Proverbs 19:12

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ¹  the roar of a lion, ² 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ³ 

Proverbs 20:2

20:2 The king’s terrifying anger ⁴  is like the roar of a lion;

whoever provokes him ⁵  sins against himself. ⁶ 

Daniel 2:12

2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry ⁷  and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 3:13

3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage ⁸  demanded that they bring ⁹  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them ¹⁰  before the king.

Daniel 3:19

3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed ¹¹  toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders ¹²  to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.

Nahum 1:6

1:6 No one can withstand ¹³  his indignation! ¹⁴ 

No one can resist ¹⁵  his fierce anger! ¹⁶ 

His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire,

boulders are broken up ¹⁷  as he approaches. ¹⁸ 

Revelation 6:16-17

6:16 They ¹⁹  said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, ²⁰  6:17 because the great day of their ²¹  wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” ²² 

[19:12]  ¹ sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ² tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ³ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

[20:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the terror of a king” (so ASV, NASB); The term “terror” is a metonymy of effect for cause: the anger of a king that causes terror among the people. The term “king” functions as a possessive genitive: “a king’s anger” (cf. NIV “A king’s wrath”; NLT “The king’s fury”).

[20:2]  ⁵ tn The verb מִתְעַבְּרוֹ (mit’abbÿro) is problematic; in the MT the form is the Hitpael participle with a pronominal suffix, which is unusual, for the direct object of this verb usually takes a preposition first: “is angry with.” The LXX rendered it “angers [or, irritates].”

[20:2]  ⁶ sn The expression “sins against himself” has been taken by some to mean “forfeits his life” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “endangers his life” (cf. NCV, NLT). That may be the implication of getting oneself in trouble with an angry king (cf. TEV “making him angry is suicide”).

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).

[3:13]  ⁸ tn Aram “in anger and wrath”; NASB “in rage and anger.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[3:13]  ⁹ tn The Aramaic infinitive is active.

[3:13]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “these men.” The pronoun is used in the translation to avoid undue repetition.

[3:19]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the appearance of his face was altered”; cf. NLT “his face became distorted with rage”; NAB “[his] face became livid with utter rage.”

[3:19]  ¹² tn Aram “he answered and said.”

[1:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “stand before” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew verb עָמַד (’amad, “stand”) here denotes “to resist, withstand.” It is used elsewhere of warriors taking a stand in battle to hold their ground against enemies (Judg 2:14; Josh 10:8; 21:44; 23:9; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 11:16; Amos 2:15). It is also used of people trying to protect their lives from enemy attack (Esth 8:11; 9:16). Like a mighty warrior, the Lord will attack his enemies, but none will be able to make a stand against him; none will be able to hold their ground against him; and none will be able to protect themselves from his onslaught (Pss 76:7[8]; 147:17; Mal 3:2).

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Who can stand before his indignation?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer; it is translated here as an emphatic denial. The Hebrew noun זַעַם (za’am, “indignation, curse”) connotes the angry wrath or indignant curse of God (Isa 10:5, 25; 13:5; 26:20; 30:27; Jer 10:10; 15:17; 50:25; Ezek 21:36; 22:24, 31; Hab 3:12; Zeph 3:8; Pss 38:4; 69:25; 78:49; 102:11; Lam 2:6; Dan 8:19; 11:36). It depicts anger expressed in the form of punishment (HALOT 276 s.v.; TWOT 1:247).

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Who can rise up against…?” The verb יָקוּם (yaqum, “arise”) is here a figurative expression connoting resistance. Although the adversative sense of בְּ (bet) with יָקוּם (yaqum, “against him”) is attested, denoting hostile action taken against one’s enemy (Mic 7:6; Ps 27:12), the locative sense (“before him”) is preferred due to the parallelism with לִפְנֵי (lifney, “before him”).

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who can rise up against the heat of his anger?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is translated as an emphatic denial to clarify the point.

[1:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “burst into flames.” The Niphal perfect נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) from נָתַץ (natats, “to break up, throw down”) may denote “are broken up” or “are thrown down.” The BHS editors suggest emending the MT’s נִתְּצוּ (nittÿtsu) to נִצְּתּוּ (nitsÿtu, Niphal perfect from יָצַת [yatsat, “to burn, to kindle, to burst into flames”]): “boulders burst into flames.” This merely involves the simple transposition of the second and third consonants. This emendation is supported by a few Hebrew mss (cited in BHS apparatus). It is supported contextually by fire and heat motifs in 1:5-6. The same metathesis of נִתְּצוּ and נִצְּתּוּ occurs in Jer 4:26.

[1:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “before him” (so NAB, NIV, TEV).

[6:16]  ¹⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:16]  ²⁰ tn It is difficult to say where this quotation ends. The translation ends it after “withstand it” at the end of v. 17, but it is possible that it should end here, after “Lamb” at the end of v. 16. If it ends after “Lamb,” v. 17 is a parenthetical explanation by the author.

[6:17]  ²¹ tc Most mss (A Ï bo) change the pronoun “their” to “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou) in order to bring the text in line with the mention of the one seated on the throne in the immediately preceding verse, and to remove the ambiguity about whose wrath is in view here. The reading αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”) is well supported by א C 1611 1854 2053 2329 2344 pc latt sy. On both internal and external grounds, it should be regarded as original.

[6:17]  ²² tn The translation “to withstand (it)” for ἵστημι (Jisthmi) is based on the imagery of holding one’s ground in a military campaign or an attack (BDAG 482 s.v. B.4).