¹ tn The translation understands the verb to be a defective spelling of וַיְּאֱסֹף (vayyÿ’esof) due to quiescence of the letter א (alef). The root therefore is אסף (’sf, “to gather”). The Masoretes, however, pointed the verb as וַיֹּסֶף (vayyosef), understanding it to be a form of יָסַף (yasaf, “to add”). This does not fit the context, which calls for a verb of gathering.

² tn Or “chosen.”

³ tn Heb “arose and went.”

⁴ tn Heb “from,” but the following context indicates they traveled to this location.

⁵ tn This is another name for Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Chr 13:6).

⁶ tc The MT has here a double reference to the name (שֵׁם שֵׁם, shem shem). Many medieval Hebrew mss in the first occurrence point the word differently and read the adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”). This is also the understanding of the Syriac Peshitta (Syr., taman). While this yields an acceptable understanding to the text, it is more likely that the MT dittographic here. The present translation therefore reads שֵׁם only once.

⁷ tn Heb “lifted.”

⁸ tn Heb “all the house of Israel.”

⁹ tc Heb “were celebrating before the Lord with all woods of fir” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). If the text is retained, the last expression must be elliptical, referring to musical instruments made from fir wood. But it is preferable to emend the text in light of 1 Chr 13:8, which reads “were celebrating before the Lord with all strength and with songs.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “with zithers [?] and with harps.”

¹¹ tn That is, “sistrums” (so NAB, NIV); ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT “castanets.”

¹² tn 1 Chr 13:9 has “Kidon.”

¹³ tn Or “steadied.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and grabbed it.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “God.”

¹⁷ tc Heb “there.” Since this same term occurs later in the verse it is translated “on the spot” here for stylistic reasons.

¹⁸ tc The phrase “his negligence” is absent from the LXX.

¹⁹ tn Heb “because the Lord broke out [with] a breaking out [i.e., an outburst] against Uzzah.”

²⁰ sn The name Perez Uzzah means in Hebrew “the outburst [against] Uzzah.”

²¹ tn Heb “house,” both here and in v. 12.

²² tn Heb “and it was told to David, saying.”

²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁴ tn Heb “and David was dancing with all his strength before the Lord, and David was girded with a linen ephod.”

²⁵ tc Heb “all the house of Israel.” A few medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “the house.”

²⁶ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).

²⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “in her heart.” Cf. CEV “she was disgusted (+ with him TEV)”; NLT “was filled with contempt for him”; NCV “she hated him.”

²⁸ tc The Syriac Peshitta lacks “in its place.”

²⁹ tn Heb “to all the people, to all the throng of Israel.”

³⁰ tn The Hebrew word used here אֶשְׁפָּר (’espar) is found in the OT only here and in the parallel passage found in 1 Chr 16:3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, although the context indicates that it was a food of some sort (cf. KJV “a good piece of flesh”; NRSV “a portion of meat”). The translation adopted here (“date cake”) follows the lead of the Greek translations of the LXX, Aquila, and Symmachus (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

³¹ tn Heb “and all the people went, each to his house.”

³² tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”

³³ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁴ tn Heb “honored.”

³⁵ tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”

³⁶ tn Heb “all his house”; CEV “anyone else in your family.”

³⁷ tn Heb “and I will shame myself still more than this and I will be lowly in my eyes.”

³⁸ tn Grk “as I directed the churches of Galatia, so also you yourselves do.”

³⁹ tn Grk “set aside, storing whatever he has been blessed with.”

⁴⁰ tn Grk “set aside, storing.” The participle θησαυρίζων (qhsaurizwn) indicates the purpose or result of setting aside the extra income.

⁴¹ tn “To the extent that God has blessed you” translates an awkward expression, “whatever has been prospered [to you].” This verb has been translated as an active with “God” as subject, taking it as a divine passive.

⁴² tn Grk “so that collections will not be taking place.”

⁴³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

⁴⁴ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

⁴⁵ tn Grk “for a door has opened wide to me, great and effective.”

⁴⁶ tn Since Paul appears to expect specific delegates here and they were most likely men, the Greek word ἀδελφοί (adelfoi) here has not been not translated as “brothers and sisters.”

⁴⁷ tn Grk “with the brothers.”

⁴⁸ tn Grk “it was simply not the will that he come now.”

⁴⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

⁵⁰ tn Grk “firstfruits.”

⁵¹ tn Or “they have made up for your absence” (BDAG 70 s.v. ἀναπληρόω 3).

⁵² tn Grk “the churches of Asia”; in the NT “Asia” always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

⁵³ sn On Aquila and Prisca see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; Rom 16:3-4; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. The author of Acts uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

⁵⁴ tc The plural form of this verb, ἀσπάζονται (aspazontai, “[they] greet”), is found in several good mss (B F G 075 0121 0243 33 1739 1881) as well as the Byzantine cursives. But the singular is read by an equally impressive group (א C D K P Ψ 104 2464 pc). This part of the verse is lacking in codex A. Deciding on the basis of external evidence is quite difficult. Internally, however, the singular appears to have given rise to the plural: (1) The rest of the greetings in this verse are in the plural; this one was probably made plural by some scribes for purposes of assimilation; and, more significantly, (2) since both Aquila and Prisca are mentioned as the ones who send the greeting, the plural is more natural. The singular is, of course, not impossible Greek; indeed, a singular verb with a compound subject is used with some frequency in the NT (cf. Matt 13:55; Mark 8:27; 14:1; John 2:2; 3:22; 4:36, 53; Acts 5:29; 16:31; 1 Tim 6:4). This is especially common when “Jesus and his disciples” is the subject. What is significant is that when such a construction is found the emphasis is placed on the first-named person (in this case, Aquila). Normally when these two are mentioned in the NT, Priscilla is mentioned first (Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3; 2 Tim 4:19). Only here and in Acts 18:2 (the first mention of them) is Aquila mentioned before Priscilla. Many suggest that Priscilla is listed first due to prominence. Though that is possible, both the mention of Aquila first here and the singular verb give him special prominence (cf. ExSyn 401-2). What such prominence means in each instance is difficult to assess. Nevertheless, here is a Pauline instance in which Aquila is given prominence. Too much can be made of the word order argument in either direction.

⁵⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

⁵⁶ tn The Greek text has μαράνα θά (marana qa). These Aramaic words can also be read as maran aqa, translated “Our Lord has come!”

⁵⁷ tc Although the majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 075 Ï lat bo) conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”), such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Although far fewer witnesses lack the valedictory particle (B F 0121 0243 33 81 630 1739* 1881 sa), their collective testimony is difficult to explain if the omission is not authentic.

⁵⁸ tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.

⁵⁹ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).

⁶⁰ tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”

⁶¹ tn Heb “proverbs.”

⁶² tn The translation is uncertain due to difficulty both in determining the meaning of the verb’s stem and its conjugation in this context. In the Qal stem the basic meaning of the verbal root פָּתַה (patah) is “to be gullible, foolish.” The doubling stems (the Pual and Piel used in this verse) typically give such stative verbs a factitive sense, hence either “make gullible” (i.e., “entice”) or “make into a fool” (i.e., “to show to be a fool”). The latter represents the probable meaning of the term in Jer 20:7, 10 and is followed here (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:193; R. Mosis “Ez 14, 1-11 - ein Ruf zur Umkehr,” BZ 19 [1975]: 166-69 and ThWAT 4:829-31). In this view, if a prophet speaks when not prompted by God, he will be shown to be a fool, but this does not reflect negatively on the Lord because it is God who shows him to be a fool. Secondly, the verb is in the perfect conjugation and may be translated “I have made a fool of him” or “I have enticed him,” or to show determination (see IBHS 439-41 §27.2f and g), or in certain syntactical constructions as future. Any of these may be plausible if the doubling stems used are understood in the sense of “making a fool of.” But if understood as “to make gullible,” more factors come into play. As the Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, it is often translated as present perfect: “I have enticed.” In this case the Lord states that he himself enticed the prophet to cooperate with the idolaters. Such enticement to sin would seem to be a violation of God’s moral character, but sometimes he does use such deception and enticement to sin as a form of punishment against those who have blatantly violated his moral will (see, e.g., 2 Sam 24). If one follows this line of interpretation in Ezek 14:9, one would have to assume that the prophet had already turned from God in his heart. However, the context gives no indication of this. Therefore, it is better to take the perfect as indicating certitude and to translate it with the future tense: “I will entice.” In this case the Lord announces that he will judge the prophet appropriately. If a prophet allows himself to be influenced by idolaters, then the Lord will use deception as a form of punishment against that deceived prophet. A comparison with the preceding oracles also favors this view. In 14:4 the perfect of certitude is used for emphasis (see “I will answer”), though in v. 7 a participle is employed. For a fuller discussion of this text, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 23-25.

⁶³ tn Or “They will bear responsibility for their iniquity.” The Hebrew term “iniquity” (three times in this verse) often refers by metonymy to the consequence of sin (see Gen 4:13).

⁶⁴ tn Or “As is the guilt of the inquirer so is the guilt of the prophet.”

⁶⁵ sn I will be their God. See Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4.

⁶⁶ tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”

⁶⁷ sn Traditionally this has been understood as a reference to the biblical Daniel, though he was still quite young when Ezekiel prophesied. One wonders if he had developed a reputation as an intercessor by this point. For this reason some prefer to see a reference to a ruler named Danel, known in Canaanite legend for his justice and wisdom. In this case all three of the individuals named would be non-Israelites, however the Ugaritic Danel is not known to have qualities of faith in the Lord that would place him in the company of the other men. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:447-50.

⁶⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

⁶⁹ sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

⁷⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

⁷¹ tn Heb “hide yourself from.”

⁷² tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.

⁷³ tn Heb “in my complaint.”

⁷⁴ tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).

⁷⁵ tn Heb “because of [the] voice of [the] enemy.”

⁷⁶ tn The singular forms “enemy” and “wicked” are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.

⁷⁷ tn Heb “from before the pressure of the wicked.” Some suggest the meaning “screech” (note the parallel “voice”; cf. NEB “shrill clamour”; NRSV “clamor”) for the rare noun עָקָה (’aqah, “pressure”).

⁷⁸ tn Heb “wickedness,” but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.

⁷⁹ tc The verb form in the MT appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Ps 140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read. Here in Ps 55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). It is odd for “rain down” to be used with an abstract object like “wickedness,” but in Job 20:23 God “rains down” anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).

⁸⁰ tn Heb “shakes, trembles.”

⁸¹ tn Heb “the terrors of death have fallen on me.”

⁸² tn Heb “fear and trembling enter into me.”

⁸³ tn Heb “covers.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the preceding imperfect.

⁸⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.

⁸⁵ tn Heb “[the] wind [that] sweeps away.” The verb סָעָה (sa’ah, “sweep away”) occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 120).

⁸⁶ tn Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallow” in the sense of “devour” or “destroy” (cf. KJV), but this may be a homonym meaning “confuse” (see BDB 118 s.v. בַּלַּע; HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע). “Their tongue” is the understood object of the verb (see the next line).

⁸⁷ tn Heb “split their tongue,” which apparently means “confuse their speech,” or, more paraphrastically, “frustrate the plans they devise with their tongues.”

⁸⁸ tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.

⁸⁹ sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.

⁹⁰ tn Or “injury, harm.”

⁹¹ tn Or “for.”

⁹² tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

⁹³ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

⁹⁴ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

⁹⁵ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

⁹⁶ tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.

⁹⁷ tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.

⁹⁸ sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.

⁹⁹ tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.

¹⁰⁰ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.

¹⁰¹ tn Heb “my voice.”

¹⁰² tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).

¹⁰³ tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”

¹⁰⁴ tn Or “for.”

¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (’immad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.

¹⁰⁶ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

¹⁰⁸ sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.

¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”

¹¹⁰ tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, sholÿmayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”

¹¹¹ tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”

¹¹² tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

¹¹³ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

¹¹⁴ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

¹¹⁵ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

¹¹⁶ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

¹¹⁷ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”

¹¹⁸ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

¹¹⁹ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

¹²⁰ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

¹²¹ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”