Joshua 10:14

10:14 There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed ¹  a man, for the Lord fought for Israel!

Exodus 14:14

14:14 The Lord ²  will fight for you, and you can be still.” ³ 

Exodus 14:25

14:25 He jammed ⁴  the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, ⁵  and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee ⁶  from Israel, for the Lord fights ⁷  for them against Egypt!”

Deuteronomy 20:4

20:4 for the Lord your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory.” ⁸ 

Psalms 44:3-8

44:3 For they did not conquer ⁹  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ¹⁰ 

but rather by your power, ¹¹  strength ¹²  and good favor, ¹³ 

for you were partial to ¹⁴  them.

44:4 You are my ¹⁵  king, O God!

Decree ¹⁶  Jacob’s ¹⁷  deliverance!

44:5 By your power ¹⁸  we will drive back ¹⁹  our enemies;

by your strength ²⁰  we will trample down ²¹  our foes! ²² 

44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,

and I do not prevail by my sword.

44:7 For you deliver ²³  us from our enemies;

you humiliate ²⁴  those who hate us.

44:8 In God I boast all day long,

and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)

Psalms 46:1

Psalm 46 ²⁵ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ²⁶  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ²⁷ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ²⁸ 

Psalms 46:7

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ²⁹ 

The God of Jacob ³⁰  is our protector! ³¹  (Selah)

Psalms 46:11

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ³² 

The God of Jacob ³³  is our protector! ³⁴  (Selah)

Psalms 80:3

80:3 O God, restore us!

Smile on us! ³⁵  Then we will be delivered! ³⁶ 

Psalms 118:6

118:6 The Lord is on my side, ³⁷  I am not afraid!

What can people do to me? ³⁸ 

Isaiah 8:9-10

8:9 You will be broken, ³⁹  O nations;

you will be shattered! ⁴⁰ 

Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! ⁴¹ 

8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted!

Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! ⁴² 

For God is with us! ⁴³ 

Isaiah 43:4

43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, ⁴⁴ 

and I love you,

I will hand over people in place of you,

nations in place of your life.

Romans 8:31-37

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who ⁴⁵  did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ⁴⁶  It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ ⁴⁷  is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ⁴⁸  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ⁴⁹  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ⁵⁰  through him ⁵¹  who loved us!

[10:14]  ¹ tn Heb “listened to the voice of.”

[14:14]  ² tn The word order places emphasis on “the Lord” (Heb “Yahweh”).

[14:14]  ³ tn The imperfect tense needs to be interpreted in contrast to all that Yahweh will be doing. It may be given a potential imperfect nuance (as here), or it may be obligatory to follow the command to stand firm: “you must be still.”

[14:25]  ⁴ tn The word in the text is וַיָּסַר (vayyasar), which would be translated “and he turned aside” with the sense perhaps of removing the wheels. The reading in the LXX, Smr, and Syriac suggests a root אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”). The sense here might be “clogged – presumably by their sinking in the wet sand” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 120).

[14:25]  ⁵ tn The clause is וַיְנַהֲגֵהוּ בִּכְבֵדֻת (vaynahagehu bikhvedut). The verb means “to drive a chariot”; here in the Piel it means “cause to drive.” The suffix is collective, and so the verbal form can be translated “and caused them to drive.” The idea of the next word is “heaviness” or “hardship”; it recalls the previous uses of related words to describe Pharaoh’s heart. Here it indicates that the driving of the crippled chariots was with difficulty.

[14:25]  ⁶ tn The cohortative has the hortatory use here, “Let’s flee.” Although the form is singular, the sense of it is plural and so hortatory can be used. The form is singular to agree with the singular subject, “Egypt,” which obviously means the Egyptian army. The word for “flee” is used when someone runs from fear of immanent danger and is a different word than the one used in 14:5.

[14:25]  ⁷ tn The form is the Niphal participle; it is used as the predicate here, that is, the verbal use: “the Lord is fighting.” This corresponds to the announcement in v. 14.

[20:4]  ⁸ tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”

[44:3]  ⁹ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ¹² tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[44:4]  ¹⁵ sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  ¹⁷ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[44:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

[44:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

[44:5]  ²¹ sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5]  ²² tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

[44:7]  ²³ tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:7]  ²⁴ tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[46:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ²⁶ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[46:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:7]  ³⁰ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[46:11]  ³² tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:11]  ³³ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[80:3]  ³⁵ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[118:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “for me.”

[118:6]  ³⁸ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.

[8:9]  ³⁹ tn The verb רֹעוּ (ro’u) is a Qal imperative, masculine plural from רָעַע (ra’a’, “break”). Elsewhere both transitive (Job 34:24; Ps 2:9; Jer 15:12) and intransitive (Prov 25:19; Jer 11:16) senses are attested for the Qal of this verb. Because no object appears here, the form is likely intransitive: “be broken.” In this case the imperative is rhetorical (like “be shattered” later in the verse) and equivalent to a prediction, “you will be broken.” On the rhetorical use of the imperative in general, see IBHS 572 §34.4c; GKC 324 §110.c.

[8:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The imperatival form (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speaker’s firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. See the note on “be broken.”

[8:9]  ⁴¹ tn The initial imperative (“get ready for battle”) acknowledges the reality of the nations’ hostility; the concluding imperative (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speakers’ firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. (See the note on “be broken.”) One could paraphrase, “Okay, go ahead and prepare for battle since that’s what you want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll be shattered.” This rhetorical use of the imperatives is comparable to saying to a child who is bent on climbing a high tree, “Okay, go ahead, climb the tree and break your arm!” What this really means is: “Okay, go ahead and climb the tree since that’s what you really want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll break your arm.” The repetition of the statement in the final two lines of the verse gives the challenge the flavor of a taunt (ancient Israelite “trash talking,” as it were).

[8:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “speak a word, but it will not stand.”

[8:10]  ⁴³ sn In these vv. 9-10 the tone shifts abruptly from judgment to hope. Hostile nations like Assyria may attack God’s people, but eventually they will be destroyed, for God is with his people, sometimes to punish, but ultimately to vindicate. In addition to being a reminder of God’s presence in the immediate crisis faced by Ahaz and Judah, Immanuel (whose name is echoed in this concluding statement) was a guarantee of the nation’s future greatness in fulfillment of God’s covenantal promises. Eventually God would deliver his people from the hostile nations (vv. 9-10) through another child, an ideal Davidic ruler who would embody God’s presence in a special way (see 9:6-7). Jesus the Messiah is the fulfillment of the Davidic ideal prophesied by Isaiah, the one whom Immanuel foreshadowed. Through the miracle of the incarnation he is literally “God with us.” Matthew realized this and applied Isaiah’s ancient prophecy of Immanuel’s birth to Jesus (Matt 1:22-23). The first Immanuel was a reminder to the people of God’s presence and a guarantee of a greater child to come who would manifest God’s presence in an even greater way. The second Immanuel is “God with us” in a heightened and infinitely superior sense. He “fulfills” Isaiah’s Immanuel prophecy by bringing the typology intended by God to realization and by filling out or completing the pattern designed by God. Of course, in the ultimate fulfillment of the type, the incarnate Immanuel’s mother must be a virgin, so Matthew uses a Greek term (παρθένος, parqenos), which carries that technical meaning (in contrast to the Hebrew word עַלְמָה [’almah], which has the more general meaning “young woman”). Matthew draws similar analogies between NT and OT events in 2:15, 18. The linking of these passages by analogy is termed “fulfillment.” In 2:15 God calls Jesus, his perfect Son, out of Egypt, just as he did his son Israel in the days of Moses, an historical event referred to in Hos 11:1. In so doing he makes it clear that Jesus is the ideal Israel prophesied by Isaiah (see Isa 49:3), sent to restore wayward Israel (see Isa 49:5, cf. Matt 1:21). In 2:18 Herod’s slaughter of the infants is another illustration of the oppressive treatment of God’s people by foreign tyrants. Herod’s actions are analogous to those of the Assyrians, who deported the Israelites, causing the personified land to lament as inconsolably as a mother robbed of her little ones (Jer 31:15).

[43:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”

[8:32]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “[he] who.” The relative clause continues the question of v. 31 in a way that is awkward in English. The force of v. 32 is thus: “who indeed did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – How will he not also with him give us all things?”

[8:33]  ⁴⁶ sn An allusion to Isa 50:8 where the reference is singular; Paul applies this to all believers (“God’s elect” is plural here).

[8:34]  ⁴⁷ tc ‡ A number of significant and early witnesses, along with several others (Ì^46vid א A C F G L Ψ 6 33 81 104 365 1505 al lat bo), read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after Χριστός (Cristos, “Christ”) in v. 34. But the shorter reading is not unrepresented (B D 0289 1739 1881 Ï sa). Once ᾿Ιησοῦς got into the text, what scribe would omit it? Although the external evidence is on the side of the longer reading, internally such an expansion seems suspect. The shorter reading is thus preferred. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:35]  ⁴⁸ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

[8:36]  ⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[8:37]  ⁵⁰ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ⁵¹ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.