Psalms 20:7

20:7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, ¹ 

but we ²  depend on ³  the Lord our God.

Jude 1:15

1:15 to execute judgment on ⁴  all, and to convict every person ⁵  of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds ⁶  that they have committed, ⁷  and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ⁸ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁹ 

Jude 1:6-7

1:6 You also know that ¹⁰  the angels who did not keep within their proper domain ¹¹  but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept ¹²  in eternal chains ¹³  in utter ¹⁴  darkness, locked up ¹⁵  for the judgment of the great Day. 1:7 So also ¹⁶  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ¹⁷  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ¹⁸  in a way similar to ¹⁹  these angels, ²⁰  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Proverbs 21:31

21:31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but the victory is from the Lord. ²¹ 

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

9:11 Again, ²²  I observed this on the earth: ²³ 

the race is not always ²⁴  won by the swiftest,

the battle is not always won by the strongest;

prosperity ²⁵  does not always belong to those who are the wisest,

wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,

nor does success ²⁶  always come to those with the most knowledge –

for time and chance may overcome ²⁷  them all.

Isaiah 30:16

30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’

so you will indeed flee.

You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’

so your pursuers will be fast.

Hosea 14:3

14:3 Assyria cannot save us;

we will not ride warhorses.

We will never again say, ‘Our gods’

to what our own hands have made.

For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!” ²⁸ 

[20:7]  ¹ tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; perhaps the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.

[20:7]  ² tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.

[20:7]  ³ tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the Lord’s name in prayer, the people demonstrate their trust in him.

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “against” (κατά [kata] + genitive). English usage is satisfied with “on” at this point, but the parallel is lost in the translation to some degree, for the end of v. 15 says that this judgment is meted out on these sinners because they spoke against him (κατά + genitive).

[1:15]  ⁵ tn Or “soul.”

[1:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “of all their works of ungodliness.” The adverb “thoroughly” is part of the following verb “have committed.” See note on verb “committed” later in this verse.

[1:15]  ⁷ tn The verb in Greek does not simply mean “have committed,” but “have committed in an ungodly way.” The verb ἀσεβέω (asebew) is cognate to the noun ἀσέβεια (asebeia, “ungodliness”). There is no easy way to express this in English, since English does not have a single word that means the same thing. Nevertheless, the tenor of v. 15 is plainly seen, regardless of the translation.

[1:15]  ⁸ sn An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text.

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and.” Verse 6 is a continuation of the same sentence begun in v. 5. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “who did not keep their own domain.”

[1:6]  ¹² sn There is an interesting play on words used in this verse. Because the angels did not keep their proper place, Jesus has kept them chained up in another place. The same verb keep is used in v. 1 to describe believers’ status before God and Christ.

[1:6]  ¹³ sn In 2 Pet 2:4 a less common word for chains is used.

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn The word ζόφος (zofos, “utter, deepest darkness”) is used only five times in the NT: two in 2 Peter, two in Jude, and one in Hebrews. Jude 6 parallels 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 13 parallels 2 Pet 2:17.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn The words “locked up” are not in Greek, but is expressed in English as a resumptive point after the double prepositional phrase (“in eternal chains in utter darkness”).

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.

[1:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ²⁰ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[21:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “of the Lord.” The victory being “of the Lord” means that it is accomplished by him. Ultimate success comes from the Lord and not from human efforts. The faithful have acknowledged this down through the ages, even though they have been responsible and have prepared for the wars. Without this belief there would have been no prayer on the eve of battle (e.g., Ps 20:7 and 33:17).

[9:11]  ²² tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”

[9:11]  ²³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[9:11]  ²⁴ tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.

[9:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “bread.”

[9:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “favor.”

[9:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “happen to.”

[14:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “For the orphan is shown compassion by you.” The present translation takes “orphan” as a figurative reference to Israel, which is specified in the translation for clarity.