2 Kings 1:1-18 
Context1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 1 1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria 2 and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, 3 “Go, ask 4 Baal Zebub, 5 the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”
1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 6 1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.
1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, 7 he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, 8 “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 9 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king 10 asked them, “Describe the appearance 11 of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied, 12 “He was a hairy man 13 and had a leather belt 14 tied around his waist.” The king 15 said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
1:9 The king 16 sent a captain and his fifty soldiers 17 to retrieve Elijah. 18 The captain 19 went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. 20 He told him, “Prophet, 21 the king says, ‘Come down!’” 1:10 Elijah replied to the captain, 22 “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down 23 from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
1:11 The king 24 sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, 25 “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” 26 1:12 Elijah replied to them, 27 “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God 28 came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
1:13 The king 29 sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell 30 on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours. 1:14 Indeed, 31 fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. 32 So now, please have respect for my life.” 1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down 33 with him to the king.
1:16 Elijah 34 said to the king, 35 “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! 36 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 37
1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. 38 In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. 39 1:18 The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 40
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Context1:1 From Paul 41 and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians 42 in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1:2 Grace and peace to you 43 from God the 44 Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
1:3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, 45 and rightly so, 46 because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater. 1:4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring.
1:5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy 47 of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 1:6 For it is right 48 for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 1:7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed 49 from heaven with his mighty angels. 50 1:8 With flaming fire he will mete out 51 punishment on those who do not know God 52 and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 1:9 They 53 will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 54 1:10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired 55 on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. 56 1:11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling 57 and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 1:12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to 58 the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Daniel 5:1-31
Context5:1 King Belshazzar 59 prepared a great banquet 60 for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of 61 them all. 62 5:2 While under the influence 63 of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father 64 had confiscated 65 from the temple in Jerusalem 66 – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. 67 5:3 So they brought the gold and silver 68 vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God 69 in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them. 5:4 As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared 70 and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. 71 The king was watching the back 72 of the hand that was writing. 5:6 Then all the color drained from the king’s face 73 and he became alarmed. 74 The joints of his hips gave way, 75 and his knees began knocking together. 5:7 The king called out loudly 76 to summon 77 the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed 78 to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple 79 and have a golden collar 80 placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.
5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its 81 interpretation to the king. 5:9 Then King Belshazzar was very terrified, and he was visibly shaken. 82 His nobles were completely dumbfounded.
5:10 Due to the noise 83 caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother 84 then entered the banquet room. She 85 said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken! 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have 86 insight, discernment, and wisdom like that 87 of the gods. 88 King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. 89 5:12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret 90 dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. 91 Now summon 92 Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”
5:13 So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 5:14 I have heard about you, how there is a spirit of the gods in you, and how you have 93 insight, discernment, and extraordinary wisdom. 5:15 Now the wise men and 94 astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message. 5:16 However, I have heard 95 that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third 96 ruler in the kingdom.”
5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its 97 interpretation. 5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. 98 5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear 99 before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared 100 whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind 101 became arrogant 102 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 103 was changed to that of an animal, he lived 104 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 105 Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, 106 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 107 that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control 108 your very breath and all your ways! 5:24 Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.
5:25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, 109 TEQEL, and PHARSIN. 110 5:26 This is the interpretation of the words: 111 As for mene 112 – God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. 5:27 As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. 5:28 As for peres 113 – your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
5:29 Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, 114 Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom. 5:30 And in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, 115 was killed. 116 5:31 (6:1) 117 So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.
Psalms 110:1--111:10
ContextA psalm of David.
110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation 119 to my lord: 120
“Sit down at my right hand 121 until I make your enemies your footstool!” 122
110:2 The Lord 123 extends 124 your dominion 125 from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
110:3 Your people willingly follow you 126 when you go into battle. 127
On the holy hills 128 at sunrise 129 the dew of your youth 130 belongs to you. 131
110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath 132 and will not revoke it: 133
“You are an eternal priest 134 after the pattern of 135 Melchizedek.” 136
110:5 O sovereign Lord, 137 at your right hand
he strikes down 138 kings in the day he unleashes his anger. 139
110:6 He executes judgment 140 against 141 the nations;
he fills the valleys with corpses; 142
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield. 143
110:7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head. 144
111:1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.
111:2 The Lord’s deeds are great,
eagerly awaited 146 by all who desire them.
111:3 His work is majestic and glorious, 147
and his faithfulness endures 148 forever.
111:4 He does 149 amazing things that will be remembered; 150
the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
111:5 He gives 151 food to his faithful followers; 152
he always remembers his covenant. 153
111:6 He announced that he would do mighty deeds for his people,
giving them a land that belonged to other nations. 154
111:7 His acts are characterized by 155 faithfulness and justice;
all his precepts are reliable. 156
111:8 They are forever firm,
and should be faithfully and properly carried out. 157
111:9 He delivered his people; 158
he ordained that his covenant be observed forever. 159
His name is holy and awesome.
111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; 160
all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. 161
He will receive praise forever. 162
1 sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.
2 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
3 tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”
4 tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”
5 sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.
6 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.
7 tn Heb “to him.”
sn The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only here of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.
8 tn Heb “said to him.”
9 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “What was the manner…?”
12 tn Heb “said to him.”
13 tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24).
14 tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).
15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”
18 tn Heb “to him.”
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
21 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).
22 tn Heb “answered and said to the officer of fifty.”
23 tn Wordplay contributes to the irony here. The king tells Elijah to “come down” (Hebrew יָרַד, yarad), but Elijah calls fire down (יָרַד) on the arrogant king’s officer.
24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tc The MT reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” (וַיַּעַן, vayya’an) is probably a corruption of “he went up” (וַיַּעַל, vayya’al). See v. 9.
26 sn In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.
27 tc Two medieval Hebrew
28 tn Or “intense fire.” The divine name may be used idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the fire. Whether one translates אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) here as a proper name or idiomatically, this addition to the narrative (the name is omitted in the first panel, v. 10b) emphasizes the severity of the judgment and is appropriate given the more intense command delivered by the king to the prophet in this panel.
29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”
31 tn Heb “look.”
32 tn Heb “their fifty.”
33 sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.
34 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”
37 sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.
38 tn Heb “according to the word of the
39 tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.
40 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not recorded in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
41 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
42 map For the location of Thessalonica see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.
43 tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”
44 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A F G I 0278 Ï lat sy sa) have ἡμῶν (Jhmwn) after πατρός (patros), reading “God our Father,” in apparent emulation of Paul’s almost universal style. The omission of the pronoun (the reading of B D P 0111vid 33 1739 1881 pc) seems to be the original wording of this salutation. As well, the intrinsic evidence also supports the shorter reading: If 2 Thessalonians is authentic, it was one of Paul’s earliest letters, and, if so, his stereotyped salutation was still in embryonic form (see discussion at 1 Thess 1:1). NA27 places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
45 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
46 tn Grk “as is worthy.”
47 tn Grk “so that you may be made worthy.” The passive infinitive καταξιωθῆναι (kataxiwqhnai) has been translated as an active construction in English for stylistic reasons.
48 tn Grk “if in fact/since,” as a continuation of the preceding.
49 tn Grk “at the revelation of the Lord Jesus.”
50 tn Grk “angels of power,” translated as an attributive genitive.
51 tn Grk “meting out,” as a description of Jesus Christ in v. 7. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 8 in the translation.
52 sn An allusion to Jer 10:25, possibly also to Ps 79:6 and Isa 66:15.
53 tn Grk “who,” describing the people mentioned in v. 8. A new sentence was started here in the translation by replacing the relative pronoun with a personal pronoun.
54 tn Or “power,” or “might.” The construction can also be translated as an attributed genitive: “from his glorious strength” (cf. TEV “glorious might”; CEV “glorious strength”; NLT “glorious power”).
sn An allusion to Isa 2:10, 19, 21.
55 tn Or “marveled at.”
56 tn Grk “because our testimony to you was believed.”
57 tn Or “your calling.”
58 tn Or “by means of.”
59 sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539
60 sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.
61 sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.
62 tn Aram “the thousand.”
63 tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).
64 tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.
65 tn Or “taken.”
66 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
67 sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.
68 tc The present translation reads וְכַסְפָּא (vÿkhaspa’, “and the silver”) with Theodotion and the Vulgate. Cf. v. 2. The form was probably accidentally dropped from the Aramaic text by homoioteleuton.
69 tn Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodotion and the Syriac lack “the house.”
70 tn Aram “came forth.”
71 sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.
72 tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.
73 tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”
74 tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”
75 tn Aram “his loins went slack.”
76 tn Aram “in strength.”
77 tn Aram “cause to enter.”
78 tn Aram “answered and said.”
79 sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.
80 tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).
81 tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.
82 tn Aram “his visage altered upon him.” So also in v. 10.
83 tn Aram “words of the king.”
84 tn Aram “the queen” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). In the following discourse this woman is able to recall things about Daniel that go back to the days of Nebuchadnezzar, things that Belshazzar does not seem to recollect. It is likely that she was the wife not of Belshazzar but of Nabonidus or perhaps even Nebuchadnezzar. In that case, “queen” here means “queen mother” (cf. NCV “the king’s mother”).
85 tn Aram “The queen.” The translation has used the pronoun “she” instead because repetition of the noun here would be redundant in terms of English style.
86 tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”
87 tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.
88 tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”
89 tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.
90 tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (mÿfashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (mishre’) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (mÿshare’). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.
91 tn Aram “to loose knots.”
92 tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”
93 tn Aram “there has been found in you.”
94 tn The Aramaic text does not have “and.” The term “astrologers” is either an appositive for “wise men” (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV), or the construction is to be understood as asyndetic (so the translation above).
95 tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”
96 tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir. So also v. 29.
97 tn Or “the.”
98 tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.
99 tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”
100 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”).
101 tn Aram “heart.”
102 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.
103 tn Aram “heart.”
104 tn Aram “his dwelling.”
105 tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”
106 tn Aram “your heart.”
107 tn Aram “which.”
108 tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”
109 tc The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the repetition of מְנֵא (mÿne’, cf. NAB).
110 tc The Aramaic word is plural. Theodotion has the singular (cf. NAB “
111 tn Or “word” or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.
112 tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (mÿne’) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, mÿnah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (tÿqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”
113 sn Peres (פְּרֵס) is the singular form of פַרְסִין (pharsin) in v. 25.
114 tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”
115 tn Aram “king of the Chaldeans.”
116 sn The year was 539
117 sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.
118 sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.
119 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.
120 sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king. NT references to the psalm understand David to be speaking about his “lord,” the Messiah. (See Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-35).
121 tn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-and Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.
sn The Lord’s invitation to the Davidic king to sit down at his right hand reflects the king’s position as the Lord’s vice-regent.
122 sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).
123 tn Since the
124 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.
125 tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.
126 tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”
127 tn Heb “in the day of your power.”
128 tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadrey, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (harrey qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew
129 tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the mem (מ) being understood as dittographic (note the final mem [ם] on the preceding word). The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.
130 sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.
131 tn Heb “to you [is].”
132 tn Or “swears, vows.”
133 tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
134 sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).
135 tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (’al-divratiy) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (’al-divrat; the final yod [י] being an archaic genitival ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (’al davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.
136 sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”
137 tn As pointed in the Hebrew text, this title refers to God (many medieval Hebrew
138 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 5-6 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing. Another option is to take them as rhetorical. In this case the psalmist describes anticipated events as if they had already taken place.
139 tn Heb “in the day of his anger.”
140 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 6-7 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though they could be taken as future.
141 tn Or “among.”
142 tn Heb “he fills [with] corpses,” but one expects a double accusative here. The translation assumes an emendation to גְוִיּוֹת גֵאָיוֹת(בִּ) מִלֵּא or מִלֵּא גֵאָיוֹת גְּוִיוֹת (for a similar construction see Ezek 32:5). In the former case גֵאָיוֹת(ge’ayot) has accidentally dropped from the text due to homoioteleuton; in the latter case it has dropped out due to homoioarcton.
143 tn Heb “he strikes [the verb is מָחַץ (makhats), translated “strikes down” in v. 5] head[s] over a great land.” The Hebrew term רַבָּה (rabbah, “great”) is here used of distance or spatial measurement (see 1 Sam 26:13).
144 tn Here the expression “lifts up the head” refers to the renewed physical strength and emotional vigor (see Ps 3:3) provided by the refreshing water. For another example of a victorious warrior being energized by water in the aftermath of battle, see Judg 15:18-19 (see also 1 Sam 30:11-12, where the setting is different, however).
145 sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
146 tn Heb “sought out.”
147 tn For other uses of the Hebrew phrase וְהָדָר-הוֹד (hod-vÿhadar, “majesty and splendor”) see 1 Chr 16:27; Job 40:10; Pss 21:5; 96:6; 104:1.
148 tn Or “stands.”
149 tn Or “did,” if this refers primarily to the events of the exodus and conquest period (see vv. 6, 9).
150 tn Heb “a memorial he had made for his amazing deeds.”
151 tn Or “gave,” if the events of the exodus and conquest period (see v. 6, 9) are primarily in view.
152 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
153 tn Or “he remembers his covenant forever” (see Ps 105:8).
154 tn Heb “the strength of his deeds he proclaimed to his people, to give to them an inheritance of nations.”
155 tn Heb “the deeds of his hands [are].”
156 tn That is, fair and for man’s good.
157 tn Heb “done in faithfulness and uprightness.” The passive participle probably has the force of a gerund. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 89.
158 tn Heb “redemption he sent for his people.”
159 tn Heb “he commanded forever his covenant.”
160 tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the
161 tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22.
162 tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”
