Yeremia 50:25

50:25 I have opened up the place where my weapons are stored. ¹ 

I have brought out the weapons for carrying out my wrath. ² 

For I, the Lord God who rules over all, ³ 

have work to carry out in the land of Babylonia. ⁴ 

Bilangan 31:14-18

The Death of the Midianite Women

31:14 But Moses was furious with the officers of the army, the commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 31:15 Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live? ⁵  31:16 Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor – which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord! 31:17 Now therefore kill every boy, ⁶  and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man. ⁷  31:18 But all the young women ⁸  who have not had sexual intercourse with a man ⁹  will be yours. ¹⁰ 

Yudas 1:23

1:23 save ¹¹  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ¹²  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ¹³  hating even the clothes stained ¹⁴  by the flesh. ¹⁵ 

Yudas 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ¹⁶  a slave ¹⁷  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ¹⁸  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ¹⁹  God the Father and kept for ²⁰  Jesus Christ.

1 Samuel 15:3

15:3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare ²¹  them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”

1 Samuel 15:9

15:9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, ²²  and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. ²³  They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised ²⁴  and worthless.

1 Samuel 15:13-35

15:13 When Samuel came to him, ²⁵  Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”

15:14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case, ²⁶  then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15:15 Saul said, “They were brought ²⁷  from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”

15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! ²⁸  Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul ²⁹  said to him, “Tell me.” 15:17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose ³⁰  you as king over Israel. 15:18 The Lord sent you on a campaign ³¹  saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you ³²  have destroyed them.’ 15:19 Why haven’t you obeyed ³³  the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.” ³⁴ 

15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed ³⁵  the Lord! I went on the campaign ³⁶  the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 15:21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ³⁷ 

Certainly, ³⁸  obedience ³⁹  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ⁴⁰  the fat of rams.

15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as ⁴¹  king.”

15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ⁴²  and what you said as well. ⁴³  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ⁴⁴  15:25 Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship ⁴⁵  the Lord.”

15:26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul ⁴⁶  grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 15:29 The Preeminent One ⁴⁷  of Israel does not go back on his word ⁴⁸  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ⁴⁹  15:30 Saul ⁵⁰  again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.” 15:31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Samuel Puts Agag to Death

15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, ⁵¹  thinking to himself, ⁵²  “Surely death is bitter!” ⁵³  15:33 Samuel said, “Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!” Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord.

15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 15:35 Until the day he ⁵⁴  died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 15:1

Saul Is Rejected as King

15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. ⁵⁵ 

Kisah Para Rasul 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ⁵⁶  them and saying farewell, ⁵⁷  he left to go to Macedonia. ⁵⁸ 

[50:25]  ¹ tn Or “I have opened up my armory.”

[50:25]  ² tn Heb “The Lord has opened up his armory and has brought out the weapons of his wrath.” The problem of the Lord referring to himself in the third person (or of the prophet speaking on his behalf) is again raised here and is again resolved by using the first person throughout. The construction “weapons of my wrath” would not convey any meaning to many readers so the significance has been spelled out in the translation.

[50:25]  sn The weapons are the nations which God is bringing from the north against them. Reference has already been made in the study notes that Assyria is the “rod” or “war club” by which God vents his anger against Israel (Isa 10:5-6) and Babylon a hammer or war club with which he shatters the nations (Jer 50:23; 51:20). Now God will use other nations as weapons to execute his wrath against Babylon. For a similar idea see Isa 13:2-5 where reference is made to marshaling the nations against Babylon. Some of the nations that the Lord will marshal against Babylon are named in Jer 51:27-28.

[50:25]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering and the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

[50:25]  ⁴ tn The words “of Babylonia” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[50:25]  sn The verbs in vv. 22-25 are all descriptive of the present but, all of this is really to take place in the future. Hebrew poetry has a way of rendering future actions as though they were already accomplished. The poetry of this section makes it difficult, however, to render the verbs as future as the present translation has regularly done.

[31:15]  ⁵ tn The verb is the Piel perfect of the word חָיָה (khayah, “to live”). In the Piel stem it must here mean “preserve alive,” or “allow to live,” rather than make alive.

[31:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “every male among the little ones.”

[31:17]  sn The command in holy war to kill women and children seems in modern times a terrible thing to do (and it was), and something they ought not to have done. But this criticism fails to understand the situation in the ancient world. The entire life of the ancient world was tribal warfare. God’s judgment is poured out on whole groups of people who act with moral abandonment and in sinful pursuits. See E. J. Young, My Servants, the Prophets, 24; and J. W. Wenham, The Enigma of Evil.

[31:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “every woman who has known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[31:18]  ⁸ tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.

[31:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “who have not known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[31:18]  ¹⁰ sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.

[1:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and save.”

[1:23]  ¹² tn Grk “and have mercy.”

[1:23]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

[1:23]  ¹⁵ 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.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  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.”

[1:1]  ¹⁸ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[15:3]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps “don’t take pity on” (cf. CEV).

[15:9]  ²² tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. We should probably read וְהַמַּשְׂמַנִּים (vÿhammasmannim, “the fat ones”) rather than the MT וְהַמִּשְׂנִים (vÿhammisnim, “the second ones”). However, if the MT is retained, the sense may be as the Jewish commentator Kimchi supposed: the second-born young, thought to be better than the firstlings. (For discussion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 123-24.)

[15:9]  ²³ tn Heb “good.”

[15:9]  ²⁴ tc The MT has here the very odd form נְמִבְזָה (nÿmivzah), but this is apparently due to a scribal error. The translation follows instead the Niphal participle נִבְזָה (nivzah).

[15:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to Saul.”

[15:14]  ²⁶ tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they brought them.”

[15:16]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”

[15:16]  ²⁹ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular (“he said”) rather than the plural (“they said”) of the Kethib.

[15:16]  tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “anointed.”

[15:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “journey.”

[15:18]  ³² tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).

[15:19]  ³³ tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

[15:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “journey.”

[15:22]  ³⁷ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ³⁹ tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ⁴⁰ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[15:23]  ⁴¹ tn Or “from [being].”

[15:24]  ⁴² tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”

[15:24]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and your words.”

[15:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”

[15:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[15:27]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran ms and the LXX include the name “Saul” here.

[15:29]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

[15:29]  ⁴⁸ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

[15:29]  ⁴⁹ sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[15:30]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:32]  ⁵¹ tn The MT reading מַעֲדַנֹּת (ma’adannot, literally, “bonds,” used here adverbially, “in bonds”) is difficult. The word is found only here and in Job 38:31. Part of the problem lies in determining the root of the word. Some scholars have taken it to be from the root ענד (’nd, “to bind around”), but this assumes a metathesis of two of the letters of the root. Others take it from the root עדן (’dn) with the meaning “voluptuously,” but this does not seem to fit the context. It seems better to understand the word to be from the root מעד (m’d, “to totter” or “shake”). In that case it describes the fear that Agag experienced in realizing the mortal danger that he faced as he approached Samuel. This is the way that the LXX translators understood the word, rendering it by the Greek participle τρέμον (tremon, “trembling”).

[15:32]  ⁵² tn Heb “and Agag said.”

[15:32]  ⁵³ tc The text is difficult here. With the LXX, two Old Latin mss, and the Syriac Peshitta it is probably preferable to delete סָר (sar, “is past”) of the MT; it looks suspiciously like a dittograph of the following word מַר (mar, “bitter”). This further affects the interpretation of Agag’s comment. In the MT he comes to Samuel confidently assured that the danger is over (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” along with NLT, CEV). However, it seems more likely that Agag realized that his fortunes had suddenly taken a turn for the worse and that the clemency he had enjoyed from Saul would not be his lot from Samuel. The present translation thus understands Agag to approach not confidently but in the stark realization that his death is imminent (“Surely death is bitter!”). Cf. NAB “So it is bitter death!”; NRSV “Surely this is the bitterness of death”; TEV “What a bitter thing it is to die!”

[15:35]  ⁵⁴ tn That is, Samuel.

[15:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “to the voice of the words of the Lord” (so KJV).

[20:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ⁵⁸ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.