Psalms 115:5-8

115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

115:6 ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell,

115:7 hands, but cannot touch,

feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot even clear their throats. ¹ 

115:8 Those who make them will end up ²  like them,

as will everyone who trusts in them.

Psalms 135:16-18

135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.

Indeed, they cannot breathe. ³ 

135:18 Those who make them will end up ⁴  like them,

as will everyone who trusts in them.

Habakkuk 2:19

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ⁵  –

he who says ⁶  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’

Can it give reliable guidance? ⁷ 

It is overlaid with gold and silver;

it has no life’s breath inside it.

Habakkuk 2:1

2:1 I will stand at my watch post;

I will remain stationed on the city wall. ⁸ 

I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me

and can know ⁹  how I should answer

when he counters my argument. ¹⁰ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹¹  brothers and sisters ¹²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹³  from God our Father! ¹⁴ 

Revelation 13:14-15

13:14 and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told ¹⁵  those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived. 13:15 The second beast ¹⁶  was empowered ¹⁷  to give life ¹⁸  to the image of the first beast ¹⁹  so that it could speak, and could cause all those who did not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

[115:7]  ¹ tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).

[115:8]  ² tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”

[135:17]  ³ tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”

[135:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”

[2:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:19]  ⁶ tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

[2:19]  ⁷ tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).

[2:1]  ⁸ sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[13:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

[13:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the second beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “it was given [permitted] to it [the second beast].”

[13:15]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “breath,” but in context the point is that the image of the first beast is made to come to life and speak.

[13:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.