Job 19:19

19:19 All my closest friends ¹  detest me;

and those whom ²  I love have turned against me. ³ 

Psalms 38:11

38:11 Because of my condition, ⁴  even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; ⁵ 

my neighbors stand far away. ⁶ 

Psalms 41:9

41:9 Even my close friend ⁷  whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. ⁸ 

Psalms 55:12-14

55:12 Indeed, ⁹  it is not an enemy who insults me,

or else I could bear it;

it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, ¹⁰ 

or else I could hide from him.

55:13 But it is you, ¹¹  a man like me, ¹² 

my close friend in whom I confided. ¹³ 

55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; ¹⁴ 

in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.

Psalms 88:18

88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; ¹⁵ 

those who know me leave me alone in the darkness. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 9:4-5

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ¹⁷ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ¹⁸ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves ¹⁹  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

Jeremiah 30:14

30:14 All your allies have abandoned you. ²⁰ 

They no longer have any concern for you.

For I have attacked you like an enemy would.

I have chastened you cruelly.

For your wickedness is so great

and your sin is so much. ²¹ 

Micah 7:5-6

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ²² 

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges ²³  her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants. ²⁴ 

John 13:18

The Announcement of Jesus’ Betrayal

13:18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ²⁵  ‘The one who eats my bread ²⁶  has turned against me.’ ²⁷ 

John 16:32

16:32 Look, a time ²⁸  is coming – and has come – when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, ²⁹  and I will be left alone. ³⁰  Yet ³¹  I am not alone, because my Father ³²  is with me.

[19:19]  ¹ tn Heb “men of my confidence,” or “men of my council,” i.e., intimate friends, confidants.

[19:19]  ² tn The pronoun זֶה (zeh) functions here in the place of a nominative (see GKC 447 §138.h).

[19:19]  ³ tn T. Penar translates this “turn away from me” (“Job 19,19 in the Light of Ben Sira 6,11,” Bib 48 [1967]: 293-95).

[38:11]  ⁴ tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”

[38:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “stand [aloof].”

[38:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”

[41:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).

[41:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.

[55:12]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[55:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

[55:13]  ¹¹ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ¹² tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[55:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.

[88:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you cause to be far from me friend and neighbor.”

[88:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “those known by me, darkness.”

[9:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[9:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.

[30:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “forgotten you.”

[30:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “attacked you like…with the chastening of a cruel one because of the greatness of your iniquity [and because] your sins are many.” The sentence has been broken down to conform to contemporary English style and better poetic scansion.

[7:5]  ²² tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”

[7:6]  ²³ tn Heb “rises up against.”

[7:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”

[13:18]  ²⁵ tn Grk “But so that the scripture may be fulfilled.”

[13:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “The one who shares my food.”

[13:18]  ²⁷ tn Or “has become my enemy”; Grk “has lifted up his heel against me.” The phrase “to lift up one’s heel against someone” reads literally in the Hebrew of Ps 41 “has made his heel great against me.” There have been numerous interpretations of this phrase, but most likely it is an idiom meaning “has given me a great fall,” “has taken cruel advantage of me,” or “has walked out on me.” Whatever the exact meaning of the idiom, it clearly speaks of betrayal by a close associate. See E. F. F. Bishop, “‘He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me’ – Jn xiii.18 (Ps xli.9),” ExpTim 70 (1958-59): 331-33.

[16:32]  ²⁸ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:32]  ²⁹ tn Grk “each one to his own”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The phrase “each one to his own” may be completed in a number of different ways: “each one to his own property”; “each one to his own family”; or “each one to his own home.” The last option seems to fit most easily into the context and so is used in the translation.

[16:32]  ³⁰ sn The proof of Jesus’ negative evaluation of the disciples’ faith is now given: Jesus foretells their abandonment of him at his arrest, trials, and crucifixion (I will be left alone). This parallels the synoptic accounts in Matt 26:31 and Mark 14:27 when Jesus, after the last supper and on the way to Gethsemane, foretold the desertion of the disciples as a fulfillment of Zech 13:7: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Yet although the disciples would abandon Jesus, he reaffirmed that he was not alone, because the Father was still with him.

[16:32]  ³¹ tn Grk “And” (but with some contrastive force).

[16:32]  ³² tn Grk “the Father.”