Numbers 17:12-13

17:12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We are bound to die! ¹  We perish, we all perish! 17:13 (17:28) ²  Anyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the Lord will die! Are we all to die?” ³ 

Numbers 17:1

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

17:1 ⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 28:20

28:20 And their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull you must offer three-tenths of an ephah, and two-tenths for the ram.

Job 15:21

15:21 Terrifying sounds fill ⁵  his ears;

in a time of peace marauders ⁶  attack him.

Job 20:23-25

20:23 “While he is ⁷  filling his belly,

God ⁸  sends his burning anger ⁹  against him,

and rains down his blows upon him. ¹⁰ 

20:24 If he flees from an iron weapon,

then an arrow ¹¹  from a bronze bow pierces him.

20:25 When he pulls it out ¹²  and it comes out of his back,

the gleaming point ¹³  out of his liver,

terrors come over him.

Proverbs 28:1

28:1 The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, ¹⁴ 

but the righteous person is as confident ¹⁵  as a lion.

Isaiah 21:3-4

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ¹⁶ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ¹⁷  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

21:4 My heart palpitates, ¹⁸ 

I shake in fear; ¹⁹ 

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

Daniel 5:6

5:6 Then all the color drained from the king’s face ²⁰  and he became alarmed. ²¹  The joints of his hips gave way, ²²  and his knees began knocking together.

[17:12]  ¹ tn The use of הֵן (hen) and the perfect tense in the nuance of a prophetic perfect expresses their conviction that they were bound to die – it was certain (see GKC 312-13 §106.n).

[17:13]  ² sn Num 17:13 in the English Bible is 17:28 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note on 16:36.

[17:13]  ³ tn The verse stresses the completeness of their death: “will we be consumed by dying” (הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֹעַ, ha’im tamnu ligvoa’).

[17:1]  ⁴ sn Num 17:1 in the English Bible is 17:16 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note on 16:36.

[15:21]  ⁵ tn The word “fill” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[15:21]  ⁶ tn The word שׁוֹדֵד (shoded) means “a robber; a plunderer” (see Job 12:6). With the verb bo’ the sentence means that the robber pounces on or comes against him (see GKC 373 §118.f). H. H. Rowley observes that the text does not say that he is under attack, but that the sound of fears is in his ears, i.e., that he is terrified by thoughts of this.

[20:23]  ⁷ tn D. J. A. Clines observes that to do justice to the three jussives in the verse, one would have to translate “May it be, to fill his belly to the full, that God should send…and rain” (Job [WBC], 477). The jussive form of the verb at the beginning of the verse could also simply introduce a protasis of a conditional clause (see GKC 323 §109.h, i). This would mean, “if he [God] is about to fill his [the wicked’s] belly to the full, he will send….” The NIV reads “when he has filled his belly.” These fit better, because the context is talking about the wicked in his evil pursuit being cut down.

[20:23]  ⁸ tn “God” is understood as the subject of the judgment.

[20:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “the anger of his wrath.”

[20:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “rain down upon him, on his flesh.” Dhorme changes עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon him”) to “his arrows”; he translates the line as “he rains his arrows upon his flesh.” The word בִּלְחוּמוֹ (bilkhumo,“his flesh”) has been given a wide variety of translations: “as his food,” “on his flesh,” “upon him, his anger,” or “missiles or weapons of war.”

[20:24]  ¹¹ 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.

[20:25]  ¹² tn The MT has “he draws out [or as a passive, “it is drawn out/forth”] and comes [or goes] out of his back.” For the first verb שָׁלַף (shalaf, “pull, draw”), many commentators follow the LXX and use שֶׁלַח (shelakh, “a spear”). It then reads “and a shaft comes out of his back,” a sword flash comes out of his liver.” But the verse could also be a continuation of the preceding.

[20:25]  ¹³ tn Possibly a reference to lightnings.

[28:1]  ¹⁴ sn The line portrays the insecurity of a guilty person – he flees because he has a guilty conscience, or because he is suspicious of others around him, or because he fears judgment.

[28:1]  ¹⁵ tn The verb בָּטַח (batakh) means “to trust; to be secure; to be confident.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “bold.”

[21:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[21:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”

[21:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”

[5:6]  ²⁰ tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”

[5:6]  ²¹ tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”

[5:6]  ²² tn Aram “his loins went slack.”