Psalms 11:5

11:5 The Lord approves of ¹  the godly, ² 

but he ³  hates ⁴  the wicked and those who love to do violence. ⁵ 

Psalms 50:16-21

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ⁶ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ⁷ 

50:17 For you hate instruction

and reject my words. ⁸ 

50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; ⁹ 

you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. ¹⁰ 

50:19 You do damage with words, ¹¹ 

and use your tongue to deceive. ¹² 

50:20 You plot against your brother; ¹³ 

you slander your own brother. ¹⁴ 

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ¹⁵ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ¹⁶ 

But now I will condemn ¹⁷  you

and state my case against you! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 52:3-4

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ¹⁹  (Selah)

52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, ²⁰ 

and the tongue that deceives.

Hosea 7:3

Political Intrigue and Conspiracy in the Palace

7:3 The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes,

the princes make him glad with their lies.

Micah 3:2

3:2 yet you ²¹  hate what is good, ²² 

and love what is evil. ²³ 

You flay my people’s skin ²⁴ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ²⁵ 

Mark 14:11

14:11 When they heard this, they were delighted ²⁶  and promised to give him money. ²⁷  So ²⁸  Judas ²⁹  began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

John 3:19-21

3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ³⁰  that the light has come into the world and people ³¹  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ³² 

Romans 1:32

1:32 Although they fully know ³³  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ³⁴  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ³⁵ 

Romans 2:8

2:8 but ³⁶  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ³⁷  and do not obey the truth but follow ³⁸  unrighteousness.

Romans 8:7-8

8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 12:9

Conduct in Love

12:9 Love must be ³⁹  without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁴⁰  to this present world, ⁴¹  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁴²  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 2:13-15

2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. ⁴³  2:14 For whenever the Gentiles, ⁴⁴  who do not have the law, do by nature ⁴⁵  the things required by the law, ⁴⁶  these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 2:15 They ⁴⁷  show that the work of the law is written ⁴⁸  in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend ⁴⁹  them, ⁵⁰ 

Romans 2:3

2:3 And do you think, ⁵¹  whoever you are, when you judge ⁵²  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ⁵³  that you will escape God’s judgment?

Romans 1:11

1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift ⁵⁴  to strengthen you,

[11:5]  ¹ tn Heb “examines,” the same verb used in v. 4b. But here it is used in a metonymic sense of “examine and approve” (see Jer 20:12).

[11:5]  ² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure (of heart)” in v. 2.

[11:5]  ³ tn Heb “his [very] being.” A נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, soul”) is also attributed to the Lord in Isa 1:14, where a suffixed form of the noun appears as the subject of the verb “hate.” Both there and here the term is used of the seat of one’s emotions and passions.

[11:5]  ⁴ sn He hates the wicked. The Lord “hates” the wicked in the sense that he despises their wicked character and deeds, and actively opposes and judges them for their wickedness. See Ps 5:5.

[11:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked [one] and the lover of violence.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked [ones]”) in vv. 2 and 6.

[50:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[50:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”

[50:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “you run with him.”

[50:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”

[50:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”

[50:19]  ¹² tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”

[50:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).

[50:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”

[50:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[52:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[52:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.

[3:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ²² tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ²³ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[14:11]  ²⁶ sn The leaders were delighted when Judas contacted them about betraying Jesus, because it gave them the opportunity they had been looking for, and they could later claim that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.

[14:11]  ²⁷ sn Matt 26:15 states the amount of money they gave Judas was thirty pieces of silver (see also Matt 27:3-4; Zech 11:12-13).

[14:11]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[14:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ³⁰ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ³¹ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[3:21]  ³² sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[1:32]  ³³ tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:32]  ³⁴ tn Grk “are worthy of death.”

[1:32]  ³⁵ sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.

[2:8]  ³⁶ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ³⁷ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[12:9]  ³⁹ tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.

[12:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁴² sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[2:13]  ⁴³ tn The Greek sentence expresses this contrast more succinctly than is possible in English. Grk “For not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.”

[2:14]  ⁴⁴ sn Gentile is a NT term for a non-Jew.

[2:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:135-37) take the phrase φύσει (fusei, “by nature”) to go with the preceding “do not have the law,” thus: “the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature,” that is, by virtue of not being born Jewish.

[2:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “do by nature the things of the law.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “show the work of the law [to be] written,” with the words in brackets implied by the Greek construction.

[2:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “excuse.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “their conscience bearing witness and between the thoughts accusing or also defending one another.”

[2:3]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

[2:3]  ⁵² tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

[2:3]  ⁵³ tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.

[1:11]  ⁵⁴ sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.