Psalms 27:14

27:14 Rely ¹  on the Lord!

Be strong and confident! ² 

Rely on the Lord!

Psalms 37:7

37:7 Wait patiently for the Lord! ³ 

Wait confidently ⁴  for him!

Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, ⁵ 

a man who carries out wicked schemes!

Psalms 37:34

37:34 Rely ⁶  on the Lord! Obey his commands! ⁷ 

Then he will permit you ⁸  to possess the land;

you will see the demise of evil men. ⁹ 

Psalms 62:1

Psalm 62 ¹⁰ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; ¹¹ 

he is the one who delivers me. ¹² 

Psalms 62:5

62:5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! ¹³ 

For he is the one who gives me confidence. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 123:2

123:2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, ¹⁵ 

so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

Psalms 130:5-6

130:5 I rely on ¹⁶  the Lord,

I rely on him with my whole being; ¹⁷ 

I wait for his assuring word. ¹⁸ 

130:6 I yearn for the Lord, ¹⁹ 

more than watchmen do for the morning,

yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. ²⁰ 

Proverbs 20:22

20:22 Do not say, ²¹  “I will pay back ²²  evil!”

Wait ²³  for the Lord, so that he may vindicate you. ²⁴ 

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ²⁵ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ²⁶ 

Lamentations 3:25-26

ט (Tet)

3:25 The Lord is good to those who trust ²⁷  in him,

to the one ²⁸  who seeks him.

3:26 It is good to wait patiently ²⁹ 

for deliverance from the Lord. ³⁰ 

Hosea 12:6

12:6 But you must return ³¹  to your God,

by maintaining love and justice,

and by waiting ³²  for your God to return to you. ³³ 

Micah 7:7

7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament. ³⁴ 

James 5:7-8

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ³⁵  until the Lord’s return. ³⁶  Think of how the farmer waits ³⁷  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ³⁸  for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.

[27:14]  ¹ tn Or “wait.”

[27:14]  ² tn Heb “be strong and let your heart be confident.”

[37:7]  ³ tn Heb “Be quiet before the Lord!”

[37:7]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has וְהִתְחוֹלֵל (vÿhitkholel, Hitpolel of חִיל, khil, “writhe with fear, suffer”) but this idea fits awkwardly here. The text should be changed to וְתוֹחֵל (vÿtokhel; Hiphil of יָחַל, yakhal, “wait”). It appears that the Hebrew text is the product of dittography: (1) the initial וה (vav-he) is accidentally repeated from the preceding word (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) and (2) the final lamed (ל) is accidentally repeated (note the preceding lamed and the initial lamed on the following form, לו).

[37:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “over one who causes his way to be successful.”

[37:34]  ⁶ tn Or “wait.”

[37:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “keep his way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

[37:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he will lift you up.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause following the imperatives in the preceding lines.

[37:34]  ⁹ tn Heb “when evil men are cut off you will see.”

[62:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.

[62:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”

[62:1]  ¹² tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”

[62:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “only for God be silent, my soul.” The wording is similar to that of v. 1a. Here an imperatival form, דּוֹמִּי (dommiy, “be silent”), appears instead of the noun דּוּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”). The psalmist is encouraging himself to maintain his trust in God.

[62:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for from him [is] my hope.”

[123:2]  ¹⁵ sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.

[130:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “wait for.”

[130:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my soul waits.”

[130:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his word.”

[130:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my soul for the master.”

[130:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:22]  ²¹ tn The verse is directly instructive; it begins with the negated jussive in the first colon, and follows with the imperative in the second. It warns that the righteous should not take vengeance on the wicked, for only God can do that.

[20:22]  ²² tn The form is the Piel cohortative of resolve – “I am determined to pay back.” The verb שָׁלֵם (shalem) means “to be complete; to be sound.” In this stem, however, it can mean “to make complete; to make good; to requite; to recompense” (KJV, ASV). The idea is “getting even” by paying back someone for the evil done.

[20:22]  ²³ sn To “wait” (קַוֵּה, qavveh) on the Lord requires faith in him, reliance on divine justice, and patience. It means that the wrongs done to a person will have to be endured for a time.

[20:22]  ²⁴ tn After the imperative, the jussive is subordinated in a purpose or result clause: “wait for the Lord so that he may deliver you.” The verb יֹשַׁע (yosha’) means “to save (KJV, ASV, NASB); to deliver (NIV); to give victory”; in this context it means “deliver from the evil done to you,” and so “vindicate” is an appropriate connotation. Cf. NCV “he will make things right.”

[30:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[3:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “wait for him”

[3:25]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to the soul…” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= “the soul who seeks him”) for the whole person (= “the person who seeks him”).

[3:26]  ²⁹ tn Heb “waiting and silently.” The two adjectives וְיָחִיל וְדוּמָם (vÿyakhil vÿdumam, “waiting and silently”) form a hendiadys: The first functions verbally and the second functions adverbially: “to wait silently.” The adjective דוּמָם (dumam, “silently”) also functions as a metonymy of association, standing for patience or rest (HALOT 217 s.v.). This metonymical nuance is captured well in less literal English versions: “wait in patience” (TEV) and “wait patiently” (CEV, NJPS). The more literal English versions do not express the metonymy as well: “quietly wait” (KJV, NKJV, ASV), “waits silently” (NASB), “wait quietly” (RSV, NRSV, NIV).

[3:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “deliverance of the Lord.” In the genitive-construct, the genitive יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”) denotes source, that is, he is the source of the deliverance: “deliverance from the Lord.”

[12:6]  ³¹ tn The verb תָשׁוּב (tashuv, Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to return”) functions as an imperfect of moral obligation, introducing the following imperatives (e.g., Gen 20:9; Exod 4:15). For this function of the imperfect, see IBHS 508-9 §31.4g.

[12:6]  ³² tn The verb וְקַוֵּה (vÿqavveh, vav + Piel imperative 2nd person masculine singular from קָוָה, qavah, “to wait for”) means “to hope for, wait for, look eagerly for” (BDB 875 s.v. קָוָה 1; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b). The Qal meaning refers to a general hope; the Piel meaning refers to hope directed toward an object, or hope inserted within a sequence of expectation and fulfillment. When the Piel is used in reference to a thing, it refers to waiting expectantly for something to occur (e.g., Gen 49:18; Isa 5:2, 4, 7; 59:9, 11; Jer 8:15; 13:16; 14:19; Ps 69:21; Job 3:9; 6:19; 11:20). When it is used in reference to God, it refers to the people of God waiting expectantly for God to do something or to fulfill his promise (e.g., Pss 25:5, 21; 27:14; 37:34; 40:2; 52:11; 130:5; Isa 8:17; 25:9; 26:8; 33:2; 51:5; 60:9; Hos 12:7). The personal object can be introduced by the preposition לְ (lamed, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.a) or אֶל (’el, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b; e.g., Pss 27:14; 37:34; Isa 51:5; Hos 12:7). The point seems to be that if Israel will repent and practice moral righteousness, she can look to God in confident expectation that he will intervene on her behalf by relenting from judgment and restoring the covenant blessings.

[12:6]  ³³ tn The phrase “to return to you” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied; it is provided in the translation for clarity. This ellipsis fills out the implicit connotations of the verb קָוָה (qavah, “to wait for”).

[7:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “me.” In the interest of clarity the nature of the prophet’s cry has been specified as “my lament” in the translation.

[5:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ³⁶ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ³⁸ tn Grk “being patient.”