Psalms 51:18

51:18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! ¹ 

Fortify ²  the walls of Jerusalem! ³ 

Psalms 69:35

69:35 For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his people ⁴  will again live in them and possess Zion. ⁵ 

Psalms 147:2

147:2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, ⁶ 

and gathers the exiles of Israel.

Isaiah 2:2-3

2:2 In the future ⁷ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ⁸ 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ⁹ 

All the nations will stream to it,

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ¹⁰  he can teach us his requirements, ¹¹ 

and ¹²  we can follow his standards.” ¹³ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ¹⁴ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 14:26

14:26 This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;

my hand is ready to strike all the nations.” ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 66:18

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ¹⁷  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ¹⁸  they will come and witness my splendor.

Jeremiah 31:4

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, ¹⁹ 

so that you will once again be built up.

Once again you will take up the tambourine

and join in the happy throng of dancers. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 33:7

33:7 I will restore Judah and Israel ²¹  and will rebuild them as they were in days of old. ²² 

[51:18]  ¹ tn Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”

[51:18]  ² tn Or “Build.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:18]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[69:35]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[69:35]  ⁵ tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[147:2]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ¹² tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[14:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and this is the hand that is outstretched over all the nations.”

[66:18]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[66:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

[31:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

[31:4]  ²⁰ sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.

[33:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will reverse [or restore] the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on Jer 29:14 and see the usage in 30:3, 18; 31:23; 32:44.

[33:7]  ²² tn This phrase simply means “as formerly” (BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן 3.a). The reference to the “as formerly” must be established from the context. See the usage in Judg 20:32; 1 Kgs 13:6; Isa 1:26.