Job 4:9

4:9 By the breath ¹  of God they perish, ² 

and by the blast ³  of his anger they are consumed.

Psalms 2:9

2:9 You will break them ⁴  with an iron scepter; ⁵ 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ⁶ 

Psalms 110:2

110:2 The Lord ⁷  extends ⁸  your dominion ⁹  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Malachi 4:6

4:6 He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, ¹⁰  so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.” ¹¹ 

Malachi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ¹²  will rise with healing wings, ¹³  and you will skip about ¹⁴  like calves released from the stall.

Malachi 2:8

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ¹⁵  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ¹⁶  says the Lord who rules over all.

Revelation 1:16

1:16 He held ¹⁷  seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His ¹⁸  face shone like the sun shining at full strength.

Revelation 2:16

2:16 Therefore, ¹⁹  repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people ²⁰  with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 19:15

19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ²¹  He ²²  will rule ²³  them with an iron rod, ²⁴  and he stomps the winepress ²⁵  of the furious ²⁶  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ²⁷ 

[4:9]  ¹ tn The LXX in the place of “breath” has “word” or “command,” probably to limit the anthropomorphism. The word is מִנִּשְׁמַת (minnishmat) comprising מִן (min) + נִשְׁמַת (nishmat, the construct of נְשָׁמָה [nÿshamah]): “from/at the breath of.” The “breath of God” occurs frequently in Scripture. In Gen 2:7 it imparts life; but here it destroys it. The figure probably does indicate a divine decree from God (e.g., “depart from me”) – so the LXX may have been simply interpreting.

[4:9]  ² sn The statement is saying that if some die by misfortune it is because divine retribution or anger has come upon them. This is not necessarily the case, as the NT declares (see Luke 13:1-5).

[4:9]  ³ tn The word רוּחַ (ruakh) is now parallel to נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah); both can mean “breath” or “wind.” To avoid using “breath” for both lines, “blast” has been employed here. The word is followed by אַפוֹ (’afo) which could be translated “his anger” or “his nostril.” If “nostril” is retained, then it is a very bold anthropomorphism to indicate the fuming wrath of God. It is close to the picture of the hot wind coming off the desert to scorch the plants (see Hos 13:15).

[2:9]  ⁴ tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

[2:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

[2:9]  ⁶ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

[110:2]  ⁷ tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

[110:2]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

[110:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

[4:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he will turn the heart[s] of [the] fathers to [the] sons, and the heart[s] of [the] sons to their fathers.” This may mean that the messenger will encourage reconciliation of conflicts within Jewish families in the postexilic community (see Mal 2:10; this interpretation is followed by most English versions). Another option is to translate, “he will turn the hearts of the fathers together with those of the children [to me], and the hearts of the children together with those of their fathers [to me].” In this case the prophet encourages both the younger and older generations of sinful society to repent and return to the Lord (cf. Mal 3:7). This option is preferred in the present translation; see Beth Glazier-McDonald, Malachi (SBLDS), 256.

[4:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the] ban” (חֵרֶם, kherem). God’s prophetic messenger seeks to bring about salvation and restoration, thus avoiding the imposition of the covenant curse, that is, the divine ban that the hopelessly unrepentant must expect (see Deut 7:2; 20:17; Judg 1:21; Zech 14:11). If the wicked repent, the purifying judgment threatened in 4:1-3 will be unnecessary.

[4:2]  ¹² tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  ¹³ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”

[2:8]  ¹⁵ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

[2:8]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

[1:16]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

[1:16]  ¹⁸ tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:16]  ¹⁹ tc The “therefore” (οὖν, oun) is not found in א 2053 2329 2351 Ï^A or the Latin mss. It is, however, included in impressive witnesses such as {A C 046 1006 1611 sy^p,h co}. Though the conjunction looks at first glance like a scribal clarification, its omission may be explained on the basis of its similarity to the last three letters of the verb “repent” (μετανόησον, metanohson; since οὖν is a postpositive conjunction in Greek, the final three letters of the verb [-σον, -son] would have been immediately followed by ουν). A scribe could have simply passed over the conjunction in his copy when he saw the last three letters of the imperative verb. A decision is difficult, however, because of the motivation to add to the text and the quality of witnesses that lack the conjunction.

[2:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “with them”; the referent (those people who follow the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:15]  ²¹ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[19:15]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:15]  ²³ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[19:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[19:15]  ²⁵ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

[19:15]  ²⁶ tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

[19:15]  ²⁷ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”