Zakharia 14:3

14:3 Then the Lord will go to battle ¹  and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days. ² 

Zakharia 14:13

14:13 On that day there will be great confusion from the Lord among them; they will seize each other and attack one another violently.

Ulangan 20:1

Laws Concerning War with Distant Enemies

20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry ³  and troops ⁴  who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

Yosua 10:14

10:14 There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed ⁵  a man, for the Lord fought for Israel!

Yosua 10:42

10:42 Joshua captured in one campaign ⁶  all these kings and their lands, for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.

Yesaya 8:9

8:9 You will be broken, ⁷  O nations;

you will be shattered! ⁸ 

Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! ⁹ 

Yesaya 41:12

41:12 When you will look for your opponents, ¹⁰  you will not find them;

your enemies ¹¹  will be reduced to absolutely nothing.

Yoel 3:12-17

3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up

to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

3:13 Rush forth with ¹²  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

Come, stomp the grapes, ¹³  for the winepress is full!

The vats overflow.

Indeed, their evil is great! ¹⁴ 

3:14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,

for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! ¹⁵ 

3:15 The sun and moon are darkened;

the stars withhold ¹⁶  their brightness.

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ¹⁷  his voice bellows out. ¹⁸ 

The heavens ¹⁹  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ²⁰  of Israel.

The Lord’s Presence in Zion

3:17 You will be convinced ²¹  that I the Lord am your God,

dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem ²²  will be holy –

conquering armies ²³  will no longer pass through it.

Matius 28:20

28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ²⁴  I am with you ²⁵  always, to the end of the age.” ²⁶ 

Roma 8:31-37

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who ²⁷  did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ²⁸  It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ ²⁹  is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁰  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³¹  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ³²  through him ³³  who loved us!

Roma 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ³⁴  in Christ Jesus has set you ³⁵  free from the law of sin and death.

Titus 1:7

1:7 For the overseer ³⁶  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ³⁷  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁸  a slave ³⁹  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ⁴⁰  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Wahyu 19:13-15

19:13 He is dressed in clothing dipped ⁴¹  in blood, and he is called ⁴²  the Word of God. 19:14 The ⁴³  armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, ⁴⁴  were following him on white horses. 19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ⁴⁵  He ⁴⁶  will rule ⁴⁷  them with an iron rod, ⁴⁸  and he stomps the winepress ⁴⁹  of the furious ⁵⁰  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ⁵¹ 

[14:3]  ¹ sn The statement the Lord will go to battle introduces the conflict known elsewhere as the “battle of Armageddon,” a battle in which the Lord delivers his people and establishes his millennial reign (cf. Joel 3:12, 15-16; Ezek 38–39; Rev 16:12-21; 19:19-21).

[14:3]  ² tn Heb “as he fights on a day of battle” (similar NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[20:1]  ³ tn Heb “horse and chariot.”

[20:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “people.”

[10:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “listened to the voice of.”

[10:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “at one time.”

[8:9]  ⁷ tn The verb רֹעוּ (ro’u) is a Qal imperative, masculine plural from רָעַע (ra’a’, “break”). Elsewhere both transitive (Job 34:24; Ps 2:9; Jer 15:12) and intransitive (Prov 25:19; Jer 11:16) senses are attested for the Qal of this verb. Because no object appears here, the form is likely intransitive: “be broken.” In this case the imperative is rhetorical (like “be shattered” later in the verse) and equivalent to a prediction, “you will be broken.” On the rhetorical use of the imperative in general, see IBHS 572 §34.4c; GKC 324 §110.c.

[8:9]  ⁸ tn The imperatival form (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speaker’s firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. See the note on “be broken.”

[8:9]  ⁹ tn The initial imperative (“get ready for battle”) acknowledges the reality of the nations’ hostility; the concluding imperative (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speakers’ firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. (See the note on “be broken.”) One could paraphrase, “Okay, go ahead and prepare for battle since that’s what you want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll be shattered.” This rhetorical use of the imperatives is comparable to saying to a child who is bent on climbing a high tree, “Okay, go ahead, climb the tree and break your arm!” What this really means is: “Okay, go ahead and climb the tree since that’s what you really want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll break your arm.” The repetition of the statement in the final two lines of the verse gives the challenge the flavor of a taunt (ancient Israelite “trash talking,” as it were).

[41:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”

[41:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”

[3:13]  ¹² tn Heb “send.”

[3:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ¹⁴ sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).

[3:14]  ¹⁵ sn The decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the verdict handed out by the divine judge.

[3:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “gather in.”

[3:16]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

[3:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “sons.”

[3:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “know.”

[3:17]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:17]  ²³ tn Heb “strangers” or “foreigners.” In context, this refers to invasions by conquering armies.

[28:20]  ²⁴ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ²⁵ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ²⁶ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.

[8:32]  ²⁷ tn Grk “[he] who.” The relative clause continues the question of v. 31 in a way that is awkward in English. The force of v. 32 is thus: “who indeed did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – How will he not also with him give us all things?”

[8:33]  ²⁸ sn An allusion to Isa 50:8 where the reference is singular; Paul applies this to all believers (“God’s elect” is plural here).

[8:34]  ²⁹ tc ‡ A number of significant and early witnesses, along with several others (Ì^46vid א A C F G L Ψ 6 33 81 104 365 1505 al lat bo), read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after Χριστός (Cristos, “Christ”) in v. 34. But the shorter reading is not unrepresented (B D 0289 1739 1881 Ï sa). Once ᾿Ιησοῦς got into the text, what scribe would omit it? Although the external evidence is on the side of the longer reading, internally such an expansion seems suspect. The shorter reading is thus preferred. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:34]  tn Grk “who also.”

[8:35]  ³⁰ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

[8:36]  ³¹ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[8:37]  ³² tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ³³ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

[8:2]  ³⁴ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

[8:2]  ³⁵ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

[1:7]  ³⁶ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” 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.). 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[19:13]  ⁴¹ tc It appears that “dipped” (βεβαμμένον, bebammenon), supported by several uncials and other witnesses (A 051 Ï), is the original reading. Due to the lack of the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) after the verb (βεβαμμένον αἵματι, bebammenon {aimati), and also probably because of literary allusions to Isa 63:3, several mss and versions seem to have changed the text to “sprinkled” (either ῥεραντισμένον [rJerantismenon] in P 2329 al; ἐρραντισμένον [errantismenon] in 1006 1841; ἐρραμμένον [errammenon] in 2053 2062; or ῥεραμμένον [rJerammenon] in 1611; or in one case περιρεραμμένον [perirerammenon] in א^[2]). The reading most likely to give rise to the others is “dipped.”

[19:13]  tn Or perhaps “soaked.”

[19:13]  ⁴² tn Grk “the name of him is called.”

[19:14]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:14]  ⁴⁴ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[19:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[19:15]  sn A quotation from Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27, 12:5).

[19:15]  ⁴⁹ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

[19:15]  ⁵⁰ tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

[19:15]  ⁵¹ 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.”