Ayub 42:11-17

42:11 So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined ¹  with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver ²  and a gold ring. ³ 

42:12 So the Lord blessed the second part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 42:13 And he also had seven sons ⁴  and three daughters. 42:14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, ⁵  the second Keziah, ⁶  and the third Keren-Happuch. ⁷  42:15 Nowhere in all the land could women be found who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance alongside their brothers.

42:16 After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 42:17 And so Job died, old and full of days.

Mazmur 37:6

37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,

and publicly defend your just cause. ⁸ 

Mazmur 92:14

92:14 They bear fruit even when they are old;

they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. ⁹ 

Mazmur 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ¹⁰  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ¹¹ 

Amsal 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ¹² 

growing brighter and brighter ¹³  until full day. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 58:8-10

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ¹⁵ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ¹⁶ 

your godly behavior ¹⁷  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ¹⁸ 

58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must ¹⁹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

58:10 You must ²⁰  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ²¹ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ²² 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ²³ 

Mikha 7:8-9

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ²⁴  do not gloat ²⁵  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ²⁶ 

7:9 I must endure ²⁷  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ²⁸  he will defend my cause, ²⁹ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ³⁰  his deliverance. ³¹ 

Zakharia 14:6-7

14:6 On that day there will be no light – the sources of light in the heavens will congeal. ³²  14:7 It will happen in one day (a day known to the Lord); not in the day or the night, but in the evening there will be light. ³³ 

Maleakhi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ³⁴  will rise with healing wings, ³⁵  and you will skip about ³⁶  like calves released from the stall.

Lukas 2:26-32

2:26 It ³⁷  had been revealed ³⁸  to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die ³⁹  before ⁴⁰  he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ⁴¹  2:27 So ⁴²  Simeon, ⁴³  directed by the Spirit, ⁴⁴  came into the temple courts, ⁴⁵  and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law, ⁴⁶  2:28 Simeon ⁴⁷  took him in his arms and blessed God, saying, ⁴⁸ 

2:29 “Now, according to your word, ⁴⁹  Sovereign Lord, ⁵⁰  permit ⁵¹  your servant ⁵²  to depart ⁵³  in peace.

2:30 For my eyes have seen your salvation ⁵⁴ 

2:31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: ⁵⁵ 

2:32 a light, ⁵⁶ 

for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory ⁵⁷  to your people Israel.”

[42:11]  ¹ tn Heb “ate bread.”

[42:11]  ² tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown.

[42:11]  sn The Hebrew word refers to a piece of silver, yet uncoined. It is the kind used in Gen 33:19 and Josh 24:32. It is what would be expected of a story set in the patriarchal age.

[42:11]  ³ sn This gold ring was worn by women in the nose, or men and women in the ear.

[42:13]  ⁴ tn The word for “seven” is spelled in an unusual way. From this some have thought it means “twice seven,” or fourteen sons. Several commentators take this view; but it is probably not warranted.

[42:14]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew name Jemimah means “dove.”

[42:14]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew name Keziah means “cassia.”

[42:14]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew name Keren-Happuch means “horn of eye-paint.”

[37:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”

[92:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”

[112:4]  ¹⁰ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.

[4:18]  ¹² tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ¹³ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[58:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  sn Light here symbolizes God’s favor and restored blessing, as the immediately following context makes clear.

[58:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ¹⁸ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[58:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b.

[58:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ²² tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[7:8]  ²⁴ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ²⁵ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ²⁶ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[7:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ³¹ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[14:6]  ³² tn Heb “the splendid will congeal.” This difficult phrase (MT יְקָרוֹת יְקִפָּאוֹן, yÿqarot yÿqippa’on) is not clarified by the LXX which presupposes וְקָרוּת וְקִפָּאוֹן (vÿqarut vÿqippa’on, “and cold and ice,” a reading followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV). Besides the fact that cold and ice do not necessarily follow the absence of light, the idea here is that day will be night and night day. The heavenly sources of light “freeze up” as it were, and refuse to shine.

[14:7]  ³³ sn In the evening there will be light. The normal pattern is that light breaks through in the morning (Gen 1:3) but in the day of the Lord in judgment it would do so in the evening. In a sense the universe will be “de-created” in order to be “recreated.”

[4:2]  ³⁴ tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  sn The expression the sun of vindication will rise is a metaphorical way of describing the day of the Lord as a time of restoration when God vindicates his people (see 2 Sam 23:4; Isa 30:26; 60:1, 3). Their vindication and restoration will be as obvious and undeniable as the bright light of the rising sun.

[4:2]  ³⁵ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”

[2:26]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:26]  ³⁸ tn The use of the passive suggests a revelation by God, and in the OT the corresponding Hebrew term represented here by κεχρηματισμένον (kecrhmatismenon) indicated some form of direct revelation from God (Jer 25:30; 33:2; Job 40:8).

[2:26]  ³⁹ tn Grk “would not see death” (an idiom for dying).

[2:26]  ⁴⁰ tn On the grammar of this temporal clause, see BDF §§383.3; 395.

[2:26]  ⁴¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:26]  sn The revelation to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ is yet another example of a promise fulfilled in Luke 1-2. Also, see the note on Christ in 2:11.

[2:27]  ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:27]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “So in the Spirit” or “So by the Spirit,” but since it refers to the Spirit’s direction the expanded translation “directed by the Spirit” is used here.

[2:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[2:27]  sn The temple courts is a reference to the larger temple area, not the holy place. Simeon was either in the court of the Gentiles or the court of women, since Mary was present.

[2:27]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “to do for him according to the custom of the law.” See Luke 2:22-24.

[2:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:28]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and said.” The finite verb in Greek has been replaced with a participle in English to improve the smoothness of the translation.

[2:29]  ⁴⁹ sn The phrase according to your word again emphasizes that God will perform his promise.

[2:29]  ⁵⁰ tn The Greek word translated here by “Sovereign Lord” is δεσπότης (despoth").

[2:29]  ⁵¹ sn This short prophetic declaration is sometimes called the Nunc dimittis, which comes from the opening phrase of the saying in Latin, “now dismiss,” a fairly literal translation of the Greek verb ἀπολύεις (apolueis, “now release”) in this verse.

[2:29]  ⁵² tn Here the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos, “slave”) has been translated “servant” since it acts almost as an honorific term for one specially chosen and appointed to carry out the Lord’s tasks.

[2:29]  sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”

[2:29]  ⁵³ tn Grk “now release your servant.”

[2:30]  ⁵⁴ sn To see Jesus, the Messiah, is to see God’s salvation.

[2:31]  ⁵⁵ sn Is the phrase all peoples a reference to Israel alone, or to both Israel and the Gentiles? The following verse makes it clear that all peoples includes Gentiles, another key Lukan emphasis (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:34-43).

[2:32]  ⁵⁶ tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.

[2:32]  ⁵⁷ sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.