Psalms 35:3

35:3 Use your spear and lance ¹  against ²  those who chase me!

Assure me with these words: ³  “I am your deliverer!”

Isaiah 41:10

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ⁴ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ⁵ 

Isaiah 41:14

41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ⁶ 

men of ⁷  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ⁸  the Holy One of Israel. ⁹ 

Isaiah 43:1-2

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,

the one who created you, O Jacob,

and formed you, O Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect ¹⁰  you.

I call you by name, you are mine.

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ¹¹  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ¹²  you.

Isaiah 44:8

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ¹³ 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ¹⁴  I know of none.

Matthew 14:27-31

14:27 But immediately Jesus ¹⁵  spoke to them: ¹⁶  “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 14:28 Peter ¹⁷  said to him, ¹⁸  “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.” 14:29 So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 14:30 But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, ¹⁹  “Lord, save me!” 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Mark 6:50

6:50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them: ²⁰  “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Mark 16:6

16:6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. ²¹  He has been raised! ²²  He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.

Revelation 1:17-18

1:17 When ²³  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ²⁴  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the one who lives! I ²⁵  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ²⁶ 

[35:3]  ¹ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

[35:3]  ² tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

[35:3]  ³ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

[41:10]  ⁴ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ⁵ tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[41:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  ⁷ tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”

[41:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

[43:2]  ¹¹ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ¹² tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[44:8]  ¹³ tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[14:27]  ¹⁵ tc Most witnesses have ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”), while a few lack the words (א* D 073 892 pc ff¹ sy^c sa bo). Although such additions are often suspect (due to liturgical influences, piety, or for the sake of clarity), in this case it is likely that ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς dropped out accidentally. Apart from a few albeit important witnesses, as noted above, the rest of the tradition has either ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς αὐτοῖς (Jo Ihsous autois) or αὐτοῖς ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (autois Jo Ihsous). In uncial letters, with Jesus’ name as a nomen sacrum, this would have been written as autoisois_ or ois_autois. Thus homoioteleuton could explain the reason for the omission of Jesus’ name.

[14:27]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he said to them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[14:28]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[14:28]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “answering him, Peter said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[14:30]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[6:50]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he spoke with them, and said to them.”

[16:6]  ²¹ sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

[16:6]  ²² tn The verb here is passive (ἠγέρθη, hgerqh). This “divine passive” (see ExSyn 437-38) points to the fact that Jesus was raised by God.

[1:17]  ²³ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:17]  ²⁴ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

[1:18]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ²⁶ tn Concerning “Hades” BDAG 19 s.v. ᾅδης 1 and 2 states: “Orig. proper noun, god of the nether world, ‘Hades’, then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead, Ac 2:27, 31 (Ps 15:10; Eccl 9:10; PGM 1, 179; 16, 8; Philo, Mos. 1, 195; Jos., Bell. 1, 596, Ant. 6, 332). Of Jonah’s fish ἐκ τοῦ κατωτάτου ᾅδου. In the depths, contrasted w. heaven ἕως (τοῦ) ᾅδου Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15 (PsSol 15:10; cp.; Is 14:11, 15); ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ 16:23; ἐν ῝Αιδου ApcPt Rainer. Accessible by gates (but the pl. is also used [e.g. Hom., X., Ael. Aristid. 47, 20 K.=23 p. 450 D.] when only one gate is meant), hence πύλαι ᾅδου (Il. 5, 646; Is 38:10; Wsd 16:13; 3 Macc 5:51; Pss. Sol. 16:2. – Lucian, Menipp. 6 the magicians can open τοῦ ῝Αιδου τὰς πύλας and conduct people in and out safely) Mt 16:18…locked ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου Rv 1:18 (the genitives are either obj. [Ps.-Apollod. 3, 12, 6, 10 Aeacus, the son of Zeus holds the κλεῖς τοῦ ῝Αιδου; SEG VIII, 574, 3 (III ad) τῷ τὰς κλεῖδας ἔχοντι τῶν καθ᾿ ῝Αιδου (restored)] or possess.; in the latter case death and Hades are personif.; s. 2)…Hades personif.…w. θάνατος (cp. Is 28:15; Job 38:17…) Rv 6:8; 20:13f.”