Discovery BoxPsalms 2:8-12
Context2:8 Ask me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, 1
the ends of the earth as your personal property.
2:9 You will break them 2 with an iron scepter; 3
you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” 4
2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; 5
you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! 6
2:11 Serve 7 the Lord in fear!
Repent in terror! 8
Otherwise he 10 will be angry, 11
and you will die because of your behavior, 12
when his anger quickly ignites. 13
How blessed 14 are all who take shelter in him! 15
Isaiah 60:12
Context60:12 Indeed, 16 nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish;
such nations will be totally destroyed. 17
Zechariah 14:16-19
Context14:16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, and to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. 18 14:17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem 19 to worship the King, the Lord who rules over all, they will get no rain. 14:18 If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain – instead there will be the kind of plague which the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 14:19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
Luke 19:27
Context19:27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, 20 bring them here and slaughter 21 them 22 in front of me!’”
Luke 19:2
Context19:2 Now 23 a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector 24 and was rich.
Luke 1:8
Context1:8 Now 25 while Zechariah 26 was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 27
Luke 1:1
Context1:1 Now 28 many have undertaken to compile an account 29 of the things 30 that have been fulfilled 31 among us,
Luke 2:6-8
Context2:6 While 32 they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 33 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth 34 and laid him in a manger, 35 because there was no place for them in the inn. 36
2:8 Now 37 there were shepherds 38 nearby 39 living out in the field, keeping guard 40 over their flock at night.
[2:8] 1 sn I will give you the nations. The
[2:9] 2 tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.
[2:9] 3 tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.
[2:9] 4 sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.
[2:10] 5 sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.
[2:10] 6 tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.
[2:11] 7 tn The Hebrew verb translated “serve” refers here to submitting to the Lord’s sovereignty as expressed through the rule of the Davidic king. Such “service” would involve maintaining allegiance to the Davidic king by paying tribute on a regular basis.
[2:11] 8 tn Traditionally, “rejoice with trembling” (KJV). The verb גִּיל (gil) normally means “rejoice,” but this meaning does not fit well here in conjunction with “in trembling.” Some try to understand “trembling” (and the parallel יִרְאָה, yir’ah, “fear”) in the sense of “reverential awe” and then take the verbs “serve” and “rejoice” in the sense of “worship” (cf. NASB). But רְעָדָה (rÿ’adah, “trembling”) and its related terms consistently refer to utter terror and fear (see Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Pss 48:6; 55:5; 104:32; Isa 33:14; Dan 10:11) or at least great emotional distress (Ezra 10:9). It seems more likely here that גִּיל carries its polarized meaning “mourn, lament,” as in Hos 10:5. “Mourn, lament” would then be metonymic in this context for “repent” (referring to one’s rebellious ways). On the meaning of the verb in Hos 10:5, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-57.
[2:12] 9 tn Traditionally, “kiss the son” (KJV). But בַּר (bar) is the Aramaic word for “son,” not the Hebrew. For this reason many regard the reading as suspect. Some propose emendations of vv. 11b-12a. One of the more popular proposals is to read בִּרְעָדָה נַשְּׁקוּ לְרַגְלָיו (bir’adah nashÿqu lÿraslayv, “in trembling kiss his feet”). It makes better sense to understand בַּר (bar) as an adjective meaning “pure” (see Pss 24:4; 73:1 and BDB 141 s.v. בַּר 3) functioning here in an adverbial sense. If read this way, then the syntactical structure of exhortation (imperative followed by adverbial modifier) corresponds to the two preceding lines (see v. 11). The verb נָשַׁק (nashaq, “kiss”) refers metonymically to showing homage (see 1 Sam 10:1; Hos 13:2). The exhortation in v. 12a advocates a genuine expression of allegiance and warns against insincerity. When swearing allegiance, vassal kings would sometimes do so insincerely, with the intent of rebelling when the time was right. The so-called “Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon” also warn against such an attitude. In this treaty the vassal is told: “If you, as you stand on the soil where this oath [is sworn], swear the oath with your words and lips [only], do not swear with your entire heart, do not transmit it to your sons who will live after this treaty, if you take this curse upon yourselves but do not plan to keep the treaty of Esarhaddon…may your sons and grandsons because of this fear in the future” (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 2:62).
[2:12] 10 tn Throughout the translation of this verse the third person masculine pronouns refer to the
[2:12] 11 tn The implied subject of the verb is the
[2:12] 12 tn Heb “and you will perish [in the] way.” The Hebrew word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to their rebellious behavior (not to a pathway, as often understood). It functions syntactically as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb “perish.”
[2:12] 13 tn Or “burns.” The
[2:12] 14 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
[2:12] 15 sn Who take shelter in him. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
[60:12] 16 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); TEV “But.”
[60:12] 17 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
[14:16] 18 sn Having imposed his sovereignty over the earth following the Battle of Armageddon, the
[14:17] 19 sn The reference to any…who refuse to go up to Jerusalem makes clear the fact that the nations are by no means “converted” to the
[19:27] 20 tn Grk “to rule over them.”
[19:27] 21 tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).
[19:27] 22 sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.
[19:2] 23 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new character. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[19:2] 24 sn This is the one place in the NT the office of chief tax collector is noted. He would organize the other tax collectors and collect healthy commissions (see also the note on the word tax collector in 3:12).
[1:8] 25 tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[1:8] 26 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:8] 27 tn Grk “serving as priest in the order of his division before God.”
[1:1] 28 tn Grk “Since” or “Because.” This begins a long sentence that extends through v. 4. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, the Greek sentence has been divided up into shorter English sentences in the translation.
[1:1] 29 tn This is sometimes translated “narrative,” but the term itself can refer to an oral or written account. It is the verb “undertaken” which suggests a written account, since it literally is “to set one’s hand” to something (BDAG 386 s.v. ἐπιχειρέω). “Narrative” is too specific, denoting a particular genre of work for the accounts that existed in the earlier tradition. Not all of that material would have been narrative.
[1:1] 31 tn Or “have been accomplished.” Given Luke’s emphasis on divine design (e.g., Luke 24:43-47) a stronger sense (“fulfilled”) is better than a mere reference to something having taken place (“accomplished”).
[2:6] 32 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[2:6] 33 tn The words “her child” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify what was being delivered. The wording here is like Luke 1:57. Grk “the days for her to give birth were fulfilled.”
[2:7] 34 sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.
[2:7] 35 tn Or “a feeding trough.”
[2:7] 36 tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.
[2:8] 37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[2:8] 38 sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca.
[2:8] 39 tn Grk “in that region.”
[2:8] 40 tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”
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