Keluaran 15:1
Konteks15:1 1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang 2 this song to the Lord. They said, 3
“I will sing 4 to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, 5
the horse and its rider 6 he has thrown into the sea.
Yudas 1:3
Konteks1:3 Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you 7 about our common salvation, I now feel compelled 8 instead to write to encourage 9 you to contend earnestly 10 for the faith 11 that was once for all 12 entrusted to the saints. 13
Yesaya 5:1-30
Konteks5:1 I 14 will sing to my love –
a song to my lover about his vineyard. 15
My love had a vineyard
on a fertile hill. 16
5:2 He built a hedge around it, 17 removed its stones,
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead. 18
5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, 19
people 20 of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
5:5 Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, 21
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. 22
5:6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, 23
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
5:7 Indeed 24 Israel 25 is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,
the people 26 of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! 27
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! 28
5:8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, 29
those who also accumulate landed property 30
until there is no land left, 31
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. 32
5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 33
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 34
5:10 Indeed, a large vineyard 35 will produce just a few gallons, 36
and enough seed to yield several bushels 37 will produce less than a bushel.” 38
5:11 Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, 39
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine. 40
5:12 They have stringed instruments, 41 tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about. 42
5:13 Therefore my 43 people will be deported 44
because of their lack of understanding.
Their 45 leaders will have nothing to eat, 46
their 47 masses will have nothing to drink. 48
5:14 So Death 49 will open up its throat,
and open wide its mouth; 50
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her. 51
5:15 Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low. 52
5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted 53 when he punishes, 54
the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. 55
5:17 Lambs 56 will graze as if in their pastures,
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze. 57
5:18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, 58
who pull sin as with cart ropes. 59
5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, 60
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel 61 take shape 62 and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
5:20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, 63
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter. 64
5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, 65
those who think they possess understanding. 66
5:22 Those who are champions 67 at drinking wine are as good as dead, 68
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.
5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,
they ignore the just cause of the innocent. 69
5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 70 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 71
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 72 of the Holy One of Israel. 73
5:25 So the Lord is furious 74 with his people;
he lifts 75 his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure 76 in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 77
5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, 78
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they 79 come quickly and swiftly.
5:27 None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest. 80
5:28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared. 81
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, 82
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. 83
5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
5:30 At that time 84 they will growl over their prey, 85
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. 86
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness. 87
Wahyu 7:10-12
Konteks7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God, 88
to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
7:11 And all the angels stood 89 there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground 90 before the throne and worshiped God, 7:12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
Wahyu 5:9
Konteks5:9 They were singing a new song: 91
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 92
and at the cost of your own blood 93 you have purchased 94 for God
persons 95 from every tribe, language, 96 people, and nation.
Wahyu 14:3
Konteks14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No 97 one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.
Wahyu 15:3
Konteks15:3 They 98 sang the song of Moses the servant 99 of God and the song of the Lamb: 100
“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful! 101
Just 102 and true are your ways,
King over the nations! 103
Wahyu 19:1-6
Konteks19:1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
19:2 because his judgments are true and just. 104
For he has judged 105 the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,
and has avenged the blood of his servants 106 poured out by her own hands!” 107
19:3 Then 108 a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. 109 19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground 110 and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: “Amen! Hallelujah!”
19:5 Then 111 a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God
all you his servants,
and all you who fear Him,
both the small and the great!”
19:6 Then 112 I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting: 113
“Hallelujah!
[15:1] 1 sn This chapter is a song of praise sung by Moses and the people right after the deliverance from the Sea. The song itself is vv. 1b-18; it falls into three sections – praise to God (1b-3), the cause for the praise (4-13), and the conclusion (14-18). The point of the first section is that God’s saving acts inspire praise from his people; the second is that God’s powerful acts deliver his people from the forces of evil; and the third section is that God’s demonstrations of his sovereignty inspire confidence in him by his people. So the Victory Song is very much like the other declarative praise psalms – the resolve to praise, the power of God, the victory over the enemies, the incomparability of God in his redemption, and the fear of the people. See also C. Cohen, “Studies in Early Israelite Poetry I: An Unrecognized Case of Three Line Staircase Parallelism in the Song of the Sea,” JANESCU 7 (1975): 13-17; D. N. Freedman, “Strophe and Meter in Exodus 15,” A Light unto My Path, 163-203; E. Levine, “Neofiti I: A Study of Exodus 15,” Bib 54 (1973): 301-30; T. C. Butler, “‘The Song of the Sea’: Exodus 15:1-18: A Study in the Exegesis of Hebrew Poetry,” DissAb 32 (1971): 2782-A.
[15:1] 2 tn The verb is יָשִׁיר (yashir), a normal imperfect tense form. But after the adverb “then” this form is to be treated as a preterite (see GKC 314-15 §107.c).
[15:1] 3 tn Heb “and they said, saying.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:1] 4 tn The form is the singular cohortative, expressing the resolution of Moses to sing the song of praise (“I will” being stronger than “I shall”).
[15:1] 5 tn This causal clause gives the reason for and summary of the praise. The Hebrew expression has כִּי־גָּאֹה גָּאָה (ki ga’oh ga’ah). The basic idea of the verb is “rise up loftily” or “proudly.” But derivatives of the root carry the nuance of majesty or pride (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 132). So the idea of the perfect tense with its infinitive absolute may mean “he is highly exalted” or “he has done majestically” or “he is gloriously glorious.”
[15:1] 6 sn The common understanding is that Egypt did not have people riding horses at this time, and so the phrase the horse and its rider is either viewed as an anachronism or is interpreted to mean charioteers. The word “to ride” can mean on a horse or in a chariot. Some have suggested changing “rider” to “chariot” (re-vocalization) to read “the horse and its chariot.”
[1:3] 7 tn Grk “while being quite diligent to write to you,” or “while making all haste to write to you.” Two issues are at stake: (1) whether σπουδή (spoudh) here means diligence, eagerness, or haste; (2) whether ποιούμενος γράφειν (poioumeno" grafein) is to be taken conatively (“I was about to write”) or progressively (“I was writing”). Without knowing more of the background, it is difficult to tell which option is to be preferred.
[1:3] 8 tn Grk “I had the necessity.” The term ἀνάγκη (anankh, “necessity”) often connotes urgency or distress. In this context, Jude is indicating that the more comprehensive treatment about the faith shared between himself and his readers was not nearly as urgent as the letter he found it now necessary to write.
[1:3] 9 tn Grk “encouraging.” Παρακαλῶν (parakalwn) is most likely a telic participle. In keeping with other participles of purpose, it is present tense and occurs after the main verb.
[1:3] 10 tn the verb ἐπαγωνίζομαι (epagwnizomai) is an intensive form of ἀγωνίζομαι (agwnizomai). As such, the notion of struggling, fighting, contending, etc. is heightened.
[1:3] 11 tn Τῇ πίστει (th pistei) here is taken as a dative of advantage (“on behalf of the faith”). Though rare (see BDAG 820 s.v. 3), it is not unexampled and must have this meaning here.
[1:3] sn The term “faith” has a variety of meanings in the NT. Here, the faith refers to the doctrinal content embraced by believers rather than the act of believing. Rather than discuss the points of agreement that Jude would have with these believers, because of the urgency of the present situation he must assume that these believers were well grounded and press on to encourage them to fight for this common belief.
[1:3] 12 sn The adverb once for all (ἅπαξ, Japax) seems to indicate that the doctrinal convictions of the early church had been substantially codified. That is to say, Jude could appeal to written documents of the Christian faith in his arguments with the false teachers. Most likely, these documents were the letters of Paul and perhaps one or more gospels. First and Second Peter may also have been among the documents Jude has in mind (see also the note on the phrase entrusted to the saints in this verse).
[1:3] 13 sn I now feel compelled instead…saints. Apparently news of some crisis has reached Jude, prompting him to write a different letter than what he had originally planned. A plausible scenario (assuming authenticity of 2 Peter or at least that there are authentic Petrine snippets in it) is that after Peter’s death, Jude intended to write to the same Gentile readers that Peter had written to (essentially, Paul’s churches). Jude starts by affirming that the gospel the Gentiles had received from Paul was the same as the one the Jewish Christians had received from the other apostles (our common salvation). But in the midst of writing this letter, Jude felt that the present crisis deserved another, shorter piece. The crisis, as the letter reveals, is that the false teachers whom Peter prophesied have now infiltrated the church. The letter of Jude is thus an ad hoc letter, intended to confirm the truth of Peter’s letter and encourage the saints to ground their faith in the written documents of the nascent church, rather than listen to the twisted gospel of the false teachers. In large measure, the letter of Jude illustrates the necessity of clinging to the authority of scripture as opposed to those who claim to be prophets.
[5:1] 14 tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.
[5:1] 15 sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.
[5:1] 16 tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).
[5:2] 17 tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.
[5:2] 18 tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).
[5:2] sn At this point the love song turns sour as the Lord himself breaks in and completes the story (see vv. 3-6). In the final line of v. 2 the love song presented to the Lord becomes a judgment speech by the Lord.
[5:3] 19 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:3] 20 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
[5:5] 21 tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”
[5:5] 22 tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).
[5:6] 23 tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.
[5:7] 24 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[5:7] 25 tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[5:7] 26 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
[5:7] 27 tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
[5:7] 28 tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
[5:8] 29 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death.
[5:8] 30 tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”
[5:8] sn This verse does not condemn real estate endeavors per se, but refers to the way in which the rich bureaucrats of Judah accumulated property by exploiting the poor, in violation of the covenantal principle that the land belonged to God and that every family was to have its own portion of land. See the note at 1:23.
[5:8] 31 tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.”
[5:8] 32 tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.”
[5:9] 33 tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[5:9] 34 tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”
[5:10] 35 tn Heb “a ten-yoke vineyard.” The Hebrew term צֶמֶד (tsemed, “yoke”) is here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown.
[5:10] 36 tn Heb “one bath.” A bath was a liquid measure. Estimates of its modern equivalent range from approximately six to twelve gallons.
[5:10] 37 tn Heb “a homer.” A homer was a dry measure, the exact size of which is debated. Cf. NCV “ten bushels”; CEV “five bushels.”
[5:10] 38 tn Heb “an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure; there were ten ephahs in a homer. So this verse envisions major crop failure, where only one-tenth of the anticipated harvest is realized.
[5:11] 39 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who arise early in the morning, [who] chase beer.”
[5:11] 40 tn Heb “[who] delay until dark, [until] wine enflames them.”
[5:11] sn This verse does not condemn drinking per se, but refers to the carousing lifestyle of the rich bureaucrats, made possible by wealth taken from the poor. Their carousing is not the fundamental problem, but a disgusting symptom of the real disease – their social injustice.
[5:12] 41 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
[5:12] 42 tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).
[5:13] 43 sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.
[5:13] 44 tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.
[5:13] 45 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
[5:13] 46 tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (mÿtey, “men of”) as מִתֵי (mitey, “dead ones of”).
[5:13] 47 tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”
[5:13] 48 tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”
[5:14] 49 tn Heb “Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); the underworld, the land of the dead, according to the OT world view. Cf. NAB “the nether world”; TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NLT “the grave.”
[5:14] 50 tn Heb “so Sheol will make wide its throat, and open its mouth without limit.”
[5:14] sn Death is portrayed in both the OT (Prov 1:12; Hab 2:5) and Canaanite myth as voraciously swallowing up its prey. In the myths Death is portrayed as having “a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens … and a tongue to the stars.” (G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 69, text 5 ii 2-3.) Death describes his own appetite as follows: “But my appetite is the appetite of lions in the waste…If it is in very truth my desire to consume ‘clay’ [a reference to his human victims], then in truth by the handfuls I must eat it, whether my seven portions [indicating fullness and completeness] are already in the bowl or whether Nahar [the god of the river responsible for ferrying victims from the land of the living to the land of the dead] has to mix the cup.” (Driver, 68-69, text 5 i 14-22).
[5:14] 51 tn Heb “and her splendor and her masses will go down, and her tumult and the one who exults in her.” The antecedent of the four feminine singular pronominal suffixes used in v. 14b is unclear. The likely referent is personified Zion/Jerusalem (see 3:25-26; 4:4-5).
[5:15] 52 tn Heb “men are brought down, men are brought low, the eyes of pride are brought low.”
[5:16] 53 tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”
[5:16] 54 tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.
[5:16] 55 tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.
[5:16] sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.
[5:17] 56 tn Or “young rams”; NIV, NCV “sheep”; NLT “flocks.”
[5:17] 57 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and ruins, fatlings, resident aliens, will eat.” This part of the verse has occasioned various suggestions of emendation. The parallelism is tighter if the second line refers to animals grazing. The translation, “amid the ruins the fatlings and young sheep graze,” assumes an emendation of “resident aliens” (גָּרִים, garim) to “young goats/sheep” (גְּדַיִם, gÿdayim) – confusion of dalet and resh is quite common – and understands “fatlings” and “young sheep” taken as a compound subject or as in apposition as the subject of the verb. However, no emendations are necessary if the above translation is correct. The meaning of מֵחִים (mekhim) has a significant impact on one’s textual decision and translation. The noun can refer to a sacrificial (“fat”) animal as it does in its only other occurrence (Ps 66:15). However, it could signify the rich of the earth (“the fat ones of the earth”; Ps 22:29 [MT 30]) using a different word for “fatness” (דָּשֶׁן, dashen). If so, it serves a figurative reference to the rich. Consequently, the above translation coheres with the first half of the verse. Just as the sheep are out of place grazing in these places (“as in their pasture”), the sojourners would not have expected to have the chance to eat in these locations. Both animals and itinerant foreigners would eat in places not normal for them.
[5:17] sn The image completes the picture begun in v. 14 and adds to the irony. When judgment comes, Sheol will eat up the sinners who frequent the feasts; then the banqueting halls will lie in ruins and only sheep will eat there.
[5:18] 58 sn See the note at v. 8.
[5:18] 59 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Woe to those who pull evil with the ropes of emptiness, and, as [with] ropes of a cart, sin.” Though several textual details are unclear, the basic idea is apparent. The sinners are so attached to their sinful ways (compared here to a heavy load) that they strain to drag them along behind them. If שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness”) is retained, it makes a further comment on their lifestyle, denouncing it as one that is devoid of what is right and destined to lead to nothing but destruction. Because “emptiness” does not form a very tight parallel with “cart” in the next line, some emend שָׁוְא to שֶׂה (she, “sheep”) and עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) to עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”): “Those who pull evil along with a sheep halter are as good as dead who pull sin with a calf rope” (following the lead of the LXX and improving the internal parallelism of the verse). In this case, the verse pictures the sinners pulling sin along behind them as one pulls an animal with a halter. For a discussion of this view, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:163, n. 1. Nevertheless, this emendation is unnecessary. The above translation emphasizes the folly of the Israelites who hold on to their sin (and its punishment) even while they hope for divine intervention.
[5:19] 60 tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.
[5:19] 61 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[5:19] 62 tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”
[5:20] 63 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8.
[5:20] 64 sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness.
[5:21] 65 tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.
[5:21] 66 tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”
[5:21] sn Verses 18-21 contain three “woe-sayings” that are purely accusatory and have no formal announcement of judgment attached (as in the “woe-sayings” recorded in vv. 8-17). While this lack of symmetry is odd, it has a clear rhetorical purpose. Having established a pattern in vv. 8-17, the prophet deviates from it in vv. 18-21 to grab his audience’s attention. By placing the “woes” in rapid succession and heaping up the accusatory elements, he highlights the people’s guilt and introduces an element of tension and anticipation. One is reasonably certain that judgment will come, and when it does, it will be devastating. This anticipated devastation is described in frightening detail after the sixth and final woe (see vv. 22-30).
[5:22] 67 tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors.
[5:22] 68 tn Heb “Woe [to]….” See the note at v. 8.
[5:23] 69 tn Heb “and the just cause of the innocent ones they turn aside from him.”
[5:23] sn In vv. 22-23 the prophet returns to themes with which he opened his speech. The accusatory elements of vv. 8, 11-12, 18-23 are arranged in a chiastic manner: (A) social injustice (8), (B) carousing (11-12a), (C) spiritual insensitivity (12b) // (C') spiritual insensitivity (18-21), (B') carousing (22), (A') social injustice (23).
[5:24] 70 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
[5:24] 71 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
[5:24] 73 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[5:25] 74 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”
[5:25] 75 tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”
[5:25] 76 tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”
[5:25] 77 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
[5:26] 78 tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.
[5:26] 79 tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.
[5:27] 80 tn Heb “and the belt on his waist is not opened, and the thong of his sandals is not torn in two.”
[5:28] 81 tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”
[5:28] 82 tn Heb “regarded like flint.”
[5:28] 83 sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.
[5:30] 84 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[5:30] 85 tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:30] 86 tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”
[5:30] 87 tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”
[5:30] sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).
[7:10] 88 tn The dative here has been translated as a dative of possession.
[7:11] 89 tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.
[7:11] 90 tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
[5:9] 91 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
[5:9] 92 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
[5:9] 93 tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”
[5:9] 94 tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few
[5:9] 95 tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[5:9] 96 tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[14:3] 97 tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[15:3] 98 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
[15:3] 99 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
[15:3] 100 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[15:3] 101 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
[15:3] 102 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
[15:3] 103 tc Certain
[19:2] 104 tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.
[19:2] 105 tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.
[19:2] 106 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
[19:2] 107 tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).
[19:3] 108 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
[19:3] 109 tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”
[19:4] 110 tn Grk “creatures fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
[19:5] 111 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
[19:6] 112 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
[19:6] 113 tn Grk “like the voice of a large crowd…saying.” Because of the complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”
[19:6] 114 tc Several
[19:6] 115 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22…κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ π. Rv 19:6.”
