Job 3:25

3:25 For the very thing I dreaded ¹  has happened ²  to me,

and what I feared has come upon me. ³ 

Job 20:24

20:24 If he flees from an iron weapon,

then an arrow ⁴  from a bronze bow pierces him.

Proverbs 10:24

10:24 What the wicked fears ⁵  will come on him;

what the righteous desire ⁶  will be granted. ⁷ 

Isaiah 24:17-18

24:17 Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! ⁸ 

24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit; ⁹ 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ¹⁰  are opened up ¹¹ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Isaiah 30:16-17

30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’

so you will indeed flee.

You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’

so your pursuers will be fast.

30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; ¹² 

at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, ¹³ 

until the remaining few are as isolated ¹⁴ 

as a flagpole on a mountaintop

or a signal flag on a hill.”

Isaiah 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ¹⁵  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ¹⁶ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

Jeremiah 38:19-23

38:19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Babylonians. ¹⁷  The Babylonians might hand me over to them and they will torture me.” ¹⁸  38:20 Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. ¹⁹  Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. ²⁰  38:21 But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw: 38:22 All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying, ²¹ 

‘Your trusted friends misled you;

they have gotten the best of you.

Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,

they have turned their backs on you.’ ²² 

38:23 “All your wives and your children will be turned over to the Babylonians. ²³  You yourself will not escape from them but will be captured by the ²⁴  king of Babylon. This city will be burned down.” ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 42:14-16

42:14 You must not say, ‘No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, ²⁶  or hear the enemy’s trumpet calls, ²⁷  or starve for lack of food.’ ²⁸  42:15 If you people who remain in Judah do that, then listen to what the Lord says. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ²⁹  says, ‘If you are so determined ³⁰  to go to Egypt that you go and settle there, 42:16 the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to ³¹  Egypt. You will die there. ³² 

Jeremiah 44:12-13

44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go ³³  and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle ³⁴  or perish from starvation. People of every class ³⁵  will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. ³⁶  44:13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem.

Amos 9:1-4

9:1 I saw the sovereign One ³⁷  standing by the altar ³⁸  and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, ³⁹  so the thresholds shake!

Knock them down on the heads of all the people, ⁴⁰ 

and I will kill the survivors ⁴¹  with the sword.

No one will be able to run away; ⁴² 

no one will be able to escape. ⁴³ 

9:2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, ⁴⁴ 

my hand would pull them up from there.

Even if they could climb up to heaven,

I would drag them down from there.

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ⁴⁵  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ⁴⁶  I would command the Sea Serpent ⁴⁷  to bite them.

9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, ⁴⁸ 

from there ⁴⁹  I will command the sword to kill them.

I will not let them out of my sight;

they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” ⁵⁰ 

John 11:48

11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, ⁵¹  everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary ⁵²  and our nation.”

John 11:1

The Death of Lazarus

11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. ⁵³ 

John 2:15-16

2:15 So he made a whip of cords ⁵⁴  and drove them all out of the temple courts, ⁵⁵  with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers ⁵⁶  and overturned their tables. 2:16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make ⁵⁷  my Father’s house a marketplace!” ⁵⁸ 

[3:25]  ¹ tn The construction uses the cognate accusative with the verb: “the fear I feared,” or “the dread thing I dreaded” (פַחַד פָּחַדְתִּי, pakhad pakhadti). The verb פָּחַד (pakhad) has the sense of “dread” and the noun the meaning “thing dreaded.” The structure of the sentence with the perfect verb followed by the preterite indicates that the first action preceded the second – he feared something but then it happened. Some commentaries suggest reading this as a conditional clause followed by the present tense translation: “If I fear a thing it happens to me” (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 24). The reason for this change is that it is hard for some to think that in his prime Job had such fears. He did have a pure trust and confidence in the Lord (16:19, 29:18ff). But on the other hand, he did make sacrifices for his sons because he thought they might sin. There is evidence to suggest that he was aware that calamity could strike, and this is not necessarily incompatible with trust.

[3:25]  ² tn The verb אָתָה (’atah) is Aramaic and is equivalent to the Hebrew verb בּוֹא (bo’, “come, happen”).

[3:25]  ³ tn The final verb is יָבֹא (yavo’, “has come”). It appears to be an imperfect, but since it is parallel to the preterite of the first colon it should be given that nuance here. Of course, if the other view of the verse is taken, then this would simply be translated as “comes,” and the preceding preterite also given an English present tense translation.

[20:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “a bronze bow pierces him.” The words “an arrow from” are implied and are supplied in the translation; cf. “pulls it out” in the following verse.

[10:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “the dread of the wicked.” The noun רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is a subjective genitive. The noun מְגוֹרַת (mÿgorat) refers to “the feared thing,” that is, what the wicked dread. The wicked are afraid of the consequences of their sinful actions; however, they cannot escape these consequences.

[10:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “the desire of the righteous.” The noun צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “righteous”) is a subjective genitive.

[10:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “it will give.” When used without an expressed subject, the verb יִתֵּן (yitten) has a passive nuance: “it will be granted.”

[24:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.

[24:18]  ⁹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ¹¹ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[30:17]  ¹² tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.

[30:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.

[30:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[66:4]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”

[38:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[38:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “and they will badly abuse me.” For the usage of this verb in the situation presupposed see Judg 19:25 and 1 Sam 31:4.

[38:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Please listen to the voice of the Lord with regard to what I have been telling you.” For the idiom “listen to the voice” = “obey” see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע 1.m. Obedience here is expressed by following the advice in the qualifying clause, i.e., what I have been telling you.

[38:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.

[38:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “And they will say.” The words “taunt you” are supplied in the translation to give the flavor of the words that follow.

[38:22]  ²² tn Heb “The men of your friendship incited you and prevailed over you. Your feet are sunk in the mud. They turned backward.” The term “men of your friendship” (cf. BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 5.a) is used to refer to Jeremiah’s “so-called friends” in 20:10, to the trusted friend who deserted the psalmist in Ps 41:10, and to the allies of Edom in Obad 7. According to most commentators it refers here to the false prophets and counselors who urged the king to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. The verb translated “misled” is a verb that often refers to inciting or instigating someone to do something, often with negative connotations (so BDB 694 s.v. סוּת Hiph.2). It is generally translated “deceive” or “mislead” in 2 Kgs 18:32; 2 Chr 32:11, 15. Here it refers to the fact that his pro-Egyptian counselors induced him to rebel. They have proven too powerful for him and prevailed on him (יָכֹל לְ, yakhol lÿ; see BDB 408 s.v. יָכֹל 2.b) to follow a policy which will prove detrimental to him, his family, and the city. The phrase “your feet are sunk in the mud” is figurative for being entangled in great difficulties (so BDB 371 s.v. טָבַע Hoph and compare the usage in the highly figurative description of trouble in Ps 69:2 [69:3 HT]).

[38:23]  ²³ tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[38:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you yourself will not escape from their hand but will be seized by [caught in] the hand of the king of Babylon.” Neither use of “hand” is natural to the English idiom.

[38:23]  ²⁵ tc This translation follows the reading of the Greek version and a few Hebrew mss. The majority of the Hebrew mss read “and you will burn down this city.” This reading is accepted by the majority of modern commentaries and English versions. Few of the commentaries, however, bother to explain the fact that the particle אֶת (’et), which normally marks the accusative object, is functioning here as the subject. For this point of grammar see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 1.b. Or this may be another case where אֵת introduces a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת 3.α and see usage in 27:8; 36:22).

[42:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “see [or experience] war.”

[42:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “hear the sound of the trumpet.” The trumpet was used to gather the troops and to sound the alarm for battle.

[42:14]  ²⁸ tn Jer 42:13-14 are a long complex condition (protasis) whose consequence (apodosis) does not begin until v. 15. The Hebrew text of vv. 13-14 reads: 42:13 “But if you say [or continue to say (the form is a participle)], ‘We will not stay in this land’ with the result that you do not obey [or “more literally, do not hearken to the voice of] the Lord your God, 42:14 saying, ‘No, but to the land of Egypt we will go where we…and there we will live,’ 42:15 now therefore hear the word of the Lord…” The sentence has been broken up and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to maintain the contingencies and the qualifiers that are in the longer Hebrew original.

[42:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study note on 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title.

[42:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “set your face to.” See Jer 42:17; 44:11; Dan 11:17; 2 Kgs 12:17 (12:18 HT) for parallel usage.

[42:16]  ³¹ tn Or “will follow you right into Egypt,” or “will dog your steps all the way to Egypt”; Heb “cling after.” This is the only case of this verb with this preposition in the Qal stem. However, it is used with this preposition several times in the Hiphil, all with the meaning of “to pursue closely.” See BDB 180 s.v. דָּבַק Hiph.2 and compare Judg 20:45; 1 Sam 14:22; 1 Chr 10:2.

[42:16]  ³² tn The repetition of the adverb “there” in the translation of vv. 14, 16 is to draw attention to the rhetorical emphasis on the locale of Egypt in the original text of both v. 14 and v. 16. In v. 14 they say, “to the land of Egypt we will go…and there we will live.” In v. 16 God says, “wars…there will catch up with you…the hunger…there will follow after you…and there you will die.” God rhetorically denies their focus on Egypt as a place of safety and of relative prosperity. That can only be found in Judah under the protective presence of the Lord (vv. 10-12).

[44:12]  ³³ tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Compare 44:11 and 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.

[44:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “fall by the sword.”

[44:12]  ³⁵ tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.

[44:12]  ³⁶ tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.

[9:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:1]  ³⁸ sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.

[9:1]  ³⁹ tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.

[9:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “cut them off on the head of all of them.” The translation assumes the objective suffix on the verb refers to the tops of the pillars and that the following prepositional phrase refers to the people standing beneath. Another option is to take this phrase as referring to the pillars, in which case one could translate, “Knock all the tops of the pillars off.”

[9:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the remnant of them.” One could possibly translate, “every last one of them” (cf. NEB “to the last man”). This probably refers to those who survive the collapse of the temple, which may symbolize the northern kingdom.

[9:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”

[9:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”

[9:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “into Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), that is, the land of the dead localized in Hebrew thought in the earth’s core or the grave. Cf. KJV “hell”; NCV, NLT “the place of the dead”; NIV “the depths of the grave.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ⁴⁷ sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.

[9:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Even if they go into captivity before their enemies.”

[9:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “I will set my eye on them for disaster, not good.”

[11:48]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “If we let him do thus.”

[11:48]  ⁵² tn Or “holy place”; Grk “our place” (a reference to the temple in Jerusalem).

[11:1]  ⁵³ tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁴ tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (Ì^66,75 L N ˹ 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (Jws, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (fragellion, “whip”). A decision based on external evidence would be difficult to make because the shorter reading also has excellent witnesses, as well as the majority, on its side (א A B Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï co). Internal evidence, though, leans toward the shorter reading. Scribes tended to add to the text, and the addition of ὡς here clearly softens the assertion of the evangelist: Instead of making a whip of cords, Jesus made “[something] like a whip of cords.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁶ sn Because of the imperial Roman portraits they carried, Roman denarii and Attic drachmas were not permitted to be used in paying the half-shekel temple-tax (the Jews considered the portraits idolatrous). The money changers exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage at a small profit.

[2:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Or (perhaps) “Stop making.”

[2:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “a house of merchants” (an allusion to Zech 14:21).