Psalms 53:5

53:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹ 

even by things that do not normally cause fear. ² 

For God annihilates ³  those who attack you. ⁴ 

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. ⁵ 

Isaiah 7:2

7:2 It was reported to the family ⁶  of David, “Syria has allied with ⁷  Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. ⁸ 

Isaiah 8:12-13

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. ⁹ 

Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. ¹⁰ 

He is the one you must respect;

he is the one you must fear. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 51:12-13

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹² 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ¹³ 

51:13 Why do you forget ¹⁴  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ¹⁵ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ¹⁶ 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ¹⁷ 

Matthew 8:26

8:26 But ¹⁸  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ¹⁹  the winds and the sea, ²⁰  and it was dead calm.

Matthew 14:30-31

14:30 But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, ²¹  “Lord, save me!” 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Matthew 14:1

The Death of John the Baptist

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch ²²  heard reports about Jesus,

Matthew 4:18

The Call of the Disciples

4:18 As ²³  he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ²⁴ 

[53:5]  ¹ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).

[53:5]  ² tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.

[53:5]  ³ tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.

[53:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”

[53:5]  ⁵ tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.” In this context the “house of David” includes King Ahaz, his family, and the royal court. See also Jer 21:12; Zech 12:7-8, 10, 12, for a similar use of the phrase.

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “rests upon.” Most understand the verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”), but HALOT 685 s.v. II נחה proposes that this is a hapax legomenon which means “stand by.”

[7:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and his heart shook and the heart of his people shook, like the shaking of the trees of the forest before the wind.” The singular pronoun “his” is collective, referring to the Davidic house/family. לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) here refers to the seat of the emotions.

[8:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ with respect to all which these people say, ‘Conspiracy.’” The verb translated “do not say” is second masculine plural, indicating that this exhortation is directed to Isaiah and other followers of the Lord (see v. 16).

[8:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], him you must set apart.” The word order is emphatic, with the object being placed first.

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he is your [object of] fear, he is your [object of] terror.” The roots יָרֵא (yare’) and עָרַץ (’arats) are repeated from v. 12b.

[51:12]  ¹² tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.

[51:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ¹⁷ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.

[8:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:26]  ²⁰ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

[14:30]  ²¹ tn Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[14:1]  ²² sn A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.

[4:18]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:18]  ²⁴ tn The two phrases in this verse placed in parentheses are explanatory comments by the author, parenthetical in nature.