Joshua 8:5-6

8:5 I and all the troops ¹  who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 8:6 They will attack ²  us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them.

Jude 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ³  a slave ⁴  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ⁵  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ⁶  God the Father and kept for ⁷  Jesus Christ.

Psalms 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ⁸  (Higgaion. ⁹  Selah)

Ezekiel 38:11-22

38:11 You will say, “I will invade ¹⁰  a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against ¹¹  those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack ¹²  the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center ¹³  of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ¹⁴  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice ¹⁵  38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 38:16 You will advance ¹⁶  against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself ¹⁷  through you, O Gog.

38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants ¹⁸  the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days ¹⁹  that I would bring you against them? 38:18 On that day, when Gog invades ²⁰  the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. 38:19 In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, ²¹  I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake ²²  in the land of Israel. 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake ²³  at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs ²⁴  will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 38:21 I will call for a sword to attack ²⁵  Gog ²⁶  on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. 38:22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Revelation 16:14

16:14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth ²⁷  to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful. ²⁸ 

Revelation 19:19-21

19:19 Then ²⁹  I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. 19:20 Now ³⁰  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ³¹  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ³²  19:21 The ³³  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ³⁴  themselves with their flesh.

[8:5]  ¹ tn Heb “the people.”

[8:6]  ² tn Heb “come out after.”

[1:1]  ³ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁵ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[9:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ⁹ tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[38:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “go up against.”

[38:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “come (to).”

[38:12]  ¹² tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”

[38:12]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”

[38:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “young lions.”

[38:14]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”

[38:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “come up.”

[38:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “reveal my holiness.”

[38:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”

[38:17]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.

[38:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “goes up against.”

[38:19]  ²¹ sn The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.

[38:19]  ²² tn Or “shaking.”

[38:20]  ²³ tn Or “tremble.”

[38:20]  ²⁴ tn The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.

[38:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “against.”

[38:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:14]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 1 states, “the inhabited earth, the world…ὅλη ἡ οἰκ. the whole inhabited earth…Mt 24:14; Ac 11:28; Rv 3:10; 16:14.”

[16:14]  ²⁸ 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.”

[19:19]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ³¹ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ³² tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ³⁴ tn On the translation of ἐχορτάσθησαν (ecortasqhsan) BDAG 1087 s.v. χορτάζω 1.a states, “of animals, pass. in act. sense πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἐχορτάσθησαν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh Rv 19:21 (cp. TestJud. 21:8).”