Psalms 3:5

3:5 I rested and slept;

I awoke, ¹  for the Lord protects ²  me.

Psalms 16:8

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ³ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

Job 11:18-19

11:18 And you will be secure, because there is hope;

you will be protected ⁴ 

and will take your rest in safety.

11:19 You will lie down with ⁵  no one to make you afraid,

and many will seek your favor. ⁶ 

Proverbs 3:24

3:24 When ⁷  you lie down you will not be filled with fear; ⁸ 

when ⁹  you lie down your sleep will be pleasant. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 3:1

Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord ¹¹ 

3:1 My child, ¹²  do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep ¹³  my commandments,

Proverbs 4:13-14

4:13 Hold on to instruction, ¹⁴  do not let it go;

protect it, ¹⁵  because it is your life.

4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked

or walk ¹⁶  in the way of those who are evil.

Proverbs 5:10

5:10 lest strangers devour ¹⁷  your strength, ¹⁸ 

and your labor ¹⁹  benefit ²⁰  another man’s house.

Revelation 14:13

14:13 Then ²¹  I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:

‘Blessed are the dead,

those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, ²²  because their deeds will follow them.” ²³ 

[3:5]  ¹ tn The three verbal forms that appear in succession here (perfect + vav [ו] consecutive with preterite + perfect) are most naturally taken as narrational. When the psalmist received an assuring word from the Lord, he was able to sleep calmly. Because the Lord was protecting him, he awoke safely from his sleep.

[3:5]  ² tn Or “supports”; “sustains.” In this explanatory causal clause the imperfect verbal form probably has a habitual or present progressive nuance, for the psalmist is confident of God’s continual protection (see v. 3). Another option is to take the verb as a preterite, “for the Lord protected me.” In this case, the psalmist focuses specifically on the protection God provided while he slept.

[16:8]  ³ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).

[11:18]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb means “to dig”; but this does not provide a good meaning for the verse. A. B. Davidson offers an interpretation of “search,” suggesting that before retiring at night Job would search and find everything in order. Some offer a better solution, namely, redefining the word on the basis of Arabic hafara, “to protect” and repointing it to וְחֻפַרְתָּ (vÿkhufarta, “you will be protected”). Other attempts to make sense of the line have involved the same process, but they are less convincing (for some of the more plausible proposals, see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 257).

[11:19]  ⁵ tn The clause that reads “and there is no one making you afraid,” is functioning circumstantially here (see 5:4; 10:7).

[11:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “they will stroke your face,” a picture drawn from the domestic scene of a child stroking the face of the parent. The verb is a Piel, meaning “stroke, make soft.” It is used in the Bible of seeking favor from God (supplication); but it may on the human level also mean seeking to sway people by flattery. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 225-41.

[3:24]  ⁷ tn The particle אִם (’im, “if”) here functions in its rare temporal sense (“when”) followed by an imperfect tense (e.g., Num 36:4; BDB 50 s.v. 1.b.4.b).

[3:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “terror.” The verb פָּחַד (pakhad, “terror”) describes emotion that is stronger than mere fear – it is dread.

[3:24]  ⁹ tn The construction of vav consecutive + perfect tense followed by vav (ו) consecutive + perfect tense depicts a temporal clause. The temporal nuance is also suggested by the parallelism of the preceding colon.

[3:24]  ¹⁰ tn The verb עָרְבָה (’orvah) is from III עָרַב (“to be sweet; to be pleasing; to be pleasant”; BDB 787 s.v. III עָרַב). It should not be confused with the other five homonymic roots that are also spelled עָרַב (’arav; see BDB 786-88).

[3:1]  ¹¹ sn The chapter begins with an introductory exhortation (1-4), followed by an admonition to be faithful to the Lord (5-12). Wisdom is commended as the most valuable possession (13-18), essential to creation (19-20), and the way to a long and safe life (21-26). There then follows a warning to avoid unneighborliness (27-30) and emulating the wicked (31-35).

[3:1]  ¹² tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 11, 21).

[3:1]  ¹³ tn The verb יִצֹּר (yitsor) is a Qal jussive and the noun לִבֶּךָ (libbekha, “your heart”) functions as the subject: “let your heart keep my commandments.”

[4:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:13]  ¹⁵ tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsÿreha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).

[4:14]  ¹⁶ tn The verb אָשַׁר (’ashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.

[5:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “are sated, satisfied.”

[5:10]  ¹⁸ tn The word כֹּחַ (coakh, “strength”) refers to what laborious toil would produce (so a metonymy of cause). Everything that this person worked for could become the property for others to enjoy.

[5:10]  ¹⁹ tn “labor, painful toil.”

[5:10]  ²⁰ tn The term “benefit” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[14:13]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:13]  ²² tn Or “from their trouble” (L&N 22.7).

[14:13]  ²³ tn Grk “their deeds will follow with them.”