1 Samuel 7:1--8:22
Context7:1 Then the people 1 of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.
7:2 It was quite a long time – some twenty years in all – that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people 2 of Israel longed for 3 the Lord. 7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. 4 Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you 5 from the hand of the Philistines.” 7:4 So the Israelites 6 removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.
7:5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” 7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed 7 there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led 8 the people of Israel at Mizpah.
7:7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 7:8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep 9 crying out to the Lord our 10 God so that he may save us 11 from the hand of the Philistines!” 7:9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb 12 and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
7:10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. 13 But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by 14 Israel. 7:11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.
7:12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. 15 He named it Ebenezer, 16 saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.” 7:13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
7:14 The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control 17 of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 7:15 So Samuel led 18 Israel all the days of his life. 7:16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, 19 Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places. 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged 20 Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.
8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 8:2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba. 8:3 But his sons did not follow 21 his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice. 22
8:4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah. 8:5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead 23 us, just like all the other nations have.”
8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for 24 they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you. 25 For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. 8:8 Just as they have done 26 from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected me and have served other gods. This is what they are also doing to you. 8:9 So now do as they say. 27 But seriously warn 28 them and make them aware of the policies of the king who will rule over them.” 29
8:10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 8:11 He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot. 8:12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, 30 as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment. 8:13 He will take your daughters to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers. 8:14 He will take your best fields and vineyards and give them to his own servants. 8:15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators 31 and his servants. 8:16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. 8:17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 8:18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.” 32
8:19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning. 33 Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us! 8:20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us 34 and fight our battles.”
8:21 So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the Lord. 35 8:22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do as they say 36 and install a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to his own city.”
Romans 6:1-23
Context6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 37
6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 38 6:6 We know that 39 our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, 40 so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) 41
6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know 42 that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die 43 again; death no longer has mastery over him. 6:10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 6:11 So you too consider yourselves 44 dead to sin, but 45 alive to God in Christ Jesus.
6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 6:13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments 46 to be used for unrighteousness, 47 but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments 48 to be used for righteousness. 6:14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves 49 as obedient slaves, 50 you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? 51 6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed 52 from the heart that pattern 53 of teaching you were entrusted to, 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 6:19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) 54 For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
6:21 So what benefit 55 did you then reap 56 from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed 57 from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit 58 leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 6:23 For the payoff 59 of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jeremiah 44:1-30
Context44:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning 60 all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. 61 44:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 62 says, ‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem 63 and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted. 64 44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. 65 They made me angry 66 by worshiping and offering sacrifice to 67 other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors 68 previously knew. 69 44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over 70 again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. 71 44:5 But the people of Jerusalem and Judah 72 would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. 73 44:6 So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today.’
44:7 “So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, 74 asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant? 44:8 That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. 75 You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that! You will become an example used in curses 76 and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth. 77 44:9 Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their 78 wives, by you and your wives? 44:10 To this day your people 79 have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded 80 you and your ancestors.’
44:11 “Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, 81 even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. 82 44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go 83 and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle 84 or perish from starvation. People of every class 85 will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. 86 44:13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. 44:14 None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.’” 87
44:15 Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. 88 They answered, 44:16 “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! 89 44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. 90 We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven 91 just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. 92 44:18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.” 93 44:19 The women added, 94 “We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.” 95
44:20 Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way. 96 44:21 “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods 97 in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. 98 44:22 Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. 99 44:23 You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you.” 100
44:24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. 101 “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. 44:25 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You women 102 have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, “We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.” Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!’ 103 44:26 But 104 listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, “As surely as the Lord God lives….” 105 44:27 I will indeed 106 see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. 107 All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. 44:28 Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! 108 Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, 109 mine or theirs.’ 44:29 Moreover the Lord says, 110 ‘I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true. 111 44:30 I, the Lord, promise that 112 I will hand Pharaoh Hophra 113 king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”
Psalms 20:1--21:13
ContextFor the music director; a psalm of David.
20:1 May the Lord answer 115 you 116 when you are in trouble; 117
may the God of Jacob 118 make you secure!
20:2 May he send you help from his temple; 119
from Zion may he give you support!
20:3 May he take notice 120 of your offerings;
may he accept 121 your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)
20:4 May he grant your heart’s desire; 122
may he bring all your plans to pass! 123
20:5 Then we will shout for joy over your 124 victory;
we will rejoice 125 in the name of our God!
May the Lord grant all your requests!
20:6 Now I am sure 126 that the Lord will deliver 127 his chosen king; 128
he will intervene for him 129 from his holy heavenly temple, 130
and display his mighty ability to deliver. 131
20:7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, 132
but we 133 depend on 134 the Lord our God.
but we 136 will stand firm. 137
20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; 138
he will answer us 139 when we call to him for help! 140
For the music director; a psalm of David.
21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; 142
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. 143
21:2 You grant 144 him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request. 145 (Selah)
21:3 For you bring him 146 rich 147 blessings; 148
you place a golden crown on his head.
21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, 149
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. 150
21:5 Your deliverance brings him great honor; 151
you give him majestic splendor. 152
21:6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence. 153
21:7 For the king trusts 154 in the Lord,
and because of the sovereign Lord’s 155 faithfulness he is not upended. 156
21:8 You 157 prevail over 158 all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you. 159
21:9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace 160 when you appear; 161
the Lord angrily devours them; 162
the fire consumes them.
21:10 You destroy their offspring 163 from the earth,
their descendants 164 from among the human race. 165
21:11 Yes, 166 they intend to do you harm; 167
they dream up a scheme, 168 but they do not succeed. 169
21:12 For you make them retreat 170
when you shoot your arrows at them. 171
21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength! 172
We will sing and praise 173 your power!
1 tn Heb “men.”
2 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
3 tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”
4 tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.
sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.
5 tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
6 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
7 tn Heb “said.”
8 tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”
9 tn Heb “don’t stop.”
10 tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”
11 tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
12 tn Heb “a lamb of milk”; NAB “an unweaned lamb”; NIV “a suckling lamb”; NCV “a baby lamb.”
13 tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
14 tn Heb “before.”
15 tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”
16 sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.
17 tn Heb “hand.”
18 tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).
19 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
20 tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).
21 tn Heb “walk in” (also in v. 5).
22 tn Heb “and they turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.”
23 tn Heb “judge” (also in v. 6).
24 tn Heb “when.”
25 tn Heb “Listen to the voice of the people, to all which they say to you.”
26 tn Heb “according to all the deeds which they have done.”
27 tn Heb “and now, listen to their voice.”
28 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the imperative for emphasis.
29 tn Heb “and tell them the manner of the king who will rule over them.”
30 tc The numbers of v. 12 are confused in the Greek and Syriac versions. For “fifties” the LXX has “hundreds.” The Syriac Peshitta has “heads of thousands and heads of hundreds and heads of fifties and heads of tens,” perhaps reflecting influence from Deut 1:15.
31 tn Or “eunuchs” (so NAB); NIV “officials”; KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT “officers.”
32 tc The LXX adds “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.”
33 tn Heb “and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”
34 tn Heb “and go out before us.”
35 tn Heb “and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he spoke them into the ears of the
36 tn Heb “listen to their voice.”
37 tn Grk “may walk in newness of life,” in which ζωῆς (zwhs) functions as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-90, where this verse is given as a prime example).
38 tn Grk “we will certainly also of his resurrection.”
39 tn Grk “knowing this, that.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
40 tn Grk “may be rendered ineffective, inoperative,” or possibly “may be destroyed.” The term καταργέω (katargew) has various nuances. In Rom 7:2 the wife whose husband has died is freed from the law (i.e., the law of marriage no longer has any power over her, in spite of what she may feel). A similar point seems to be made here (note v. 7).
41 sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.
42 tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
43 tn The present tense here has been translated as a futuristic present (see ExSyn 536, where this verse is listed as an example).
44 tc ‡ Some Alexandrian and Byzantine
45 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
46 tn Or “weapons, tools.”
47 tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”
48 tn Or “weapons, tools.”
49 tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”
50 tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.
51 tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”
52 tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”
53 tn Or “type, form.”
54 tn Or “because of your natural limitations” (NRSV).
sn Verse 19 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.
55 tn Grk “fruit.”
56 tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.
57 tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”
58 tn Grk “fruit.”
59 tn A figurative extension of ὀψώνιον (oywnion), which refers to a soldier’s pay or wages. Here it refers to the end result of an activity, seen as something one receives back in return. In this case the activity is sin, and the translation “payoff” captures this thought. See also L&N 89.42.
60 tn Heb “The word came to Jeremiah concerning.” Though the phrase “from the
61 sn The first three cities, Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, are located in Northern or Lower Egypt. Memphis (Heb “Noph”) was located south of Heliopolis (which was referred to earlier as “the temple of the sun”) and was about fourteen miles (23 km) south of Cairo. For the identification and location of Tahpanhes see the study note on Jer 43:7. The location of Migdol has been debated but is tentatively identified with a border fortress about twenty-five miles (42 km) east-northeast of Tahpanhes. The “region of southern Egypt” is literally “the land of Pathros,” the long Nile valley extending north and south between Cairo and Aswan (biblical Syene). For further information see the discussion in G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 262-63. Reference here is to Judean exiles who had fled earlier as well as to those from Mizpah who were led into Egypt by Johanan and the other arrogant men (43:3, 5).
62 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” Compare 7:3 and see the study note on 2:19 for explanation and translation of this title.
63 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
64 tn Heb “Behold, they are in ruins this day and there is no one living in them.”
65 tn Heb “they.” The referent must be supplied from the preceding, i.e., Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. “They” are those who have experienced the disaster and are distinct from those being addressed and their ancestors (44:3b).
66 tn Heb “thus making me angry.” However, this is a good place to break the sentence to create a shorter sentence that is more in keeping with contemporary English style.
67 tn Heb “by going to offer sacrifice in serving/worshiping.” The second לְ (lamed) + infinitive is epexegetical of the first (cf. IBHS 608-9 §36.2.3e).
68 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 10, 17, 21).
69 sn Compare Jer 19:4 for the same thought and see also 7:9.
70 tn See 7:13 for an explanation of this idiom and compare 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15 for similar references to the persistent warnings of the prophets.
71 tn Heb “sent…over again, saying, ‘Do not do this terrible thing that I hate.’” The indirect quote has been used to shorten the sentence and eliminate one level of embedded quotes.
sn This refers to the worship of other gods mentioned in the previous verse.
72 tn There appears to be a deliberate shift in the pronouns used in vv. 2-5. “You” refers to the people living in Egypt who are being addressed (v. 2) and to the people of present and past generations to whom the
73 tn Heb “They did not listen or incline their ear [= pay attention] by turning from their wickedness by not sacrificing to other gods.” The לְ (lamed) + the negative + the infinitive is again epexegetical. The sentence has been restructured and more idiomatic English expressions have been used to better conform with contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to retain the basic relationships of subordination.
74 tn Heb “Yahweh, the God of armies, the God of Israel.” Compare 35:17; 38:17 and for the title “God of armies” see the study note on 2:19.
75 tn Heb “the works of your hands.” Here the phrase is qualified by the epexegetical לְ (lamed) + infinitive, לְקַטֵּר (lÿqatter, “by sacrificing [to other gods]”). For further discussion on the use of this phrase see the translator’s note on 25:6.
76 tn Heb “a curse.” For the meaning of this phrase see the translator’s note on 24:9 and see the usage in 24:9; 25:18; 26:6; 29:22.
77 tn Verses 7b-8 are all one long, complex sentence governed by the interrogative “Why.” The Hebrew text reads: “Why are you doing great harm to your souls [= “yourselves” (cf. BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.b[6])] so as to cut off [= destroy] from yourselves man and woman, child and baby [the terms are collective singulars and are to be interpreted as plurals] from the midst of Judah so as not to leave to yourselves a remnant by making me angry with the works of your hands by sacrificing to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live so as to cut off [an example of result rather than purpose after the particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an; see the translator’s note on 25:7)] yourselves and so that you may become a curse and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.” The sentence has been broken down and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style. An attempt has been made to retain an equivalent for all the subordinations and qualifying phrases.
sn What is being threatened is not the total destruction of a remnant of Judah. Jeremiah recognizes those who have been carried off to Babylon as well as other places as seeds for a new beginning (e.g., 24:5-6; 29:14; 30:3). But he denies here that any of those who have gone to Egypt and are continuing to practice idolatry will be among them. All of them will be cut off (i.e., destroyed) from the midst of Judah so that not a remnant of them will be left.
78 tn Heb “his.” This should not be viewed as a textual error but as a distributive singular use of the suffix, i.e., the wives of each of the kings of Judah (cf. GKC 464 §145.l and compare the usage in Isa 2:8; Hos 4:8).
79 tn Heb “they” but as H. Freedman (Jeremiah [SoBB], 284) notes the third person is used here to include the people just referred to as well as the current addressees. Hence “your people” or “the people of Judah.” It is possible that the third person again reflects the rhetorical distancing that was referred to earlier in 35:16 (see the translator’s note there for explanation) in which case one might translate “you have shown,” and “you have not revered.”
80 tn Heb “to set before.” According to BDB 817 s.v. פָּנֶה II.4.b(g) this refers to “propounding to someone for acceptance or choice.” This is clearly the usage in Deut 30:15, 19; Jer 21:8 and is likely the case here. However, to translate literally would not be good English idiom and “proposed to” might not be correctly understood, so the basic translation of נָתַן (natan) has been used here.
81 tn Heb “Behold I am setting my face against you for evil/disaster.” For the meaning of the idiom “to set the face to/against” see the translator’s note on 42:15 and compare the references listed there.
82 tn Heb “and to destroy all Judah.” However, this statement must be understood within the rhetoric of the passage (see vv. 7-8 and the study note on v. 8) and within the broader context of the
83 tn Heb “they set their face to go.” Compare 44:11 and 42:14 and see the translator’s note at 42:15.
84 tn Heb “fall by the sword.”
85 tn Or “All of them without distinction,” or “All of them from the least important to the most important”; Heb “From the least to the greatest.” See the translator’s note on 42:1 for the meaning of this idiom.
86 tn See the study note on 24:9 and the usage in 29:22 for the meaning and significance of this last phrase.
sn See Jer 42:18 for parallel usage.
87 tn Heb “There shall not be an escapee or a survivor to the remnant of Judah who came to sojourn there in the land of Egypt even to return to the land of Judah which they are lifting up their souls [= “longing/desiring” (BDB 672 s.v. נָשָׂא Piel.2)] to return to live there; for none shall return except fugitives.” The long, complex Hebrew original has been broken up and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style. Another possible structure would be “None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive. None of them will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah where they long to return to live. Indeed (emphatic use of כִּי [ki]; cf. BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) none of them shall return except a few fugitives.” This verse is a good example of rhetorical hyperbole where a universal negative does not apply to absolutely all the particulars. Though the
88 tn The translation is very interpretive at several key points: Heb “Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods and all their wives who were standing by, a great crowd/congregation, and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt in Pathros answered, saying.” It is proper to assume that the phrase “a great crowd” is appositional to “all the men…and their wives….” It is also probably proper to assume that the phrase “who were standing by” is unnecessary to the English translation. What is interpretive is the assumption that the “and all the people who were living in Egypt in Pathros” is explicative of “the great crowd” and that the phrase “in Pathros” is conjunctive and not appositional. Several commentaries and English versions (e.g., J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 678-79, n. 2; NJPS) assume that the phrase is descriptive of a second group, i.e., all the Jews from Pathros in Egypt (i.e., southern Egypt [see the study note on 44:1]). Those who follow this interpretation generally see this as a gloss (see Thompson, 678, n. 2, and also W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:279, n. 15b). It is probably better to assume that the phrase is explicative and that “all” is used in the same rhetorical way that it has been used within the chapter, i.e., “all” = representatives of all. Likewise the phrase “in Pathros” should be assumed to be conjunctive as in the Syriac translation and as suggested by BHS fn c since Jeremiah’s answer in vv. 24, 26 is directed to all the Judeans living in Egypt.
89 tn Heb “the word [or message] you have spoken to us in the name of the
90 tn Heb “that went out of our mouth.” I.e., everything we said, promised, or vowed.
91 tn Heb “sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” The expressions have been combined to simplify and shorten the sentence. The same combination also occurs in vv. 18, 19.
sn See the translator’s note and the study note on 7:18 for the problem of translation and identification of the term translated here “the goddess called the Queen of Heaven.”
92 tn Heb “saw [or experienced] no disaster/trouble/harm.”
93 tn Heb “we have been consumed/destroyed by sword or by starvation.” The “we” cannot be taken literally here since they are still alive.
sn What is being contrasted here is the relative peace and prosperity under the reign of Manasseh, who promoted all kinds of pagan cults including the worship of astral deities (2 Kgs 21:2-9), and the disasters that befell Judah after the reforms of Josiah, which included the removal of all the cult images and altars from Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kgs 23:4-15). The disasters included the death of Josiah himself at the battle of Megiddo, the deportation of his son Jehoahaz to Egypt, the death of Jehoiakim, the deportation of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and many other Judeans in 597
94 tc The words “And the women added” are not in the Hebrew text. They are, however, implicit in what is said. They are found in the Syriac version and in one recension of the Greek version. W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:279, n. 19a) suggests that these words are missing from the Hebrew text because of haplography, i.e., that the scribe left out וַהַנָּשִׁים אָמְרוּ כִי (vahannashim ’omru khi) because his eye jumped from the ו at the beginning to the כִּי (ki) that introduced the temporal clause and left out everything in between. It is, however, just as likely, given the fact that there are several other examples of quotes which have not been formally introduced in the book of Jeremiah, that the words were not there and are supplied by these two ancient versions as a translator’s clarification.
95 tn Or “When we sacrificed and poured out drink offering to the Queen of Heaven and made cakes in her image, wasn’t it with the knowledge and approval of our husbands?” Heb “When we sacrificed to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings [for the use of לְ (lamed) + the infinitive construct to carry on the tense of the preceding verb see BDB 518 s.v. לְ 7.b(h)] to her, did we make cakes to make an image of her and pour out drink offerings apart from [i.e., “without the knowledge and consent of,” so BDB 116 s.v. בִּלְעֲדֵי b(a)] our husbands?” The question expects a positive answer and has been rendered as an affirmation in the translation. The long, complex Hebrew sentence has again been broken in two and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style.
sn According to Jer 7:18-19 it was not only with the full knowledge and approval of their husbands but also with their active participation. Most of the commentaries call attention to the fact that what is being alluded to here is that a woman’s vow had to have her husband’s conscious approval to have any validity (cf. Num 30:7-16 and see the reference to the vow in v. 17).
96 tn Heb “And Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women, namely to all the people who answered him a word.” The appositional phrases have been combined to eliminate what would be redundant to a modern reader.
97 tn The words “to other gods” are not in the text but are implicit from the context (cf. v. 17). They are supplied in the translation for clarity. It was not the act of sacrifice that was wrong but the recipient.
98 tn Heb “The sacrifices which you sacrificed in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your leaders and the people of the land, did not the
99 tn Heb “And/Then the
100 tn Heb “Because you have sacrificed and you have sinned against the
101 tn Heb “and to all the women.” The “and” (ו, vav) is to be explained here according to BDB 252 s.v. וַ 1.a. The focus of the address that follows is on the women. See the translator’s note on the next verse.
102 tn Or “You and your wives.” The text and referent here is uncertain because of the confusing picture that the alternation of pronouns presents in this verse. Three of the main verbs are second feminine plurals and one of them is second masculine plural. All the pronominal suffixes on the nouns are second masculine plurals. The Hebrew text reads: “You [masc. pl.] and your [masc. pl.] wives have spoken [2nd fem. pl.; תְּדַבֵּרְנָה, tÿdabberÿnah] with your [masc. pl.] mouth and you have fulfilled [masc. pl.; מִלֵּאתֶם, mille’tem] with your [masc. pl.] hands, saying, ‘We [common gender] will certainly carry out….’ Indeed fulfill [2nd fem. pl.; תָּקִימְנָה, taqimnah] your [masc. pl.] vows and indeed carry out [2nd fem. pl.; תַעֲשֶׂינָה, ta’asenah] your [masc. pl.] vows.” Older commentaries, such as K&D 22:165, explain the feminine verbs as a matter of the women being the principle subject. Most all modern commentaries (e.g., J. A. Thompson, J. Bright, W. L. Holladay, and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers) follow the reading of the Greek version which reads “you women” (= אַתֵּנָה הַנָּשִּׁים, [’attenah hannashim]) in place of “you and your wives” (אַתֶּם וּנְשֵׁיכֶם, ’attem unÿshekhem) in the Hebrew. None of them, however, explain the use of the 2nd masc. plurals here. This is possibly a case where the masculine forms are used in the place of the feminine due to the dislike of Hebrew to use the feminine plural forms (cf. GKC 459 §144.a and 466 §145.t). This seems all the more probable when 2nd fem. pl. verbs are qualified by nouns with 2nd masc. pl. suffixes. The translation here follows this interpretation of the masc. pl. forms and reads “you women” with the Greek version in place of “you and your wives” and sees the referents throughout as the women.
103 tn Heb “Carry out your vows!”
sn The commands here are, of course, sarcastic and not meant to be taken literally.
104 tn Heb “Therefore.” This particle quite often introduces the announcement of judgment after an indictment or accusation of a crime. That is its function here after the statement of cause in vv. 24-25. However, it would not sound right after the immediately preceding ironical or sarcastic commands to go ahead and fulfill their vows. “But” is a better transition unless one wants to paraphrase “Therefore, since you are so determined to do that….”
105 tn Heb “Behold I swear by…that my name will no more be pronounced in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt saying, ‘As the Lord Yahweh lives.’” The sentence has been broken up and restructured to better conform with contemporary English style and the significance of pronouncing the name has been interpreted for the sake of readers who might not be familiar with this biblical idiom.
sn They will no longer be able to invoke his name in an oath because they will all be put to death (v. 27; cf. vv. 11-14).
106 tn Heb “Behold I.” For the use of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6. Here it announces the reality of a fact.
107 tn Heb “Behold, I am watching over them for evil/disaster/harm not for good/prosperity/ blessing.” See a parallel usage in 31:28.
108 tn Heb “The survivors of the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number [more literally, “men of number”; for the idiom see BDB 709 s.v. מִסְפָּר 1.a].” The term “survivors of the sword” may be intended to represent both those who survive death in war or death by starvation or disease, a synecdoche of species for all three genera.
sn This statement shows that the preceding “none,” “never again,” “all” in vv. 26-27 are rhetorical hyperbole. Not all but almost all; very few would survive. The following statement implies that the reason that they are left alive is to bear witness to the fact that the
109 tn Heb “will stand,” i.e., in the sense of being fulfilled, proving to be true, or succeeding (see BDB 878 s.v. קוּם 7.g).
110 tn Heb “oracle of the
111 tn Heb “This will be to you the sign, oracle of the
112 tn Heb “Thus says the
113 sn Hophra ruled over Egypt from 589-570
114 sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.
115 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the
116 sn May the
117 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”
118 tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.
119 tc Heb “from [the] temple.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (ן, nun) has probably been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word begins with a prefixed vav (ו). See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 184.
120 tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.
121 tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (yÿdashÿneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”
122 tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.
123 sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.
124 sn Your victory. Here the king is addressed (see v. 1).
125 tc The Hebrew verb דָּגַל (dagal) occurs only here in the Qal. If accepted as original, it may carry the nuance “raise a banner,” but it is preferable to emend the form to נגיל (“we will rejoice”) which provides better parallelism with “shout for joy” and fits well with the prepositional phrase “in the name of our God” (see Ps 89:16).
126 tn Or “know.”
sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.
127 tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the
128 tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.
129 tn Heb “he will answer him.”
130 tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”
131 tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).
132 tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; perhaps the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.
133 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.
134 tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the
135 tn Or “stumble and fall down.”
136 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.
137 tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (’ud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.
138 tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O
139 tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).
140 tn Heb “in the day we call.”
141 sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.
142 tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).
143 tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”
144 tn The translation assumes the perfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing, stating factually what God typically does for the king. Another option is to take them as present perfects, “you have granted…you have not refused.” See v. 4, which mentions a specific request for a long reign.
145 tn Heb “and the request of his lips you do not refuse.”
146 tn Or “meet him [with].”
147 tn Heb “good.”
148 sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).
149 tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”
150 tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.
151 tn Or “great glory.”
152 tn Heb “majesty and splendor you place upon him.” For other uses of the phrase הוֹד וְהָדָר (hod vÿhadar, “majesty and splendor”) see 1 Chr 16:27; Job 40:10; Pss 96:6; 104:1; 111:3.
153 tn Heb “you make him happy with joy with [i.e., “close by” or “in”] your face.” On the idiom “with your face” (i.e., “in your presence”) see Ps 16:11 and BDB 816 s.v. פָּנֻה II.2.a.
154 tn The active participle draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action.
155 tn Traditionally “the Most High’s.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. Note the focus of vv. 8-12 and see Ps 47:2.
156 tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “he will not be upended” (cf. NRSV “he shall not be moved”). Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense.
157 tn The king is now addressed. One could argue that the
158 tn Heb “your hand finds.” The idiom pictures the king grabbing hold of his enemies and defeating them (see 1 Sam 23:17). The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 8-12 may be translated with the future tense, as long as the future is understood as generalizing.
159 tn Heb “your right hand finds those who hate you.”
160 tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).
161 tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.
162 tn Heb “the
163 tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.
164 tn Heb “seed.”
165 tn Heb “sons of man.”
166 tn Or “for.”
167 tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).
169 tn Heb “they lack ability.”
170 tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”
171 tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”
172 tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.
sn The psalm concludes with a petition to the Lord, asking him to continue to intervene in strength for the king and nation.
173 tn Heb “sing praise.”