Psalms 119:120

119:120 My body ¹  trembles ²  because I fear you; ³ 

I am afraid of your judgments.

Ecclesiastes 5:7

5:7 Just as there is futility in many dreams,

so also in many words. ⁴ 

Therefore, fear God!

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ⁵  and still live a long time, ⁶ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ⁷  – for they stand in fear ⁸  before him.

8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,

nor will they ⁹  prolong their ¹⁰  days like a shadow, ¹¹ 

because they ¹²  do not stand in fear ¹³  before God.

Isaiah 66:2

66:2 My hand made them; ¹⁴ 

that is how they came to be,” ¹⁵  says the Lord.

I show special favor ¹⁶  to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 5:22

5:22 “You should fear me!” says the Lord.

“You should tremble in awe before me! ¹⁸ 

I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea,

a permanent barrier that it can never cross.

Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail.

They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” ¹⁹ 

Hebrews 12:28-29

12:28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 12:29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire. ²⁰ 

[119:120]  ¹ tn Heb “my flesh.”

[119:120]  ² tn The Hebrew verb סָמַר (samar, “to tremble”) occurs only here and in Job 4:15.

[119:120]  ³ tn Heb “from fear of you.” The pronominal suffix on the noun is an objective genitive.

[5:7]  ⁴ tn The syntax of this verse is difficult. Perhaps the best approach is to classify the vav on וַהֲבָלִים (vahavalim, “futilities”) as introducing the predicate (e.g., Gen 40:9; 2 Sam 23:3; Prov 10:25; Isa 34:12; Job 4:6; 36:26); BDB 255 s.v. ו 5.c.γ: “There is futility….” The phrase בְרֹב הֲלֹמוֹת (vÿrob halomot) is an adverbial modifier (“in many dreams”), as is דְבָרִים הַרְבֵּה (dÿvarim harbeh, “many words”). The vav prefixed to וּדְבָרִים (udÿvarim) and the juxtaposition of the two lines suggests a comparison: “just as…so also…” (BDB 253 s.v. ו 1.j). The English versions reflect a variety of approaches: “In the multitude of dreams and many words there are also diverse vanities” (KJV); “In the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words” (ASV); “When dreams increase, empty words grow many” (RSV); “In many dreams and follies and many words” (MLB); “In the abundance of dreams both vanities and words abound” (YLT); “Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words without number” (Douay); “Many dreams and words mean many a vain folly” (Moffatt); “Much dreaming leads to futility and to superfluous talk” (NJPS); “In many dreams and in many words there is emptiness” (NASB); “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless” (NIV); “With many dreams comes vanities and a multitude of words” (NRSV).

[8:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “they fear.”

[8:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ¹⁰ tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.

[8:13]  ¹² tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “they do not fear.”

[66:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.

[66:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”

[66:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[66:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”

[5:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Should you not fear me? Should you not tremble in awe before me?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer explicit in the translation.

[5:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it.” The referent is made explicit to avoid any possible confusion.

[12:29]  ²⁰ sn A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.