Psalms 146:3-6

146:3 Do not trust in princes,

or in human beings, who cannot deliver! ¹ 

146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;

on that day their plans die. ² 

146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who remains forever faithful, ³ 

Isaiah 31:1

Egypt Will Disappoint

31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, ⁴ 

those who rely on war horses,

and trust in Egypt’s many chariots ⁵ 

and in their many, many horsemen. ⁶ 

But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel ⁷ 

and do not seek help from the Lord.

Isaiah 32:2

32:2 Each of them ⁸  will be like a shelter from the wind

and a refuge from a rainstorm;

like streams of water in a dry region

and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.

Jeremiah 17:5-6

Individuals Are Challenged to Put Their Trust in the Lord ⁹ 

17:5 The Lord says,

“I will put a curse on people

who trust in mere human beings,

who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, ¹⁰ 

and whose hearts ¹¹  have turned away from the Lord.

17:6 They will be like a shrub ¹²  in the desert.

They will not experience good things even when they happen.

It will be as though they were growing in the desert,

in a salt land where no one can live.

Ephesians 1:12-13

1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope ¹³  on Christ, ¹⁴  would be to the praise of his glory. 1:13 And when ¹⁵  you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ ¹⁶  – you were marked with the seal ¹⁷  of the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ 

[146:3]  ¹ tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”

[146:4]  ² tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.

[146:6]  ³ tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”

[31:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”

[31:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”

[31:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”

[31:1]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[32:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.

[17:5]  ⁹ sn Verses 5-11 are a collection of wisdom-like sayings (cf. Ps 1) which set forth the theme of the two ways and their consequences. It has as its background the blessings and the curses of Deut 28 and the challenge to faith in Deut 29-30 which climaxes in Deut 30:15-20. The nation is sinful and God is weary of showing them patience. However, there is hope for individuals within the nation if they will trust in him.

[17:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who make flesh their arm.” The “arm” is the symbol of strength and the flesh is the symbol of mortal man in relation to the omnipotent God. The translation “mere flesh and blood” reflects this.

[17:5]  ¹¹ sn In the psychology of ancient Hebrew thought the heart was the center not only of the emotions but of the thoughts and motivations. It was also the seat of moral conduct (cf. its placement in the middle of the discussion of moral conduct in Prov 4:20-27, i.e., in v. 23).

[17:6]  ¹² tn This word occurs only here and in Jer 48:6. It has been identified as a kind of juniper, which is a short shrub with minute leaves that look like scales. For a picture and more discussion see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, 131.

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Or “who had already hoped.”

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the Messiah.”

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in whom you also, when…” (continuing the sentence from v. 12).

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in whom also having believed.” The relative pronoun “whom” has been replaced in the translation with its antecedent (“Christ”) to improve the clarity.

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “you were sealed.”

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the Holy Spirit of promise.” Here ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias, “of promise”) has been translated as an attributive genitive.