Psalms 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ¹ 

may the Lord remove them, ²  along with those who behave wickedly! ³ 

May Israel experience peace! ⁴ 

Psalms 125:1

Psalm 125 ⁵ 

A song of ascents. ⁶ 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

Psalms 11:6

11:6 May the Lord rain down ⁷  burning coals ⁸  and brimstone ⁹  on the wicked!

A whirlwind is what they deserve! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 13:1

Psalm 13 ¹¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

13:1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? ¹² 

How long will you pay no attention to me? ¹³ 

Psalms 13:1

Psalm 13 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

13:1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? ¹⁵ 

How long will you pay no attention to me? ¹⁶ 

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ¹⁷ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ¹⁸ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ¹⁹ 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ²⁰ 

A prayer ²¹  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ²² 

Zephaniah 1:6

1:6 and those who turn their backs on ²³  the Lord

and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” ²⁴ 

Hebrews 10:39

10:39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls. ²⁵ 

Hebrews 10:1

Concluding Exposition: Old and New Sacrifices Contrasted

10:1 For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. ²⁶ 

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

[125:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ² tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ³ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[125:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ⁶ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[11:6]  ⁷ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord rain down”), not indicative (“The Lord rains down”; see also Job 20:23). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that God will do so. In this way the psalmist seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

[11:6]  ⁸ tc The MT reads “traps, fire, and brimstone,” but the image of God raining traps, or snares, down from the sky is bizarre and does not fit the fire and storm imagery of this verse. The noun פַּחִים (pakhim, “traps, snares”) should be emended to פַּחֲמֵי (pakhamey, “coals of [fire]”). The rare noun פֶּחָם (pekham, “coal”) occurs in Prov 26:21 and Isa 44:12; 54:16.

[11:6]  ⁹ sn The image of God “raining down” brimstone on the objects of his judgment also appears in Gen 19:24 and Ezek 38:22.

[11:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[may] a wind of rage [be] the portion of their cup.” The precise meaning of the rare noun זִלְעָפוֹת (zil’afot) is uncertain. It may mean “raging heat” (BDB 273 s.v. זַלְעָפָה) or simply “rage” (HALOT 272 s.v. זַלְעָפָה). If one understands the former sense, then one might translate “hot wind” (cf. NEB, NRSV). The present translation assumes the latter nuance, “a wind of rage” (the genitive is attributive) referring to a “whirlwind” symbolic of destructive judgment. In this mixed metaphor, judgment is also compared to an allotted portion of a beverage poured into one’s drinking cup (see Hab 2:15-16).

[13:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.

[13:1]  ¹² tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”

[13:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”

[13:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.

[13:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”

[13:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”

[15:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ¹⁹ sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[16:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ²¹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ²² tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[1:6]  ²³ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after.”

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “who do not seek the Lord and do not inquire of him.” The present translation assumes the first verb refers to praying for divine help and the second to seeking his revealed will through an oracle. Note the usage of the two verbs in 2 Chr 20:3-4.

[10:39]  ²⁵ tn Grk “not…of shrinking back to perdition but of faith to the preservation of the soul.”

[10:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “those who approach.”