Psalms 37:19

37:19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come; ¹ 

when famine comes they will have enough to eat. ² 

Proverbs 16:14

16:14 A king’s wrath ³  is like ⁴  a messenger of death, ⁵ 

but a wise person appeases it. ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Fear God Now Because Old Age and Death Come Quickly

12:1 So remember ⁷  your Creator in the days of your youth –

before ⁸  the difficult ⁹  days come,

and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Revelation 3:10

3:10 Because you have kept ¹⁰  my admonition ¹¹  to endure steadfastly, ¹²  I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

[37:19]  ¹ tn Heb “in a time of trouble.”

[37:19]  ² tn Heb “in days of famine they will be satisfied.”

[16:14]  ³ sn This proverb introduces the danger of becoming a victim of the king’s wrath (cf. CEV “if the king becomes angry, someone may die”). A wise person knows how to pacify the unexpected and irrational behavior of a king. The proverb makes the statement, and then gives the response to the subject.

[16:14]  ⁴ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[16:14]  ⁵ tn The expression uses an implied comparison, comparing “wrath” to a messenger because it will send a message. The qualification is “death,” an objective genitive, meaning the messenger will bring death, or the message will be about death. E.g., 1 Kgs 2:25, 29-34 and 46. Some have suggested a comparison with the two messengers of Baal to the god Mot (“Death”) in the Ugaritic tablets (H. L. Ginsberg, “Baal’s Two Messengers,” BASOR 95 [1944]: 25-30). If there is an allusion, it is a very slight one. The verse simply says that the king’s wrath threatens death.

[16:14]  ⁶ tn The verb is כָּפַּר (kapar), which means “to pacify; to appease” and “to atone; to expiate” in Levitical passages. It would take a wise person to know how to calm or pacify the wrath of a king – especially in the ancient Near East.

[12:1]  ⁷ tn The imperative זְכֹר (zekhor, “Remember!”) is a figurative expression (metonymy of association) for obeying God and acknowledging his lordship over one’s life (e.g., Num 15:40; Deut 8:18; Pss 42:6-7; 63:6-8; 78:42; 103:18; 106:7; 119:52, 55; Jer 51:50; Ezek 20:43; Jonah 2:7; Mal 4:4). The exhortation to fear God and obey his commands in 12:13-14 spells out what it means to “remember” God.

[12:1]  ⁸ tn The temporal adjective עַד (’ad, “before”) appears three times in 12:1-7 (vv. 1b, 2a, 6a). Likewise, the temporal preposition בְּ (bet, “when”) is repeated (vv. 3a, 4b). These seven verses comprise one long sentence in Hebrew: The main clause is 12:1a (“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”), while 12:1b-7 consists of five subordinate temporal clauses (“before…before…when…when…before…”).

[12:1]  ⁹ tn The adjective רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) does not refer here to ethical evil, but to physical difficulty, injury, pain, deprivation and suffering (e.g., Deut 31:17, 21; 32:23; 1 Sam 10:19; Neh 1:3; 2:17; Pss 34:20; 40:13; 88:4; 107:26; Eccl 11:10; Jer 2:27; Lam 3:38); see HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4.b; BDB 949 s.v. רָעָה 2.

[3:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “obey.” For the translation of τηρέω (threw) as “obey” see L&N 36.19. In the Greek there is a wordplay: “because you have kept my word…I will keep you,” though the meaning of τηρέω is different each time.

[3:10]  ¹¹ tn The Greek term λόγον (logon) is understood here in the sense of admonition or encouragement.

[3:10]  ¹² tn Or “to persevere.” Here ὑπομονῆς (Jupomonhs) has been translated as a genitive of reference/respect related to τὸν λόγον (ton logon).