Amsal 23:29-35

23:29 Who has woe? ¹  Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness ²  of the eyes?

23:30 Those who linger over wine,

those who go looking for mixed wine. ³ 

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles ⁴  in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly. ⁵ 

23:32 Afterward ⁶  it bites like a snake,

and stings like a viper.

23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, ⁷ 

and your mind will speak perverse things.

23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst ⁸  of the sea,

and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. ⁹ 

23:35 You will say, ¹⁰  “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!

They beat me, but I did not know it! ¹¹ 

When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” ¹² 

Amsal 31:4

31:4 It is not for kings, ¹³  O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine, ¹⁴ 

or for rulers to crave strong drink, ¹⁵ 

Kejadian 9:21-23

9:21 When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself ¹⁶  inside his tent. 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, ¹⁷  saw his father’s nakedness ¹⁸  and told his two brothers who were outside. 9:23 Shem and Japheth took the garment ¹⁹  and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned ²⁰  the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness.

Kejadian 19:31-36

19:31 Later the older daughter said ²¹  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ²²  to have sexual relations with us, ²³  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ²⁴  so we can have sexual relations ²⁵  with him and preserve ²⁶  our family line through our father.” ²⁷ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ²⁸  and the older daughter ²⁹  came and had sexual relations with her father. ³⁰  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ³¹  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ³²  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ³³  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ³⁴  19:35 So they made their father drunk ³⁵  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ³⁶  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ³⁷ 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

Kejadian 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ³⁸  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ³⁹  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

1 Samuel 25:36-38

25:36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time ⁴⁰  and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing ⁴¹  until morning’s light. 25:37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, ⁴²  his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. ⁴³  25:38 After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.

1 Samuel 25:2

David Marries Abigail the Widow of Nabal

25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; ⁴⁴  he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

1 Samuel 11:13

11:13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!”

1 Samuel 11:2

11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

1 Samuel 13:1

Saul Fails the Lord

13:1 Saul was [thirty] ⁴⁵  years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] ⁴⁶  years.

1 Samuel 13:1

Saul Fails the Lord

13:1 Saul was [thirty] ⁴⁷  years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] ⁴⁸  years.

Kisah Para Rasul 20:16-21

20:16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus ⁴⁹  so as not to spend time ⁵⁰  in the province of Asia, ⁵¹  for he was hurrying ⁵²  to arrive in Jerusalem, ⁵³  if possible, ⁵⁴  by the day of Pentecost. 20:17 From Miletus ⁵⁵  he sent a message ⁵⁶  to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him. ⁵⁷ 

20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ⁵⁸  the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ⁵⁹  in the province of Asia, ⁶⁰  20:19 serving the Lord with all humility ⁶¹  and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots ⁶²  of the Jews. 20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming ⁶³  to you anything that would be helpful, ⁶⁴  and from teaching you publicly ⁶⁵  and from house to house, 20:21 testifying ⁶⁶  to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. ⁶⁷ 

Yesaya 28:7

28:7 Even these men ⁶⁸  stagger because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer –

priests and prophets stagger because of beer,

they are confused ⁶⁹  because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer;

they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, ⁷⁰ 

they totter while making legal decisions. ⁷¹ 

Hosea 4:11

Judgment of Pagan Idolatry and Cultic Prostitution

4:11 Old and new wine

take away the understanding of my people. ⁷² 

Hosea 7:5

7:5 At the celebration ⁷³  of their king, ⁷⁴ 

his princes become inflamed ⁷⁵  with wine;

they conspire ⁷⁶  with evildoers.

Habakuk 2:15-16

2:15 “You who force your neighbor to drink wine ⁷⁷  are as good as dead ⁷⁸  –

you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, ⁷⁹ 

so you can look at their genitals. ⁸⁰ 

2:16 But you will become drunk ⁸¹  with shame, not majesty. ⁸² 

Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin! ⁸³ 

The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand ⁸⁴  is coming to you,

and disgrace will replace your majestic glory!

Habakuk 2:1

2:1 I will stand at my watch post;

I will remain stationed on the city wall. ⁸⁵ 

I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me

and can know ⁸⁶  how I should answer

when he counters my argument. ⁸⁷ 

Kolose 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ⁸⁸  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁸⁹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Galatia 5:21

5:21 envying, ⁹⁰  murder, ⁹¹  drunkenness, carousing, ⁹²  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Efesus 5:18

5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, which ⁹³  is debauchery, ⁹⁴  but be filled by the Spirit, ⁹⁵ 

[23:29]  ¹ sn The eighteenth saying is about excessive drinking. The style changes here as the sage breaks into a vivid use of the imagination. It begins with a riddle describing the effects of drunkenness (v. 29) and gives the answer in v. 30; instructions follow in v. 31, with the consequences described in v. 32; the direct address continues in vv. 33 and 34; and the whole subject is concluded with the drunkard’s own words in v. 35 (M. E. Andrews, “Variety of Expression in Proverbs 23:29-35,” VT 28 [1978]: 102-3).

[23:29]  ² sn The Hebrew word translated “dullness” describes darkness or dullness of the eyes due to intoxication, perhaps “redness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NCV, NLT “bloodshot eyes.” NAB understands the situation differently: “black eyes.”

[23:30]  ³ sn The answer to the question posed in v. 29 is obviously one who drinks too much, which this verse uses metonymies to point out. Lingering over wine is an adjunct of drinking more wine; and seeking mixed wine obviously means with the effect or the purpose of drinking it.

[23:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.

[23:31]  ⁵ tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.

[23:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “its end”; NASB “At the last”; TEV (interpretively) “The next morning.”

[23:33]  ⁷ tn The feminine plural of זָר (zar, “strange things”) refers to the trouble one has in seeing and speaking when drunk.

[23:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “heart.” The idiom here means “middle”; KJV “in the midst.”

[23:34]  ⁹ sn The point of these similes is to compare being drunk with being seasick. One who tries to sleep when at sea, or even worse, when up on the ropes of the mast, will be tossed back and forth.

[23:35]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “You will say” is supplied in the translation to make it clear that the drunkard is now speaking.

[23:35]  ¹¹ sn The line describes how one who is intoxicated does not feel the pain, even though beaten by others. He does not even remember it.

[23:35]  ¹² tn The last line has only “I will add I will seek it again.” The use of אוֹסִיף (’osif) signals a verbal hendiadys with the next verb: “I will again seek it.” In this context the suffix on the verb refers to the wine – the drunkard wants to go and get another drink.

[31:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “[It is] not for kings.”

[31:4]  ¹⁴ sn This second warning for kings concerns the use of alcohol. If this passage is meant to prohibit any use of alcohol by kings, it would be unheard of in any ancient royal court. What is probably meant is an excessive and unwarranted use of alcohol, or a troubling need for it, so that the meaning is “to drink wine in excess” (cf. NLT “to guzzle wine”; CEV “should not get drunk”). The danger, of course, would be that excessive use of alcohol would cloud the mind and deprive a king of true administrative ability and justice.

[31:4]  ¹⁵ tn The MT has אֵו (’ev), a Kethib/Qere reading. The Kethib is אוֹ (’o) but the Qere is אֵי (’ey). Some follow the Qere and take the word as a shortened form of וַֹיֵּה, “where?” This would mean the ruler would be always asking for drink (cf. ASV). Others reconstruct to אַוֵּה (’avveh, “to desire; to crave”). In either case, the verse would be saying that a king is not to be wanting/seeking alcohol.

[31:4]  tn Here “strong drink” probably refers to barley beer (cf. NIV, NCV “beer”).

[9:21]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb גָּלָה (galah) in the Hitpael verbal stem (וַיִּתְגַּל, vayyitggal) means “to uncover oneself” or “to be uncovered.” Noah became overheated because of the wine and uncovered himself in the tent.

[9:22]  ¹⁷ sn For the second time (see v. 18) the text informs the reader of the relationship between Ham and Canaan. Genesis 10 will explain that Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes living in the promised land.

[9:22]  ¹⁸ tn Some would translate “had sexual relations with,” arguing that Ham committed a homosexual act with his drunken father for which he was cursed. However, the expression “see nakedness” usually refers to observation of another’s nakedness, not a sexual act (see Gen 42:9, 12 where “nakedness” is used metaphorically to convey the idea of “weakness” or “vulnerability”; Deut 23:14 where “nakedness” refers to excrement; Isa 47:3; Ezek 16:37; Lam 1:8). The following verse (v. 23) clearly indicates that visual observation, not a homosexual act, is in view here. In Lev 20:17 the expression “see nakedness” does appear to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse, but the context there, unlike that of Gen 9:22, clearly indicates that in that passage sexual contact is in view. The expression “see nakedness” does not in itself suggest a sexual connotation. Some relate Gen 9:22 to Lev 18:6-11, 15-19, where the expression “uncover [another’s] nakedness” (the Piel form of גָּלָה, galah) refers euphemistically to sexual intercourse. However, Gen 9:22 does not say Ham “uncovered” the nakedness of his father. According to the text, Noah uncovered himself; Ham merely saw his father naked. The point of the text is that Ham had no respect for his father. Rather than covering his father up, he told his brothers. Noah then gave an oracle that Ham’s descendants, who would be characterized by the same moral abandonment, would be cursed. Leviticus 18 describes that greater evil of the Canaanites (see vv. 24-28).

[9:22]  sn Saw the nakedness. It is hard for modern people to appreciate why seeing another’s nakedness was such an abomination, because nakedness is so prevalent today. In the ancient world, especially in a patriarchal society, seeing another’s nakedness was a major offense. (See the account in Herodotus, Histories 1.8-13, where a general saw the nakedness of his master’s wife, and one of the two had to be put to death.) Besides, Ham was not a little boy wandering into his father’s bedroom; he was over a hundred years old by this time. For fuller discussion see A. P. Ross, “The Curse of Canaan,” BSac 137 (1980): 223-40.

[9:23]  ¹⁹ tn The word translated “garment” has the Hebrew definite article on it. The article may simply indicate that the garment is definite and vivid in the mind of the narrator, but it could refer instead to Noah’s garment. Did Ham bring it out when he told his brothers?

[9:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “their faces [were turned] back.”

[19:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

[19:31]  ²² tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

[19:31]  ²³ tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:32]  ²⁴ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:32]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

[19:32]  ²⁶ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

[19:32]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:32]  sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.

[19:33]  ²⁸ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:33]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:33]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[19:33]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

[19:34]  ³² tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:34]  ³³ tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

[19:34]  ³⁴ tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

[19:35]  ³⁵ tn Heb “drink wine.”

[19:35]  ³⁶ tn Heb “lied down with him.”

[19:35]  ³⁷ tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

[19:1]  ³⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[19:1]  sn The expression sitting in the city’s gateway may mean that Lot was exercising some type of judicial function (see the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 19:8; Jer 26:10; 38:7; 39:3).

[25:36]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”

[25:36]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”

[25:37]  ⁴² tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.”

[25:37]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness.

[25:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “great.”

[13:1]  ⁴⁵ tc The MT does not have “thirty.” A number appears to have dropped out of the Hebrew text here, since as it stands the MT (literally, “a son of a year”) must mean that Saul was only one year old when he began to reign! The KJV, attempting to resolve this, reads “Saul reigned one year,” but that is not the normal meaning of the Hebrew text represented by the MT. Although most LXX mss lack the entire verse, some Greek mss have “thirty years” here (while others have “one year” like the MT). The Syriac Peshitta has Saul’s age as twenty-one. But this seems impossible to harmonize with the implied age of Saul’s son Jonathan in the following verse. Taking into account the fact that in v. 2 Jonathan was old enough to be a military leader, some scholars prefer to supply in v. 1 the number forty (cf. ASV, NASB). The present translation (“thirty”) is a possible but admittedly uncertain proposal based on a few Greek mss and followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT). Other English versions simply supply ellipsis marks for the missing number (e.g., NAB, NRSV).

[13:1]  ⁴⁶ tc The MT has “two years” here. If this number is to be accepted as correct, the meaning apparently would be that after a lapse of two years at the beginning of Saul’s reign, he then went about the task of consolidating an army as described in what follows (cf. KJV, ASV, CEV). But if the statement in v. 1 is intended to be a comprehensive report on the length of Saul’s reign, the number is too small. According to Acts 13:21 Saul reigned for forty years. Some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT), taking this forty to be a round number, add it to the “two years” of the MT and translate the number in 2 Sam 13:1 as “forty-two years.” While this is an acceptable option, the present translation instead replaces the MT’s “two” with the figure “forty.” Admittedly the textual evidence for this decision is weak, but the same can be said of any attempt to restore sense to this difficult text (note the ellipsis marks at this point in NAB, NRSV). The Syriac Peshitta lacks this part of v. 1.

[13:1]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT does not have “thirty.” A number appears to have dropped out of the Hebrew text here, since as it stands the MT (literally, “a son of a year”) must mean that Saul was only one year old when he began to reign! The KJV, attempting to resolve this, reads “Saul reigned one year,” but that is not the normal meaning of the Hebrew text represented by the MT. Although most LXX mss lack the entire verse, some Greek mss have “thirty years” here (while others have “one year” like the MT). The Syriac Peshitta has Saul’s age as twenty-one. But this seems impossible to harmonize with the implied age of Saul’s son Jonathan in the following verse. Taking into account the fact that in v. 2 Jonathan was old enough to be a military leader, some scholars prefer to supply in v. 1 the number forty (cf. ASV, NASB). The present translation (“thirty”) is a possible but admittedly uncertain proposal based on a few Greek mss and followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT). Other English versions simply supply ellipsis marks for the missing number (e.g., NAB, NRSV).

[13:1]  ⁴⁸ tc The MT has “two years” here. If this number is to be accepted as correct, the meaning apparently would be that after a lapse of two years at the beginning of Saul’s reign, he then went about the task of consolidating an army as described in what follows (cf. KJV, ASV, CEV). But if the statement in v. 1 is intended to be a comprehensive report on the length of Saul’s reign, the number is too small. According to Acts 13:21 Saul reigned for forty years. Some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT), taking this forty to be a round number, add it to the “two years” of the MT and translate the number in 2 Sam 13:1 as “forty-two years.” While this is an acceptable option, the present translation instead replaces the MT’s “two” with the figure “forty.” Admittedly the textual evidence for this decision is weak, but the same can be said of any attempt to restore sense to this difficult text (note the ellipsis marks at this point in NAB, NRSV). The Syriac Peshitta lacks this part of v. 1.

[20:16]  ⁴⁹ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[20:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “so that he might not have to spend time.” L&N 67.79 has “ὅπως μὴ γένηται αὐτῷ χρονοτριβῆσαι ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίᾳ ‘so as not to spend any time in the province of Asia’ Ac 20:16.”

[20:16]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[20:16]  ⁵² tn Or “was eager.”

[20:16]  ⁵³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[20:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “if it could be to him” (an idiom).

[20:17]  ⁵⁵ sn Miletus was a seaport on the western coast of Asia Minor about 45 mi (72 km) south of Ephesus.

[20:17]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[20:17]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. L&N 33.311 has for the verb μετακαλέομαι (metakaleomai) “to summon someone, with considerable insistence and authority – ‘to summon, to tell to come.’”

[20:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.

[20:18]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”

[20:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.

[20:19]  ⁶¹ sn On humility see 2 Cor 10:1; 11:7; 1 Thess 2:6; Col 3:12; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-11.

[20:19]  ⁶² sn These plots are mentioned in Acts 9:24; 20:13.

[20:20]  ⁶³ tn Or “declaring.”

[20:20]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “profitable.” BDAG 960 s.v. συμφέρω 2.b.α has “τὰ συμφέροντα what advances your best interests or what is good for you Ac 20:20,” but the broader meaning (s.v. 2, “to be advantageous, help, confer a benefit, be profitable/useful”) is equally possible in this context.

[20:20]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “openly.”

[20:21]  ⁶⁶ tn BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 1 has “testify of, bear witness to (orig. under oath)…of repentance to Judeans and Hellenes Ac 20:21.”

[20:21]  ⁶⁷ tc Several mss, including some of the more important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א Α C [D] E 33 36 323 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 pm and a number of versions), read Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) at the end of this verse. This word is lacking in B H L P Ψ 614 pm. Although the inclusion is supported by many earlier and better mss, internal evidence is on the side of the omission: In Acts, both “Lord Jesus” and “Lord Jesus Christ” occur, though between 16:31 and the end of the book “Lord Jesus Christ” appears only in 28:31, perhaps as a kind of climactic assertion. Thus, the shorter reading is to be preferred.

[20:21]  sn Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. Note the twofold description of the message. It is a turning to God involving faith in Jesus Christ.

[28:7]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.

[28:7]  ⁶⁹ tn According to HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע, the verb form is derived from בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”), not the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”). See earlier notes at 3:12 and 9:16.

[28:7]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “in the seeing.”

[28:7]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”

[4:11]  ⁷² tn Heb “take away the heart of my people.” The present translation assumes that the first word of v. 12 in the Hebrew text is to be construed with the noun at the end of v. 11 (so also TEV, CEV, NLT).

[7:5]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the day of” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “On the day of the festival of our king”; NLT “On royal holidays.”

[7:5]  ⁷⁴ tc The MT preserves the awkward 1st person common plural suffix reading מַלְכֵּנוּ (malakenu, “our king”). The BHS editors suggest reading the 3rd person masculine plural suffix מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”; so CEV), as reflected in the Aramaic Targum.

[7:5]  ⁷⁵ tc The MT vocalizes the consonants החלו as הֶחֱלוּ a Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from I חָלָה (“to become sick”). However, this is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest revocalizing it as Hiphil infinitive construct + 3rd person masculine singular suffix from חָלַל (khalal, “to begin”) or Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural from חָלַל. For a discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:240.

[7:5]  tn Heb “when their king began [to reign].”

[7:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “he joined hands”; NCV “make agreements.”

[2:15]  ⁷⁷ tn No direct object is present after “drink” in the Hebrew text. “Wine” is implied, however, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ⁷⁸ tn On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:15]  ⁷⁹ tc Heb “pouring out your anger and also making drunk”; or “pouring out your anger and [by] rage making drunk.” The present translation assumes that the final khet (ח) on מְסַפֵּחַ (misapeakh, “pouring”) is dittographic and that the form should actually be read מִסַּף (missaf, “from a bowl”).

[2:15]  sn Forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger. The Babylonian’s harsh treatment of others is compared to intoxicating wine which the Babylonians force the nations to drink so they can humiliate them. Cf. the imagery in Rev 14:10.

[2:15]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “their nakedness,” a euphemism.

[2:15]  sn Metaphor and reality are probably blended here. This may refer to the practice of publicly humiliating prisoners of war by stripping them naked. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 124.

[2:16]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “are filled.” The translation assumes the verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of Babylon’s coming judgment, which will reduce the majestic empire to shame and humiliation.

[2:16]  ⁸² tn Or “glory.”

[2:16]  ⁸³ tc Heb “drink, even you, and show the foreskin.” Instead of הֵעָרֵל (he’arel, “show the foreskin”) one of the Dead Sea scrolls has הֵרָעֵל (hera’el, “stumble”). This reading also has support from several ancient versions and is followed by the NEB (“you too shall drink until you stagger”) and NRSV (“Drink, you yourself, and stagger”). For a defense of the Hebrew text, see P. D. Miller, Jr., Sin and Judgment in the Prophets, 63-64.

[2:16]  ⁸⁴ sn The Lord’s right hand represents his military power. He will force the Babylonians to experience the same humiliating defeat they inflicted on others.

[2:1]  ⁸⁵ sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.

[2:1]  ⁸⁶ tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:1]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”

[1:10]  ⁸⁸ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁸⁹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[5:21]  ⁹⁰ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ⁹¹ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21]  ⁹² tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[5:18]  ⁹³ tn Grk “in which.”

[5:18]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “dissipation.” See BDAG 148 s.v. ἀσωτία.

[5:18]  ⁹⁵ tn Many have taken ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati) as indicating content, i.e., one is to be filled with the Spirit. ExSyn 375 states, “There are no other examples in biblical Greek in which ἐν + the dative after πληρόω indicates content. Further, the parallel with οἴνῳ as well as the common grammatical category of means suggest that the idea intended is that believers are to be filled by means of the [Holy] Spirit. If so there seems to be an unnamed agent. The meaning of this text can only be fully appreciated in light of the πληρόω language in Ephesians. Always the term is used in connection with a member of the Trinity. Three considerations seem to be key: (1) In Eph 3:19 the ‘hinge’ prayer introducing the last half of the letter makes a request that the believers ‘be filled with all the fullness of God’ (πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ). The explicit content of πληρόω is thus God’s fullness (probably a reference to his moral attributes). (2) In 4:10 Christ is said to be the agent of filling (with v. 11 adding the specifics of his giving spiritual gifts). (3) The author then brings his argument to a crescendo in 5:18: Believers are to be filled by Christ by means of the Spirit with the content of the fullness of God.”