Psalms 18:26

18:26 You prove to be reliable ¹  to one who is blameless,

but you prove to be deceptive ²  to one who is perverse. ³ 

Psalms 83:13-17

83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, ⁴ 

like dead weeds blown away by ⁵  the wind!

83:14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,

or the flames that consume the mountainsides, ⁶ 

83:15 chase them with your gale winds,

and terrify ⁷  them with your windstorm.

83:16 Cover ⁸  their faces with shame,

so they might seek ⁹  you, ¹⁰  O Lord.

83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! ¹¹ 

May they die in shame! ¹² 

Psalms 145:20

145:20 The Lord protects those who love him,

but he destroys all the wicked.

Psalms 147:6

147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,

but knocks ¹³  the wicked to the ground.

Psalms 147:2

147:2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, ¹⁴ 

and gathers the exiles of Israel.

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ¹⁵ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ¹⁶ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ¹⁷ 

Psalms 17:1

Psalm 17 ¹⁸ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ¹⁹ 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ²⁰ 

Esther 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ²¹  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ²²  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ²³ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Esther 7:10

7:10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.

Esther 9:25

9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ²⁴  gave written orders that Haman’s ²⁵  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Proverbs 4:19

4:19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; ²⁶ 

they do not know what causes them to stumble. ²⁷ 

Job 5:12-14

5:12 He frustrates ²⁸  the plans ²⁹  of the crafty ³⁰ 

so that ³¹  their hands cannot accomplish

what they had planned! ³² 

5:13 He catches ³³  the wise in their own craftiness, ³⁴ 

and the counsel of the cunning ³⁵  is brought to a quick end. ³⁶ 

5:14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, ³⁷ 

and grope about ³⁸  in the noontime as if it were night. ³⁹ 

Job 5:1

5:1 “Call now! ⁴⁰  Is there anyone who will answer you? ⁴¹ 

To which of the holy ones ⁴²  will you turn? ⁴³ 

Colossians 3:19

3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

[18:26]  ¹ tn Or “blameless.”

[18:26]  ² tn The Hebrew verb פָתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.

[18:26]  ³ tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in 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). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).

[83:13]  ⁴ tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun גַּלְגַּל (galgal) refers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could understand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190 s.v. II גַּלְגַּל understands the noun as a homonym referring to a “dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which refers to קַשׁ (qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.

[83:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “before.”

[83:14]  ⁶ sn The imagery of fire and flames suggests unrelenting, destructive judgment.

[83:15]  ⁷ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 15 express the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[83:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “fill.”

[83:16]  ⁹ tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose or result (“then they will seek”).

[83:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your name,” which stands here for God’s person.

[83:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.

[83:17]  ¹² tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.

[147:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “brings down.”

[147:2]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

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

[15:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ¹⁷ 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.

[17:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

[17:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[5:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ²² tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

[5:14]  ²³ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”

[9:25]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:19]  ²⁶ sn The simile describes ignorance or spiritual blindness, sinfulness, calamity, despair.

[4:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “in what they stumble.”

[5:12]  ²⁸ tn The Hiphil form מֵפֵר (mefer) is the participle from פָּרַר (parar, “to annul; to frustrate; to break”). It continues the doxological descriptions of God; but because of the numerous verses in this section, it may be clearer to start a new sentence with this form (rather than translating it “who…”).

[5:12]  ²⁹ tn The word is related to the verb “to think; to plan; to devise,” and so can mean “thoughts; plans; imagination.” Here it refers to the plan of the crafty that must be frustrated (see also Isa 44:25 for the contrast).

[5:12]  ³⁰ tn The word עֲרוּמִים (’arumim) means “crafty” or “shrewd.” It describes the shrewdness of some to achieve their ends (see Gen 3:1, where the serpent is more cunning than all the creatures, that is, he knows where the dangers are and will attempt to bring down the innocent). In the next verse it describes the clever plans of the wise – those who are wise in their own sight.

[5:12]  ³¹ tn The consecutive clause showing result or purpose is simply introduced with the vav and the imperfect/jussive (see GKC 504-5 §166.a).

[5:12]  ³² tn The word תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) is a technical word from wisdom literature. It has either the idea of the faculty of foresight, or of prudence in general (see 12:6; 26:3). It can be parallel in the texts to “wisdom,” “counsel,” “help,” or “strength.” Here it refers to what has been planned ahead of time.

[5:13]  ³³ tn The participles continue the description of God. Here he captures or ensnares the wise in their wickedly clever plans. See also Ps 7:16, where the wicked are caught in the pit they have dug – they are only wise in their own eyes.

[5:13]  ³⁴ sn This is the only quotation from the Book of Job in the NT (although Rom 11:35 seems to reflect 41:11, and Phil 1:19 is similar to 13:6). Paul cites it in 1 Cor 3:19.

[5:13]  ³⁵ tn The etymology of נִפְתָּלִים (niftalim) suggests a meaning of “twisted” (see Prov 8:8) in the sense of tortuous. See Gen 30:8; Ps 18:26 [27].

[5:13]  ³⁶ tn The Niphal of מָהַר (mahar) means “to be hasty; to be irresponsible.” The meaning in the line may be understood in this sense: The counsel of the wily is hastened, that is, precipitated before it is ripe, i.e., frustrated (A. B. Davidson, Job, 39).

[5:14]  ³⁷ sn God so confuses the crafty that they are unable to fulfill their plans – it is as if they encounter darkness in broad daylight. This is like the Syrians in 2 Kgs 6:18-23.

[5:14]  ³⁸ tn The verb מָשַׁשׁ (mashash) expresses the idea of groping about in the darkness. This is part of the fulfillment of Deut 28:29, which says, “and you shall grope at noonday as the blind grope in darkness.” This image is also in Isa 59:10.

[5:14]  ³⁹ sn The verse provides a picture of the frustration and bewilderment in the crafty who cannot accomplish their ends because God thwarts them.

[5:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Some commentators transpose this verse with the following paragraph, placing it after v. 7 (see E. Dhorme, Job, 62). But the reasons for this are based on the perceived development of the argument and are not that compelling.

[5:1]  ⁴¹ tn The participle with the suffix could be given a more immediate translation to accompany the imperative: “Call now! Is anyone listening to you?”

[5:1]  ⁴² tn The LXX has rendered “holy ones” as “holy angels” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT). The LXX has interpreted the verb in the colon too freely: “if you will see.”

[5:1]  ⁴³ sn The point being made is that the angels do not represent the cries of people to God as if mediating for them. But if Job appealed to any of them to take his case against God, there would be no response whatsoever for that.