Psalms 7:7

7:7 The countries are assembled all around you; ¹ 

take once more your rightful place over them! ² 

Psalms 90:13

90:13 Turn back toward us, O Lord!

How long must this suffering last? ³ 

Have pity on your servants! ⁴ 

Isaiah 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ⁵  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ⁶ 

Isaiah 63:17

63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray ⁷  from your ways, ⁸ 

and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? ⁹ 

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance!

Joel 2:14

2:14 Who knows?

Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, ¹⁰ 

and leave blessing in his wake ¹¹  –

a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! ¹² 

Malachi 3:7

3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored ¹³  my commandments ¹⁴  and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’

Acts 15:16

15:16 ‘After this ¹⁵  I ¹⁶  will return,

and I will rebuild the fallen tent ¹⁷  of David;

I will rebuild its ruins and restore ¹⁸  it,

[7:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and the assembly of the peoples surrounds you.” Some understand the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may the assembly of the peoples surround you.”

[7:7]  ² tn Heb “over it (the feminine suffix refers back to the feminine noun “assembly” in the preceding line) on high return.” Some emend שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return”) to שֵׁבָה (shevah, “sit [in judgment]”) because they find the implication of “return” problematic. But the psalmist does not mean to imply that God has abandoned his royal throne and needs to regain it. Rather he simply urges God, as sovereign king of the world, to once more occupy his royal seat of judgment and execute judgment, as the OT pictures God doing periodically.

[90:13]  ³ tn Heb “Return, O Lord! How long?”

[90:13]  ⁴ tn Elsewhere the Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) + the preposition עַל (’al) + a personal object has the nuance “be comforted concerning [the personal object’s death]” (see 2 Sam 13:39; Jer 31:15). However, here the context seems to demand “feel sorrow for,” “have pity on.” In Deut 32:36 and Ps 135:14, where “servants” is also the object of the preposition, this idea is expressed with the Hitpael form of the verb.

[63:15]  ⁵ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.

[63:17]  ⁷ tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.

[63:17]  ⁸ tn This probably refers to God’s commands.

[63:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”

[2:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”

[2:14]  ¹² tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “turned aside from.”

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”

[15:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “After these things.”

[15:16]  ¹⁶ sn The first person pronoun I refers to God and his activity. It is God who is doing this.

[15:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or more generally, “dwelling”; perhaps, “royal tent.” According to BDAG 928 s.v. σκηνή the word can mean “tent” or “hut,” or more generally “lodging” or “dwelling.” In this verse (a quotation from Amos 9:11) BDAG refers this to David’s ruined kingdom; it is possibly an allusion to a king’s tent (a royal tent). God is at work to reestablish David’s line (Acts 2:30-36; 13:32-39).

[15:16]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 86 s.v. ἀνορθόω places this verb under the meaning “to build someth. up again after it has fallen, rebuild, restore,” but since ἀνοικοδομέω (anoikodomew, “rebuild”) has occurred twice in this verse already, “restore” is used here.