Psalms 49:1

Psalm 49 ¹ 

For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.

49:1 Listen to this, all you nations!

Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world! ² 

Isaiah 34:1

The Lord Will Judge Edom

34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!

Pay attention, you people!

The earth and everything it contains must listen,

the world and everything that lives in it. ³ 

Jeremiah 5:21

5:21 Tell them: ‘Hear this,

you foolish people who have no understanding,

who have eyes but do not discern,

who have ears but do not perceive: ⁴ 

Hosea 5:1

Announcement of Sin and Judgment

5:1 Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites! ⁵ 

Listen closely, ⁶  O king! ⁷ 

For judgment is about to overtake you! ⁸ 

For you were like a trap ⁹  to Mizpah, ¹⁰ 

like a net ¹¹  spread out to catch Tabor. ¹² 

Amos 3:1

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ¹³  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ¹⁴  from the land of Egypt:

Amos 4:1

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ¹⁵  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ¹⁶  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ¹⁷  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ¹⁸ 

Amos 5:1

Death is Imminent

5:1 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, ¹⁹  family ²⁰  of Israel:

Micah 1:2

The Judge is Coming

1:2 Listen, all you nations! ²¹ 

Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! ²² 

The sovereign Lord will testify ²³  against you;

the Lord will accuse you ²⁴  from his majestic palace. ²⁵ 

Micah 3:1

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ²⁶  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²⁷  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ²⁸ 

Micah 3:9

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ²⁹  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ³⁰  of Israel!

You ³¹  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

Matthew 13:9

13:9 The one who has ears had better listen!” ³² 

Revelation 2:7

2:7 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, ³³  I will permit ³⁴  him to eat from the tree of life that is ³⁵  in the paradise of God.’ ³⁶ 

[49:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 49. In this so-called wisdom psalm (see v. 3) the psalmist states that he will not fear the rich enemies who threaten him, for despite their wealth, they are mere men who will die like everyone else. The psalmist is confident the Lord will vindicate the godly and protect them from the attacks of their oppressors.

[49:1]  ² tn The rare noun חָלֶד (kheled, “world”) occurs in Ps 17:14 and perhaps also in Isa 38:11 (see the note on “world” there).

[34:1]  ³ tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”

[5:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “they have eyes but they do not see, they have ears but they do not hear.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”

[5:1]  ⁹ sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”

[5:1]  ¹¹ sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).

[5:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and a net spread out over Tabor.”

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Or “about.”

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the Lord apparently refers to himself in the third person in the preceding sentence. This first person form, however, serves to connect this message to the earlier indictment (2:10) and anticipates the words of the following verse.

[4:1]  ¹⁵ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

[4:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their.”

[4:1]  ¹⁸ sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).

[5:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Listen to this word which I am about to take up against you, a funeral song.”

[5:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “O peoples, all of them.”

[1:2]  ²² tn Heb “O earth and all its fullness”; KJV “and all that therein is.”

[1:2]  ²³ tn Heb “May the sovereign Lord testify against you.” The verb וִיהִי (vihiy) is jussive, which normally conveys a volitional sense of an urgent request or prayer (“may he testify!”). However, GKC 325-26 §109.k notes that here the jussive form is used without any volitional sense for the ordinary imperfect, as a rhythmic shortening at the beginning of a sentence, thus removed as far as possible from the principal accent (cf. Gen 49:17; Deut 28:8; 1 Sam 10:5; 2 Sam 5:24; Hos 6:1; 11:4; Amos 5:14; Zeph 2:13; Zech 9:5; Pss 72:16-17; 104:31; Job 18:12; 20:23, 26, 28; 27:8; 33:21; 34:37; Ruth 3:4). Thus, the translation here renders the jussive as an ordinary imperfect. Some translations render it in a traditional jussive sense: (1) urgent request: “And let my Lord God be your accuser” (NJPS); or (2) dependent purpose/result: “that the Sovereign Lord may witness against you” (NIV).

[1:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the Lord from his majestic palace.” Since the verb is omitted it is unclear whether the implied term be supplied from the preceding line (“he will testify against you”) or the following line (“he is leaving”). So the line may be rendered “the Lord will accuse you from his majestic temple” or “the Lord will come forth from his majestic temple.” Most translations render it literally, but some remove the ambiguity: “the Lord God accuses you from his holy temple” (CEV); “He speaks from his holy temple” (TEV).

[1:2]  ²⁵ tn Or “his holy temple” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to the Lord’s dwelling in heaven, however, rather than the temple in Jerusalem (note the following verse, which describes a theophany).

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[13:9]  ³² tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15, 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

[2:7]  ³³ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.

[2:7]  ³⁴ tn Or “grant.”

[2:7]  ³⁵ tn Or “stands.”

[2:7]  ³⁶ tc The omission of “my” (μου, mou) after “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) is well attested, supported by א A C and the Andreas of Caesarea group of Byzantine mss (Ï^A). Its addition in 1611, the Ï^K group, latt, and others, seems to be evidence of a purposeful conforming of the text to 3:2 and the four occurrences of “my God” (θεοῦ μου) in 3:12.