20, 29; Job 8:7; Pss 37:37; 73:17; Prov 14:12; 23:32; 25:8; Eccl 7:8; Isa 46:10; 47:7; Jer 5:31; 17:11; Dan 12:8).

[1:9]  ²⁵ tc The MT reads וַתֵּרֶד (vattered) vav (ו) consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person feminine singular from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). Symmachus καὶ κατήχθη (kai kathcqh, “and she was brought down”) and Vulgate deposita est use passive forms which might reflect וַתּוּרַד (vatturad, vav consecutive + Pual preterite 3rd person feminine singular from from יָרַד [yarad, “to go down”]). External evidence favors the MT (supported by all other ancient versions and medieval Hebrew mss); none of the other ancient versions preserve/reflect a passive form. Symmachus is known to have departed from a wooden literal translation (characteristic of Aquila) in favor of smooth and elegant Greek style. The second edition of the Latin Vulgate drew on Symmachus; thus, it is not an independent witness to the passive reading, but merely a secondary witness reflecting Symmachus. The MT is undoubtedly the original reading.

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn The noun פֶּלֶא (pele’) means not only “miracle, wonder” (BDB 810 s.v.) but “something unusual, astonishing” (HALOT 928 s.v.). The plural פְּלָאִים (pÿla’im, lit., “astonishments”) is an example of the plural of intensity: “very astonishing.” The noun functions as an adverbial accusative of manner; the nature of her descent shocks and astounds. Rendering פְּלָאִים וַתֵּרֶד (vattered pÿla’im) as “she has come down marvelously” (cf. BDB 810 s.v. 1 and KJV, ASV) is hardly appropriate; it is better to nuance it “in an astonishing way” (HALOT 928 s.v. 3) or simply “was astonishing.”

[1:9]  ²⁷ tn The words “she cried” do not appear in the Hebrew. They are added to indicate that personified Jerusalem is speaking.

[1:9]  ²⁸ tc The MT reads עָנְיִי (’onyi, “my affliction”) as reflected in all the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta) and the medieval Hebrew mss. The Bohairic version and Ambrosius, however, read “her affliction,” which led the BHS editors to suggest a Vorlage of עָנְיָהּ (’onyah, “her affliction”). External evidence strongly favors the MT reading. The 3rd person feminine singular textual variant probably arose out of an attempt to harmonize this form with all the other 3rd person feminine singular forms in 1:1-11a. The MT is undoubtedly the original reading.

[1:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “an enemy.” While it is understood that the enemy is Jerusalem’s, not using the pronoun in Hebrew leaves room to imply to God that the enemy is not only Jerusalem’s but also God’s.

[26:56]  ³⁰ tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.

[26:2]  ³¹ tn Or “will be delivered up.”

[26:2]  ³² sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[4:16]  ³³ sn A quotation from Isa 9:1.

[4:17]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and to say.”