1 Samuel 14:16

14:16 Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ¹  looked on ²  as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. ³ 

Yudas 1:22

1:22 And have mercy on those who waver;

Yudas 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ⁴ 

Yudas 1:23

1:23 save ⁵  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ⁶  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ⁷  hating even the clothes stained ⁸  by the flesh. ⁹ 

Yesaya 9:19-21

9:19 Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, ¹⁰ 

and the people became fuel for the fire. ¹¹ 

People had no compassion on one another. ¹² 

9:20 They devoured ¹³  on the right, but were still hungry,

they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.

People even ate ¹⁴  the flesh of their own arm! ¹⁵ 

9:21 Manasseh fought against ¹⁶  Ephraim,

and Ephraim against Manasseh;

together they fought against Judah.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 19:2

19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, ¹⁸ 

brothers will fight with each other,

as will neighbors,

cities, and kingdoms. ¹⁹ 

[14:16]  ¹ tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:16]  ² tn Heb “saw, and look!”

[14:16]  ³ tn Heb “the crowd melted and went, even here.”

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[1:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “with fear.” But as this contrasts with ἀφόβως (afobw") in v. 12 (without reverence), the posture of the false teachers, it most likely refers to reverence for God.

[1:23]  sn Joining a fear of God to mercy is an important balance when involved in disciplinary action. On the one hand, being merciful without fear can turn to unwarranted sympathy for the individual, absolving him of personal responsibility; but fearing God without showing mercy can turn into personal judgment and condemnation.

[1:23]  ⁸ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh.” The “flesh” in this instance could refer to the body or to the sin nature. It makes little difference in one sense: Jude is thinking primarily of sexual sins, which are borne of the sin nature and manifest themselves in inappropriate deeds done with the body. At the same time, he is not saying that the body is intrinsically bad, a view held by the opponents of Christianity. Hence, it is best to see “flesh” as referring to the sin nature here and the language as metaphorical.

[9:19]  ¹⁰ tn The precise meaning of the verb עְתַּם (’ÿtam), which occurs only here, is uncertain, though the context strongly suggests that it means “burn, scorch.”

[9:19]  ¹¹ sn The uncontrollable fire of the people’s wickedness (v. 18) is intensified by the fire of the Lord’s judgment (v. 19). God allows (or causes) their wickedness to become self-destructive as civil strife and civil war break out in the land.

[9:19]  ¹² tn Heb “men were not showing compassion to their brothers.” The idiom “men to their brothers” is idiomatic for reciprocity. The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[9:20]  ¹³ tn Or “cut.” The verb גָּזַר (gazar) means “to cut.” If it is understood here, then one might paraphrase, “They slice off meat on the right.” However, HALOT 187 s.v. I גזר, proposes here a rare homonym meaning “to devour.”

[9:20]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[9:20]  ¹⁵ tn Some suggest that זְרֹעוֹ (zÿro’o, “his arm”) be repointed זַרְעוֹ (zar’o, “his offspring”). In either case, the metaphor is that of a desperately hungry man who resorts to an almost unthinkable act to satisfy his appetite. He eats everything he can find to his right, but still being unsatisfied, then turns to his left and eats everything he can find there. Still being desperate for food, he then resorts to eating his own flesh (or offspring, as this phrase is metaphorically understood by some English versions, e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT). The reality behind the metaphor is the political turmoil of the period, as the next verse explains. There was civil strife within the northern kingdom; even the descendants of Joseph were at each other’s throats. Then the northern kingdom turned on their southern brother, Judah.

[9:21]  ¹⁶ tn The words “fought against” are supplied in the translation both here and later in this verse for stylistic reasons.

[9:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched” (KJV and ASV both similar); NIV “his hand is still upraised.”

[9:21]  sn See the note at 9:12.

[19:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).

[19:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.