¹ tn Or “Did I.” The phrase “my hand” is ultimately a metaphor for God himself.

¹ sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.

² tn After the cohortative the imperative with vav states the ultimate goal.

³ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

⁶ tn The word “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn The term “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

² sn That you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul the ultimate stage of salvation is glorification (Rom 8:30).

³ sn Ultimately Paul is referring here to the false arguments of his opponents, calling them figuratively “strongholds.” This Greek word (ὀχύρωμα, ochurōma) is used only here in the NT.

² tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”

¹ sn From now on. Jesus’ authority was taken up from this moment on. Ironically he is now the ultimate judge, who is himself being judged.

² sn Given v. 16, the expression not a hair of your head will perish must be taken figuratively and refer to living ultimately in the presence of God.

⁴ tn The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “There is no ultimate advantage!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 947-48).

² sn In the ultimate justice of God, the wealth of the wicked goes to the righteous after death (e.g., Ps 49:10, 17).

³ sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).

² tn Or “the sky.” Due to the apocalyptic nature of this book, it is probably best to leave the translation as “from heaven,” since God is ultimately the source of the judgment.

¹ tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.

³ tn The participle עֹמָדֶת (ʿomadet, “to stand”) emphasizes a continual, durative, uninterrupted state (present universal condition). Man, despite all his secular accomplishments in all generations, makes no ultimate impact on the earth.

¹ sn The image of falling into a pit (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, involving implied comparison) is meant to say that the evil to which he guides people will ultimately destroy him.

¹ sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.