Psalms 52:1-3

Psalm 52 ¹ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” ³ 

52:1 Why do you boast about your evil plans, ⁴  O powerful man?

God’s loyal love protects me all day long! ⁵ 

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ⁶ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ⁷ 

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 73:8-9

73:8 They mock ⁹  and say evil things; ¹⁰ 

they proudly threaten violence. ¹¹ 

73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,

and lay claim to the earth. ¹² 

Daniel 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ¹³  by my own mighty strength ¹⁴  and for my majestic honor?”

Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ¹⁵  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ¹⁶  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ¹⁷ 

Acts 8:9

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ¹⁸  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.

Acts 8:2

8:2 Some ¹⁹  devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation ²⁰  over him. ²¹ 

Acts 2:4

2:4 All ²²  of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages ²³  as the Spirit enabled them. ²⁴ 

Jude 1:13

1:13 wild sea waves, ²⁵  spewing out the foam of ²⁶  their shame; ²⁷  wayward stars ²⁸  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ²⁹  have been reserved.

Jude 1:15-16

1:15 to execute judgment on ³⁰  all, and to convict every person ³¹  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ³²  that they have committed, ³³  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ³⁴  1:16 These people are grumblers and ³⁵  fault-finders who go ³⁶  wherever their desires lead them, ³⁷  and they give bombastic speeches, ³⁸  enchanting folks ³⁹  for their own gain. ⁴⁰ 

Revelation 13:5-6

13:5 The beast ⁴¹  was given a mouth speaking proud words ⁴²  and blasphemies, and he was permitted ⁴³  to exercise ruling authority ⁴⁴  for forty-two months. 13:6 So ⁴⁵  the beast ⁴⁶  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, ⁴⁷  that is, those who dwell in heaven.

Revelation 13:11

13:11 Then ⁴⁸  I saw another beast ⁴⁹  coming up from the earth. He ⁵⁰  had two horns like a lamb, ⁵¹  but ⁵²  was speaking like a dragon.

[52:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.

[52:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[52:1]  ³ tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”

[52:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”

[52:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.

[52:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[52:3]  ⁸ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[73:8]  ⁹ tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.

[73:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and speak with evil.”

[73:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.

[73:9]  ¹² tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.

[4:30]  ¹³ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

[11:36]  ¹⁵ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ¹⁶ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[8:9]  ¹⁸ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[8:2]  ¹⁹ tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:2]  ²⁰ sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.

[8:2]  ²¹ tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”

[2:4]  ²² tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[2:4]  ²³ tn The Greek term is γλώσσαις (glwssai"), the same word used for the tongues of fire.

[2:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “just as the spirit gave them to utter.” The verb ἀποφθέγγομαι (apofqengomai) was used of special utterances in Classical Greek (BDAG 125 s.v.).

[1:13]  ²⁵ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ²⁶ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ²⁷ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ²⁸ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ²⁹ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.

[1:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “against” (κατά [kata] + genitive). English usage is satisfied with “on” at this point, but the parallel is lost in the translation to some degree, for the end of v. 15 says that this judgment is meted out on these sinners because they spoke against him (κατά + genitive).

[1:15]  ³¹ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ³² tn Grk “of all their works of ungodliness.” The adverb “thoroughly” is part of the following verb “have committed.” See note on verb “committed” later in this verse.

[1:15]  ³³ tn The verb in Greek does not simply mean “have committed,” but “have committed in an ungodly way.” The verb ἀσεβέω (asebew) is cognate to the noun ἀσέβεια (asebeia, “ungodliness”). There is no easy way to express this in English, since English does not have a single word that means the same thing. Nevertheless, the tenor of v. 15 is plainly seen, regardless of the translation.

[1:15]  ³⁴ sn An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text.

[1:16]  ³⁵ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ³⁶ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  ³⁹ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[13:5]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and there was given to him.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:5]  ⁴² tn For the translation “proud words” (Grk “great things” or “important things”) see BDAG 624 s.v. μέγας 4.b.

[13:5]  ⁴³ tn Grk “to it was granted.”

[13:5]  ⁴⁴ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

[13:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ⁴⁷ tc The reading “and his dwelling place” does not occur in codex C, but its omission is probably due to scribal oversight since the phrase has the same ending as the phrase before it, i.e., they both end in “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou). This is similar to the mistake this scribe made in 12:14 with the omission of the reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou).

[13:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[13:11]  ⁴⁹ sn This second beast is identified in Rev 16:13 as “the false prophet.”

[13:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and it had,” a continuation of the preceding sentence. On the use of the pronoun “he” to refer to the second beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[13:11]  ⁵¹ tn Or perhaps, “like a ram.” Here L&N 4.25 states, “In the one context in the NT, namely, Re 13:11, in which ἀρνίον refers literally to a sheep, it is used in a phrase referring to the horns of an ἀρνίον. In such a context the reference is undoubtedly to a ‘ram,’ that is to say, the adult male of sheep.” In spite of this most translations render the word “lamb” here to maintain the connection between this false lamb and the true Lamb of the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ.

[13:11]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.