Psalms 107:33-35

107:33 He turned ¹  streams into a desert,

springs of water into arid land,

107:34 and a fruitful land into a barren place, ² 

because of the sin of its inhabitants.

107:35 As for his people, ³  he turned ⁴  a desert into a pool of water,

and a dry land into springs of water.

Isaiah 35:6-7

35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,

the mute tongue will shout for joy;

for water will flow ⁵  in the desert,

streams in the wilderness. ⁶ 

35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,

the parched ground springs of water.

Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,

grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.

Isaiah 43:19-20

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ⁷  Do you not recognize ⁸  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁹  in the wilderness.

43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,

the jackals and ostriches,

because I put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness,

to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

Isaiah 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ¹⁰ 

Is my hand too weak ¹¹  to deliver ¹²  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹³  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 8:12

8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹⁵ 

Matthew 21:43

21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people ¹⁶  who will produce its fruit.

Acts 13:46

13:46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, ¹⁷  “It was necessary to speak the word of God ¹⁸  to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy ¹⁹  of eternal life, we ²⁰  are turning to the Gentiles. ²¹ 

Acts 22:21

22:21 Then ²²  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 28:28

28:28 “Therefore be advised ²³  that this salvation from God ²⁴  has been sent to the Gentiles; ²⁵  they ²⁶  will listen!”

Romans 11:12-22

11:12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration ²⁷  bring?

11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 11:14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 11:16 If the first portion ²⁸  of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. ²⁹ 

11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in ³⁰  the richness of the olive root, 11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 11:19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 11:20 Granted! ³¹  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but ³²  God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; ³³  otherwise you also will be cut off.

[107:33]  ¹ tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. (The use of prefixed forms with vav [ו] consecutive in vv. 36-37 favor this.) The psalmist may return to the theme of God’s intervention for the exiles (see vv. 4-22, especially vv. 4-9). However, many regard vv. 33-41 as a hymnic description which generalizes about God’s activities among men. In this case it would be preferable to use the English present tense throughout (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[107:34]  ² tn Heb “a salty land.”

[107:35]  ³ tn The words “As for his people” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The psalmist contrasts God’s judgment on his enemies with his blessing of his people. See the note on the word “enemies” in v. 39 for further discussion.

[107:35]  ⁴ tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. See the note on the word “turned” in v. 33.

[35:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “burst forth” (so NAB); KJV “break out.”

[35:6]  ⁶ tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT “desert.”

[43:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ⁸ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[50:2]  ¹⁰ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹² tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”

[8:12]  ¹⁵ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[21:43]  ¹⁶ tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).

[13:46]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out courageously and said.” The redundancy is removed in the translation and the verb “replied” is used in keeping with the logical sequence of events. The theme of boldness reappears: Acts 4:24-30; 9:27-28.

[13:46]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.

[13:46]  ¹⁹ tn Or “and consider yourselves unworthy.”

[13:46]  ²⁰ tn Grk “behold, we.” In this context ἰδού (idou) is not easily translated into English.

[13:46]  ²¹ sn This turning to the Gentiles would be a shocking rebuke to 1st century Jews who thought they alone were the recipients of the promise.

[22:21]  ²² tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[28:28]  ²³ tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”

[28:28]  ²⁴ tn Or “of God.”

[28:28]  ²⁵ sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).

[28:28]  ²⁶ tn Grk “they also.”

[11:12]  ²⁷ tn Or “full inclusion”; Grk “their fullness.”

[11:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.

[11:16]  ²⁹ sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.

[11:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “became a participant of.”

[11:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”

[11:22]  ³² tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[11:22]  ³³ tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”