Psalms 7:14-16

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ¹ 

7:15 he digs a pit ² 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ³ 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ⁴ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ⁵ 

Proverbs 22:8

22:8 The one who sows ⁶  iniquity will reap trouble,

and the rod of his fury ⁷  will end.

Jeremiah 4:18

4:18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done ⁸ 

will bring this on you.

This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. ⁹ 

The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.” ¹⁰ 

Hosea 8:7

The Fertility Cultists Will Become Infertile

8:7 They sow the wind,

and so they will reap the whirlwind!

The stalk does not have any standing grain;

it will not produce any flour.

Even if it were to yield grain,

foreigners would swallow it all up.

Hosea 10:12-13

10:12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,

reap unfailing love.

Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves,

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes and showers deliverance ¹¹  on you.

10:13 But you have plowed wickedness;

you have reaped injustice;

you have eaten the fruit of deception.

Because you have depended on your chariots; ¹² 

you have relied ¹³  on your many warriors.

Hosea 10:2

10:2 Their heart is slipping;

soon they will be punished for their guilt.

The Lord ¹⁴  will break their altars;

he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.

Colossians 1:6

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ¹⁵  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ¹⁶  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Galatians 6:7-8

6:7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. ¹⁷  For a person ¹⁸  will reap what he sows, 6:8 because the person who sows to his own flesh ¹⁹  will reap corruption ²⁰  from the flesh, ²¹  but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

[7:14]  ¹ tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[7:15]  ² tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.

[7:15]  ³ tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.

[7:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[22:8]  ⁶ sn The verse is making an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis) between sowing and sinning. One who sins is like one who sows, for there will be a “harvest” or a return on the sin – trouble.

[22:8]  ⁷ tc There is a variant reading in the LXX; instead of “the rod of his wrath” it reads “the punishment of his deeds.” C. H. Toy wishes to emend שֵׁבֶט (shevet) to שֶׁבֶר (shever), “the produce of his work” (Proverbs [ICC], 416). But the Hebrew text is not obscure, and שֶׁבֶר does not exactly mean “produce.” The expression “rod of his wrath” may not follow the imagery of 8a very closely, but it is nonetheless understandable. The “rod” is a symbol of power; “wrath” is a metonymy of cause indicating what wrath will do, and an objective genitive. The expression signifies that in reaping trouble for his sins this person will no longer be able to unleash his fury on others. The LXX adds: “A man who is cheerful and a giver God blesses” (e.g., 2 Cor 9:7).

[4:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “Your way and your deeds.”

[4:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “How bitter!”

[4:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Indeed, it reaches to your heart.” The subject must be the pain alluded to in the last half of the preceding line; the verb is masculine, agreeing with the adjective translated “painful.” The only other possible antecedent “punishment” is feminine.

[10:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “justice.”

[10:13]  ¹² tc The MT (followed by KJV, NASB) reads the enigmatic בְּדַרְכְּךָ (bÿdarkÿkha, “in your own way”) which does not seem to fit the context or the parallelism with בְּרֹב גִּבּוֹרֶיךָ (bÿrov gibborekha, “in your multitude of warriors”). The BHS editors suggest the original reading was בְרִכְבְּךָ (vÿrikhbÿkha, “in your chariots”), a reading followed by NAB, TEV. If this is correct, the textual corruption was caused by orthographic confusion between רֶכֶב (rekhev, “chariot”) and דֶּרֶכ (derekh, “way”).

[10:13]  ¹³ tn The phrase “you have relied” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding line.

[10:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[6:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “is not mocked,” “will not be ridiculed” (L&N 33.409). BDAG 660 s.v. μυκτηρίζω has “of God οὐ μ. he is not to be mocked, treated w. contempt, perh. outwitted Gal 6:7.”

[6:7]  ¹⁸ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[6:8]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

[6:8]  ²⁰ tn Or “destruction.”

[6:8]  ²¹ tn See the note on the previous occurrence of the word “flesh” in this verse.