Revelation 10:11

10:11 Then ¹  they ²  told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, ³  languages, and kings.”

Revelation 11:18

11:18 The ⁴  nations ⁵  were enraged,

but ⁶  your wrath has come,

and the time has come for the dead to be judged,

and the time has come to give to your servants, ⁷ 

the prophets, their reward,

as well as to the saints

and to those who revere ⁸  your name, both small and great,

and the time has come ⁹  to destroy those who destroy ¹⁰  the earth.”

Revelation 17:15

17:15 Then ¹¹  the angel ¹²  said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, ¹³  nations, and languages.

Exodus 9:16

9:16 But ¹⁴  for this purpose I have caused you to stand: ¹⁵  to show you ¹⁶  my strength, and so that my name may be declared ¹⁷  in all the earth.

Isaiah 10:15

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ¹⁸ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

Isaiah 37:26

37:26 ¹⁹ Certainly you must have heard! ²⁰ 

Long ago I worked it out,

in ancient times I planned ²¹  it,

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins. ²² 

Jeremiah 25:9

25:9 So I, the Lord, affirm that ²³  I will send for all the peoples of the north ²⁴  and my servant, ²⁵  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy ²⁶  this land, its inhabitants, and all the nations that surround it ²⁷  and make them everlasting ruins. ²⁸  I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn. ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 27:6-7

27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power ³⁰  of my servant, ³¹  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. ³²  27:7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson ³³  until the time comes for his own nation to fall. ³⁴  Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. ³⁵ 

Jeremiah 51:20-24

51:20 “Babylon, ³⁶  you are my war club, ³⁷ 

my weapon for battle.

I used you to smash nations. ³⁸ 

I used you to destroy kingdoms.

51:21 I used you to smash horses and their riders. ³⁹ 

I used you to smash chariots and their drivers.

51:22 I used you to smash men and women.

I used you to smash old men and young men.

I used you to smash young men and young women.

51:23 I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks.

I used you to smash farmers and their teams of oxen.

I used you to smash governors and leaders.” ⁴⁰ 

51:24 “But I will repay Babylon

and all who live in Babylonia

for all the wicked things they did in Zion

right before the eyes of you Judeans,” ⁴¹ 

says the Lord. ⁴² 

Daniel 5:18-23

5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ⁴³  5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ⁴⁴  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ⁴⁵  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind ⁴⁶  became arrogant ⁴⁷  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ⁴⁸  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ⁴⁹  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

5:22 “But you, his son ⁵⁰  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ⁵¹  although you knew all this. 5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ⁵²  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ⁵³  your very breath and all your ways!

Luke 4:6

4:6 And he ⁵⁴  said to him, “To you ⁵⁵  I will grant this whole realm ⁵⁶  – and the glory that goes along with it, ⁵⁷  for it has been relinquished ⁵⁸  to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.

John 19:11

19:11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority ⁵⁹  over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you ⁶⁰  is guilty of greater sin.” ⁶¹ 

[10:11]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[10:11]  ² tn The referent of “they” is not clear in the Greek text.

[10:11]  ³ tn Grk “and nations,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the next item since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[11:18]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:18]  ⁵ tn Or “The Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[11:18]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:18]  ⁷ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “who fear.”

[11:18]  ⁹ tn The words “the time has come” do not occur except at the beginning of the verse; the phrase has been repeated for emphasis and contrast. The Greek has one finite verb (“has come”) with a compound subject (“your wrath,” “the time”), followed by three infinitive clauses (“to be judged,” “to give,” “to destroy”). The rhetorical power of the repetition of the finite verb in English thus emulates the rhetorical power of its lone instance in Greek.

[11:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “who deprave.” There is a possible wordplay here on two meanings for διαφθείρω (diafqeirw), with the first meaning “destroy” and the second meaning either “to ruin” or “to make morally corrupt.” See L&N 20.40.

[17:15]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:15]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[9:16]  ¹⁴ tn The first word is a very strong adversative, which, in general, can be translated “but, howbeit”; BDB 19 s.v. אוּלָם suggests for this passage “but in very deed.”

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn The form הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךָ (he’emadtikha) is the Hiphil perfect of עָמַד (’amad). It would normally mean “I caused you to stand.” But that seems to have one or two different connotations. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 73) says that it means “maintain you alive.” The causative of this verb means “continue,” according to him. The LXX has the same basic sense – “you were preserved.” But Paul bypasses the Greek and writes “he raised you up” to show God’s absolute sovereignty over Pharaoh. Both renderings show God’s sovereign control over Pharaoh.

[9:16]  ¹⁶ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct הַרְאֹתְךָ (har’otÿkha) is the purpose of God’s making Pharaoh come to power in the first place. To make Pharaoh see is to cause him to understand, to experience God’s power.

[9:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in order to declare my name.” Since there is no expressed subject, this may be given a passive translation.

[10:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[37:26]  ¹⁹ tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.

[37:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.

[37:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).

[37:26]  ²² tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.

[25:9]  ²³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[25:9]  ²⁴ sn The many allusions to trouble coming from the north are now clarified: it is the armies of Babylon which included within it contingents from many nations. See 1:14, 15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; 13:20 for earlier allusions.

[25:9]  ²⁵ sn Nebuchadnezzar is called the Lord’s servant also in Jer 27:6; 43:10. He was the Lord’s servant in that he was the agent used by the Lord to punish his disobedient people. Assyria was earlier referred to as the Lord’s “rod” (Isa 10:5-6) and Cyrus is called his “shepherd” and his “anointed” (Isa 44:28; 45:1). P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, and J. F. Drinkard (Jeremiah 1-25 [WBC], 364) make the interesting observation that the terms here are very similar to the terms in v. 4. The people of Judah ignored the servants, the prophets, he sent to turn them away from evil. So he will send other servants whom they cannot ignore.

[25:9]  ²⁶ tn The word used here was used in the early years of Israel’s conquest for the action of killing all the men, women, and children in the cities of Canaan, destroying all their livestock, and burning their cities down. This policy was intended to prevent Israel from being corrupted by paganism (Deut 7:2; 20:17-18; Josh 6:18, 21). It was to be extended to any city that led Israel away from worshiping God (Deut 13:15) and any Israelite who brought an idol into his house (Deut 7:26). Here the policy is being directed against Judah as well as against her neighbors because of her persistent failure to heed God’s warnings through the prophets. For further usage of this term in application to foreign nations in the book of Jeremiah see 50:21, 26; 51:3.

[25:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “will utterly destroy them.” The referent (this land, its inhabitants, and the nations surrounding it) has been specified in the translation for clarity, since the previous “them” referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.

[25:9]  ²⁸ sn The Hebrew word translated “everlasting” is the word often translated “eternal.” However, it sometimes has a more limited time reference. For example it refers to the lifetime of a person who became a “lasting slave” to another person (see Exod 21:6; Deut 15:17). It is also used to refer to the long life wished for a king (1 Kgs 1:31; Neh 2:3). The time frame here is to be qualified at least with reference to Judah and Jerusalem as seventy years (see 29:10-14 and compare v. 12).

[25:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I will make them an object of horror and a hissing and everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been broken up to separate the last object from the first two which are of slightly different connotation, i.e., they denote the reaction to the latter.

[27:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”

[27:6]  ³¹ sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

[27:6]  ³² tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.

[27:7]  ³³ sn This is a figure that emphasizes that they will serve for a long time but not for an unlimited duration. The kingdom of Babylon lasted a relatively short time by ancient standards. It lasted from 605 b.c. when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish until the fall of Babylon in 538 b.c. There were only four rulers. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son, Evil Merodach (cf. 52:31), and two other rulers who were not descended from him.

[27:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “until the time of his land, even his, comes.” The independent pronoun is placed here for emphasis on the possessive pronoun. The word “time” is used by substitution for the things that are done in it (compare in the NT John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20 “his hour had not yet come”).

[27:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “him.” This is a good example of the figure of substitution where the person is put for his descendants or the nation or subject he rules. (See Gen 28:13-14 for another good example and Acts 22:7 in the NT.)

[51:20]  ³⁶ tn Or “Media.” The referent is not identified in the text; the text merely says “you are my war club.” Commentators in general identify the referent as Babylon because Babylon has been referred to as a hammer in 50:23 and Babylon is referred to in v. 25 as a “destroying mountain” (compare v. 20d). However, S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 317, n. c maintains that v. 24 speaks against this. It does seem a little inconsistent to render the vav consecutive perfect at the beginning of v. 24 as future while rendering those in vv. 20b-23 as customary past. However, change in person from second masculine singular (vv. 20b-23) to the second masculine plural in “before your very eyes” and its position at the end of the verse after “which they did in Zion” argue that a change in address occurs there. Driver has to ignore the change in person and take “before your eyes” with the verb “repay” at the beginning to maintain the kind of consistency he seeks. The vav (ו) consecutive imperfect can be used for either the customary past (GKC 335-36 §112.dd with cross reference back to GKC 331-32 §112.e) or the future (GKC 334 §112.x). Hence the present translation has followed the majority of commentaries (and English versions like TEV, NCV, CEV, NIrV) in understanding the referent as Babylon and v. 24 being a transition to vv. 25-26 (cf., e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 356-57, and J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 756-57). If the referent is understood as Media then the verbs in vv. 20-23 should all be translated as futures. See also the translator’s note on v. 24.

[51:20]  ³⁷ tn This Hebrew word (מַפֵּץ, mappets) only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible, but its meaning is assured from the use of the verbs that follow which are from the same root (נָפַץ, nafats) and there is a cognate noun מַפָּץ (mappats) that occurs in Ezek 9:2 in the sense of weapon of “smashing.”

[51:20]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I smash nations with you.” This same structure is repeated throughout the series in vv. 20c-23.

[51:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “horse and its rider.” However, the terms are meant as generic or collective singulars (cf. GKC 395 §123.b) and are thus translated by the plural. The same thing is true of all the terms in vv. 21-23b. The terms in vv. 20c-d, 23c are plural.

[51:23]  ⁴⁰ tn These two words are Akkadian loan words into Hebrew which often occur in this pairing (cf. Ezek 23:6, 12, 23; Jer 51:23, 28, 57). BDB 688 s.v. סָגָן (sagan) gives “prefect, ruler” as the basic definition for the second term but neither works very well in a modern translation because “prefect” would be unknown to most readers and “ruler” would suggest someone along the lines of a king, which these officials were not. The present translation has chosen “leaders” by default, assuming there is no other term that would be any more appropriate in light of the defects noted in “prefect” and “ruler.”

[51:24]  ⁴¹ tn Or “Media, you are my war club…I will use you to smash…leaders. So before your very eyes I will repay…for all the wicked things they did in Zion.” For explanation see the translator’s note on v. 20. The position of the phrase “before your eyes” at the end of the verse after “which they did in Zion” and the change in person from second masculine singular in vv. 20b-23 (“I used you to smite”) to second masculine plural in “before your eyes” argue that a change in referent/addressee occurs in this verse. To maintain that the referent in vv. 20-23 is Media/Cyrus requires that this position and change in person be ignored; “before your eyes” then is attached to “I will repay.” The present translation follows J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT], 757) and F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 423) in seeing the referent as the Judeans who had witnessed the destruction of Zion/Jerusalem. The word “Judean” has been supplied for the sake of identifying the referent for the modern reader.

[51:24]  ⁴² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[5:18]  ⁴³ tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.

[5:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

[5:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

[5:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁷ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

[5:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[5:22]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “your heart.”

[5:23]  ⁵² tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ⁵³ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”

[4:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “And the devil.”

[4:6]  ⁵⁵ sn In Greek, this phrase is in an emphatic position. In effect, the devil is tempting Jesus by saying, “Look what you can have!”

[4:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “authority.” BDAG 353 s.v. ἐξουσία 6 suggests, concerning this passage, that the term means “the sphere in which the power is exercised, domain.” Cf. also Luke 22:53; 23:7; Acts 26:18; Eph 2:2.

[4:6]  ⁵⁷ tn The addendum referring to the glory of the kingdoms of the world forms something of an afterthought, as the following pronoun (“it”) makes clear, for the singular refers to the realm itself.

[4:6]  ⁵⁸ tn For the translation of παραδέδοται (paradedotai) see L&N 57.77. The devil is erroneously implying that God has given him such authority with the additional capability of sharing the honor.

[19:11]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “power.”

[19:11]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “who delivered me over to you.”

[19:11]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “has the greater sin” (an idiom).