Malachi 2:17

Resistance to the Lord through Self-deceit

2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, ¹  and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Psalms 50:3-6

50:3 Our God approaches and is not silent; ² 

consuming fire goes ahead of him

and all around him a storm rages. ³ 

50:4 He summons the heavens above,

as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. ⁴ 

50:5 He says: ⁵ 

“Assemble my covenant people before me, ⁶ 

those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” ⁷ 

50:6 The heavens declare his fairness, ⁸ 

for God is judge. ⁹  (Selah)

Psalms 96:13

96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ¹⁰ 

and the nations in accordance with his justice. ¹¹ 

Psalms 98:9

98:9 before the Lord!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ¹² 

and the nations in a just manner.

Ezekiel 34:20-22

34:20 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 34:21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, ¹³  34:22 I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

Hebrews 10:30-31

10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ¹⁴  and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ¹⁵  10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

James 5:8-9

5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, ¹⁶  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ¹⁷ 

Jude 1:14-15

1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, ¹⁸  even prophesied of them, ¹⁹  saying, “Look! The Lord is coming ²⁰  with thousands and thousands ²¹  of his holy ones, 1:15 to execute judgment on ²²  all, and to convict every person ²³  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ²⁴  that they have committed, ²⁵  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ²⁶ 

[2:17]  ¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[50:3]  ² tn According to GKC 322 §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.”

[50:3]  ³ tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”

[50:4]  ³ tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”

[50:5]  ⁴ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.

[50:5]  ⁵ tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term חָסִיד (khasid, “covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.

[50:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).

[50:6]  ⁵ tn Or “justice.”

[50:6]  ⁶ tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).

[96:13]  ⁶ tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”

[96:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”

[98:9]  ⁷ tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).

[34:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “outside.”

[10:30]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[10:30]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Deut 32:36.

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:9]  ¹¹ sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.

[1:14]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the seventh from Adam.”

[1:14]  ¹² tn Grk “against them.” The dative τούτοις (toutois) is a dativus incommodi (dative of disadvantage).

[1:14]  ¹³ tn Grk “has come,” a proleptic aorist.

[1:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “ten thousands.” The word μυριάς (muria"), from which the English myriad is derived, means “ten thousand.” In the plural it means “ten thousands.” This would mean, minimally, 20,000 (a multiple of ten thousand). At the same time, the term was often used in apocalyptic literature to represent simply a rather large number, without any attempt to be specific.

[1:15]  ¹² tn Grk “against” (κατά [kata] + genitive). English usage is satisfied with “on” at this point, but the parallel is lost in the translation to some degree, for the end of v. 15 says that this judgment is meted out on these sinners because they spoke against him (κατά + genitive).

[1:15]  ¹³ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “of all their works of ungodliness.” The adverb “thoroughly” is part of the following verb “have committed.” See note on verb “committed” later in this verse.

[1:15]  ¹⁵ tn The verb in Greek does not simply mean “have committed,” but “have committed in an ungodly way.” The verb ἀσεβέω (asebew) is cognate to the noun ἀσέβεια (asebeia, “ungodliness”). There is no easy way to express this in English, since English does not have a single word that means the same thing. Nevertheless, the tenor of v. 15 is plainly seen, regardless of the translation.

[1:15]  ¹⁶ sn An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text.