Discovery BoxProverbs 28:6
Context28:6 A poor person 1 who walks in his integrity is better
than one who is perverse in his ways 2 even though 3 he is rich. 4
Numbers 22:32
Context22:32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing 5 is perverse before me. 6
Psalms 73:18-20
Context73:18 Surely 7 you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down 8 to ruin.
73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! 9
73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. 10
O Lord, when you awake 11 you will despise them. 12
Psalms 125:5
Context125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, 13
may the Lord remove them, 14 along with those who behave wickedly! 15
May Israel experience peace! 16
Psalms 125:1
ContextA song of ascents. 18
125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;
it cannot be upended and will endure forever.
Psalms 5:3
Context5:3 Lord, in the morning 19 you will hear 20 me; 21
in the morning I will present my case to you 22 and then wait expectantly for an answer. 23
Psalms 5:2
Context5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,
my king and my God,
for I am praying to you!
Psalms 2:1-3
Context2:1 Why 25 do the nations rebel? 26
Why 27 are the countries 28 devising 29 plots that will fail? 30
2:2 The kings of the earth 31 form a united front; 32
the rulers collaborate 33
against the Lord and his anointed king. 34
2:3 They say, 35 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 36
Let’s free ourselves from 37 their ropes!”
Revelation 3:3
Context3:3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard, 38 and obey it, 39 and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never 40 know at what hour I will come against 41 you.
[28:6] 1 sn This chapter gives a lot of attention to the contrast between the poor and the rich, assuming an integrity for the poor that is not present with the rich; the subject is addressed in vv. 6, 8, 11, 20, 22, 25, and 27 (G. A. Chutter, “Riches and Poverty in the Book of Proverbs,” Crux 18 [1982]: 23-28).
[28:6] 2 tn The Hebrew term translated “ways” is in the dual, suggesting that the person has double ways, i.e., he is hypocritical. C. H. Toy does not like this idea and changes the form to the plural (Proverbs [ICC], 497), but his emendation is gratuitous and should be rejected.
[28:6] 3 tn Heb “and he is rich.” Many English versions treat this as a concessive clause (cf. KJV “though he be rich”).
[28:6] 4 sn This is another “better” saying, contrasting a poor person who has integrity with a rich person who is perverse. Of course there are rich people with integrity and perverse poor people, but that is not of interest here. If it came to the choices described here, honest poverty is better than corrupt wealth.
[22:32] 6 tn The verb יָרַט (yarat) occurs only here and in Job 16:11. Balaam is embarking on a foolish mission with base motives. The old rendering “perverse” is still acceptable.
[73:18] 7 tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.
[73:18] 8 tn Heb “cause them to fall.”
[73:19] 9 tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”
[73:20] 10 tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
[73:20] 11 sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.
[73:20] 12 tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.
[125:5] 13 tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.
[125:5] 14 tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the
[125:5] 15 tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”
[125:5] 16 tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).
[125:1] 17 sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.
[125:1] 18 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
[5:3] 19 sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).
[5:3] 20 tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “
[5:3] 22 tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.
[5:3] 23 tn Heb “and I will watch.”
[2:1] 24 sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.
[2:1] 25 tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.
[2:1] 26 tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.
[2:1] 27 tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:1] 28 tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).
[2:1] 29 tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).
[2:1] 30 tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.
[2:2] 31 sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.
[2:2] 32 tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.
[2:2] 33 tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).
[2:2] 34 tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).
[2:3] 35 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
[2:3] 36 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
[2:3] 37 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
[3:3] 38 tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pw" eilhfa" kai hkousa") probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.
[3:3] 39 tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.
[3:3] 40 tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).
