Psalms 101:4

101:4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person; ¹ 

I will not permit ²  evil.

Psalms 101:2

101:2 I will walk in ³  the way of integrity.

When will you come to me?

I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. ⁴ 

Psalms 3:1

Psalm 3 ⁵ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ⁶ 

3:1 Lord, how ⁷  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ⁸ 

Psalms 3:1

Psalm 3 ⁹ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ¹⁰ 

3:1 Lord, how ¹¹  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ¹² 

Esther 3:2

3:2 As a result, ¹³  all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, ¹⁴  nor did he pay him homage.

Job 32:21-22

32:21 I will not show partiality to anyone, ¹⁵ 

nor will I confer a title ¹⁶  on any man.

32:22 for I do not know how to give honorary titles, ¹⁷ 

if I did, ¹⁸  my Creator would quickly do away with me. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 32:5-6

32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;

a deceiver will no longer be called principled.

32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; ²⁰ 

his mind plans out sinful deeds. ²¹ 

He commits godless deeds ²² 

and says misleading things about the Lord;

he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite ²³ 

and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. ²⁴ 

Daniel 5:17-31

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its ²⁵  interpretation. 5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ²⁶  5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ²⁷  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ²⁸  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind ²⁹  became arrogant ³⁰  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ³¹  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ³²  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

5:22 “But you, his son ³³  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ³⁴  although you knew all this. 5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ³⁵  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ³⁶  your very breath and all your ways! 5:24 Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.

5:25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, ³⁷  TEQEL, and PHARSIN. ³⁸  5:26 This is the interpretation of the words: ³⁹  As for mene ⁴⁰  – God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. 5:27 As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. 5:28 As for peres ⁴¹  – your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

5:29 Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, ⁴²  Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom. 5:30 And in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, ⁴³  was killed. ⁴⁴  5:31 (6:1) ⁴⁵  So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.

Acts 24:2-3

24:2 When Paul ⁴⁶  had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, ⁴⁷  saying, “We have experienced a lengthy time ⁴⁸  of peace through your rule, ⁴⁹  and reforms ⁵⁰  are being made in this nation ⁵¹  through your foresight. ⁵²  24:3 Most excellent Felix, ⁵³  we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way ⁵⁴  with all gratitude. ⁵⁵ 

Acts 24:25

24:25 While Paul ⁵⁶  was discussing ⁵⁷  righteousness, self-control, ⁵⁸  and the coming judgment, Felix ⁵⁹  became ⁶⁰  frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, ⁶¹  I will send for you.”

James 2:1-9

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ⁶²  do not show prejudice ⁶³  if you possess faith ⁶⁴  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁶⁵  2:2 For if someone ⁶⁶  comes into your assembly ⁶⁷  wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, 2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ⁶⁸  “You sit here in a good place,” ⁶⁹  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ⁷⁰  2:4 If so, have you not made distinctions ⁷¹  among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? ⁷²  2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ⁷³  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! ⁷⁴  Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts? 2:7 Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to? ⁷⁵  2:8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, ⁷⁶  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” ⁷⁷  you are doing well. 2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. ⁷⁸ 

[101:4]  ¹ tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).

[101:4]  ² tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

[101:2]  ³ tn Heb “take notice of.”

[101:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”

[3:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ⁶ sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[3:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ¹⁰ sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ¹² tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[3:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[3:2]  ¹⁴ sn Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16; 1 Sam 15:17-20; Deut 25:17-19).

[32:21]  ¹⁵ tn The idiom is “I will not lift up the face of a man.” Elihu is going to show no favoritism, but speak his mind.

[32:21]  ¹⁶ tn The verb means “to confer an honorary title; to give a mark of distinction,” but it is often translated with the verb “flatter.” Elihu will not take sides, he will not use pompous titles.

[32:22]  ¹⁷ tn The construction uses a perfect verb followed by the imperfect. This is a form of subordination equivalent to a complementary infinitive (see GKC 385-86 §120.c).

[32:22]  ¹⁸ tn The words “if I did” are supplied in the translation to make sense out of the two clauses.

[32:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “quickly carry me away.”

[32:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.

[32:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”

[32:6]  ²² tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”

[32:6]  ²³ tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”

[32:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”

[5:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “the.”

[5:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.

[5:19]  ²⁷ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

[5:19]  ²⁸ tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

[5:20]  ²⁹ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ³⁰ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

[5:21]  ³¹ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ³² tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[5:22]  ³³ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ³⁴ tn Aram “your heart.”

[5:23]  ³⁵ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ³⁶ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”

[5:25]  ³⁷ tc The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the repetition of מְנֵא (mÿne’, cf. NAB).

[5:25]  ³⁸ tc The Aramaic word is plural. Theodotion has the singular (cf. NAB “PERES”).

[5:26]  ³⁹ tn Or “word” or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.

[5:26]  ⁴⁰ tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (mÿne’) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, mÿnah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (tÿqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”

[5:28]  ⁴¹ sn Peres (פְּרֵס) is the singular form of פַרְסִין (pharsin) in v. 25.

[5:29]  ⁴² tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”

[5:30]  ⁴³ tn Aram “king of the Chaldeans.”

[5:30]  ⁴⁴ sn The year was 539 B.C. At this time Daniel would have been approximately eighty-one years old. The relevant extra-biblical records describing the fall of Babylon include portions of Herodotus, Xenophon, Berossus (cited in Josephus), the Cyrus Cylinder, and the Babylonian Chronicle.

[5:31]  ⁴⁵ sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.

[24:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “began to bring charges, saying.”

[24:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “experienced much peace.”

[24:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “through you” (“rule” is implied).

[24:2]  ⁵⁰ tn This term is used only once in the NT (a hapax legomenon). It refers to improvements in internal administration (BDAG 251 s.v. διόρθωμα).

[24:2]  ⁵¹ tn Or “being made for this people.”

[24:2]  ⁵² sn References to peaceful rule, reforms, and the governor’s foresight in the opening address by Tertullus represent an attempt to praise the governor and thus make him favorable to the case. Actual descriptions of his rule portray him as inept (Tacitus, Annals 12.54; Josephus, J. W. 2.13.2-7 [2.253-270]).

[24:3]  ⁵³ sn Most excellent Felix. See the note on Felix in 23:24.

[24:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “in every way and everywhere.”

[24:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “with complete thankfulness.” BDAG 416 s.v. εὐχαριστία 1 has “μετὰ πάσης εὐ.…with all gratitude Ac 24:3.” L&N 31.26 has “‘we acknowledge this anywhere and everywhere with complete thankfulness’ Ac 24:3.”

[24:25]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:25]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “speaking about.”

[24:25]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “and self-control.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[24:25]  ⁵⁹ sn See the note on Felix in 23:26.

[24:25]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “becoming.” The participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[24:25]  ⁶¹ tn Or “when I find time.” BDAG 639 s.v. μεταλαμβάνω 2 has “καιρὸν μ. have an opportunity = find time…Ac 24:25.”

[2:1]  ⁶² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ⁶³ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:2]  ⁶⁶ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, “equivalent to τὶς someone.”

[2:2]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “synagogue.” Usually συναγωγή refers to Jewish places of worship (e.g., Matt 4:23, Mark 1:21, Luke 4:15, John 6:59). The word can be used generally to refer to a place of assembly, and here it refers specifically to a Christian assembly (BDAG 963 s.v. 2.b.).

[2:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “and you pay attention…and say,” continuing the “if” clauses from v. 2. In the Greek text, vv. 2-4 form one long sentence.

[2:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “sit here, please.”

[2:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “sit under my footstool.” The words “on the floor” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the undesirability of this seating arrangement (so also TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). Another option followed by a number of translations is to replace “under my footstool” with “at my feet” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:4]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “have you not made distinctions” (as the conclusion to the series of “if” clauses in vv. 2-3).

[2:4]  ⁷² tn Grk “judges of evil reasonings.”

[2:5]  ⁷³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:6]  ⁷⁴ tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.

[2:7]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “that was invoked over you,” referring to their baptism in which they confessed their faith in Christ and were pronounced to be his own. To have the Lord’s name “named over them” is OT imagery for the Lord’s ownership of his people (cf. 2 Chr 7:14; Amos 9:12; Isa 63:19; Jer 14:9; 15:16; Dan 9:19; Acts 15:17).

[2:8]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “according to the scripture.”

[2:8]  ⁷⁷ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18 (also quoted in Matt 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14).

[2:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “transgressors.”