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 37:9

37:9 Wicked men ⁶  will be wiped out, ⁷ 

but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. ⁸ 

Psalms 62:5

62:5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! ⁹ 

For he is the one who gives me confidence. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 8:17

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,

who has rejected the family of Jacob; ¹¹ 

I will wait for him.

Isaiah 26:3

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ¹² 

Isaiah 50:10

50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?

Who obeys ¹³  his servant?

Whoever walks in deep darkness, ¹⁴ 

without light,

should trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

Lamentations 3:25-26

ט (Tet)

3:25 The Lord is good to those who trust ¹⁵  in him,

to the one ¹⁶  who seeks him.

3:26 It is good to wait patiently ¹⁷ 

for deliverance from the Lord. ¹⁸ 

Habakkuk 2:3

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ¹⁹ 

it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ²⁰ 

Even if the message ²¹  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ²² 

for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ²³  Jesus ²⁴  told them a parable to show them they should always ²⁵  pray and not lose heart. ²⁶ 

[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.”

[37:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “for evil men.” The conjunction כִּי (ki, “for”) relates to the exhortations in v. 8; there is no reason to be frustrated, for the evildoers will be punished in due time.

[37:9]  ⁷ tn Or “cut off, removed.”

[37:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “and those who wait on the Lord, they will possess the land.”

[62:5]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for from him [is] my hope.”

[8:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who hides his face from the house of Jacob.”

[26:3]  ¹² tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[50:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[50:10]  ¹⁴ tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.

[3:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “wait for him”

[3:25]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.”

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.

[2:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.

[2:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ²² tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”

[18:1]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ²⁶ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).