Psalms 10:14

10:14 You have taken notice, ¹ 

for ²  you always see ³  one who inflicts pain and suffering. ⁴ 

The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you; ⁵ 

you deliver ⁶  the fatherless. ⁷ 

Exodus 22:22-24

22:22 “You must not afflict ⁸  any widow or orphan. 22:23 If you afflict them ⁹  in any way ¹⁰  and they cry to me, I will surely hear ¹¹  their cry, 22:24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless. ¹² 

Proverbs 22:22-23

22:22 Do not exploit ¹³  a poor person because he is poor

and do not crush the needy in court, ¹⁴ 

22:23 for the Lord will plead their case ¹⁵ 

and will rob those who are robbing ¹⁶  them.

Ecclesiastes 5:8

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion ¹⁷  of the poor,

or the perversion ¹⁸  of justice and fairness in the government, ¹⁹ 

do not be astonished by the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher official, ²⁰ 

and there are higher ones over them! ²¹ 

Isaiah 54:17

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ²² 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ²³ 

says the Lord.

Acts 4:10-12

4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ ²⁴  the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus ²⁵  is the stone that was rejected by you, ²⁶  the builders, that has become the cornerstone. ²⁷  4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ²⁸  by which we must ²⁹  be saved.”

Psalms 5:1

Psalm 5 ³⁰ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ³¹  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ³²  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ³³ 

Psalms 5:1

Psalm 5 ³⁴ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ³⁵  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ³⁶  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ³⁷ 

[10:14]  ¹ tn Heb “you see.” One could translate the perfect as generalizing, “you do take notice.”

[10:14]  ² tn If the preceding perfect is taken as generalizing, then one might understand כִּי (ki) as asseverative: “indeed, certainly.”

[10:14]  ³ tn Here the imperfect emphasizes God’s typical behavior.

[10:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “destruction and suffering,” which here refers metonymically to the wicked, who dish out pain and suffering to their victims.

[10:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “to give into your hand, upon you, he abandons, [the] unfortunate [one].” The syntax is awkward and the meaning unclear. It is uncertain who or what is being given into God’s hand. Elsewhere the idiom “give into the hand” means to deliver into one’s possession. If “to give” goes with what precedes (as the accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests), then this may refer to the wicked man being delivered over to God for judgment. The present translation assumes that “to give” goes with what follows (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The verb יַעֲזֹב (ya’azov) here has the nuance “entrust” (see Gen 39:6; Job 39:11); the direct object (“[his] cause”) is implied.

[10:14]  ⁶ tn Or “help.”

[10:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “[for] one who is fatherless, you are a deliverer.” The noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9).

[22:22]  ⁸ tn The verb “afflict” is a Piel imperfect from עָנָה (’anah); it has a wide range of meanings: “afflict, oppress, humiliate, rape.” These victims are at the mercy of the judges, businessmen, or villains. The righteous king and the righteous people will not mistreat them (see Isa 1:17; Job 31:16, 17, 21).

[22:23]  ⁹ tn The accusative here is the masculine singular pronoun, which leads S. R. Driver to conclude that this line is out of place, even though the masculine singular can be used in places like this (Exodus, 232). U. Cassuto says its use is to refer to certain classes (Exodus, 292).

[22:23]  ¹⁰ tn Here again and with “cry” the infinitive absolute functions with a diminished emphasis (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[22:23]  ¹¹ tn Here is the normal use of the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense to emphasize the verb: “I will surely hear,” implying, “I will surely respond.”

[22:24]  ¹² sn The punishment will follow the form of talionic justice, an eye for an eye, in which the punishment matches the crime. God will use invading armies (“sword” is a metonymy of adjunct here) to destroy them, making their wives widows and their children orphans.

[22:22]  ¹³ tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (’al-tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (ve’al-tÿdakke’, “do not crush”).

[22:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.

[22:23]  ¹⁵ tn The construction uses the verb יָרִיב (yariv) with its cognate accusative. It can mean “to strive,” but here it probably means “to argue a case, plead a case” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). How the Lord will do this is not specified – either through righteous people or by direct intervention.

[22:23]  ¹⁶ tn The verb קָבַע (qava’, “to rob; to spoil; to plunder”) is used here in both places to reflect the principle of talionic justice. What the oppressors did to the poor will be turned back on them by the Lord.

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn Alternately, “oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) has a basic two-fold range of meaning: (1) “oppression; brutality” (e.g., Isa 54:14); and (2) “extortion” (e.g., Ps 62:11); see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק. The LXX understands the term as “oppression,” as the translation συκοφαντίαν (sukofantian, “oppression”) indicates. Likewise, HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1 classifies this usage as “oppression” against the poor. However, the context of 5:8-9 [7-8 HT] focuses on corrupt government officials robbing people of the fruit of their labor through extortion and the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “robbery.” The noun גֵזֶל (gezel, “robbery”) refers to the wrestling away of righteousness or the perversion of justice (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The related forms of the root גזל mean “to rob; to loot” (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The term “robbery” is used as a figure for the perversion of justice (hypocatastasis): just as a thief robs his victims through physical violence, so corrupt government officials “rob” the poor through the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the province.”

[5:8]  ²⁰ tn The word “official” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ²¹ sn And there are higher ones over them! This may describe a corrupt system of government in which each level of hierarchy exploits its subordinates, all the way down to the peasants: “Set in authority over the people is an official who enriches himself at their expense; he is watched by a more authoritative governor who also has his share of the spoils; and above them are other officers of the State who likewise have to be satisfied”; see A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth (SoBB), 141.

[54:17]  ²² tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ²³ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”

[4:10]  ²⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:11]  ²⁶ tn The word “you” is inserted into the quotation because Peter is making a direct application of Ps 118:22 to his hearers. Because it is not in the OT, it has been left as normal type (rather than bold italic). The remarks are like Acts 2:22-24 and 3:12-15.

[4:11]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22 which combines the theme of rejection with the theme of God’s vindication/exaltation.

[4:12]  ²⁸ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ²⁹ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[5:1]  ³⁰ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ³¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ³² tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ³³ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[5:1]  ³⁴ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ³⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.