Psalms 103:13-15

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ¹ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ² 

103:14 For he knows what we are made of; ³ 

he realizes ⁴  we are made of clay. ⁵ 

103:15 A person’s life is like grass. ⁶ 

Like a flower in the field it flourishes,

Isaiah 57:16

57:16 For I will not be hostile ⁷  forever

or perpetually angry,

for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me, ⁸ 

the life-giving breath I created.

Isaiah 57:1

57:1 The godly ⁹  perish,

but no one cares. ¹⁰ 

Honest people disappear, ¹¹ 

when no one ¹²  minds ¹³ 

that the godly ¹⁴  disappear ¹⁵  because of ¹⁶  evil. ¹⁷ 

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁸ 

[103:13]  ¹ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ² tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:14]  ³ tn Heb “our form.”

[103:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “remembers.”

[103:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”

[103:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.

[57:16]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “argue,” or “accuse” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “for a spirit from before me would be faint.”

[57:1]  ⁹ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”

[57:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”

[57:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.

[57:1]  ¹³ tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”

[57:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ¹⁶ tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).

[57:1]  ¹⁷ tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).