1 Samuel 24:17

24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent ¹  than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you!

1 Samuel 31:2-3

31:2 The Philistines stayed right on the heels ²  of Saul and his sons. They ³  struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 31:3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; ⁴  the archers ⁵  spotted him and wounded him severely.

1 Samuel 31:2

31:2 The Philistines stayed right on the heels ⁶  of Saul and his sons. They ⁷  struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua.

1 Samuel 21:1-14

21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met ⁸  David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?” 21:2 David replied to Ahimelech the priest, “The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, ‘Don’t let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.’ ⁹  I have told my soldiers ¹⁰  to wait at a certain place. ¹¹  21:3 Now what do you have at your disposal? ¹²  Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”

21:4 The priest replied to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers ¹³  have abstained from sexual relations with women.” ¹⁴  21:5 David said to the priest, “Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers’ ¹⁵  equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!”

21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. 21:7 (One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s shepherds.) 21:8 David said to Ahimelech, “Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don’t have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king’s instructions.”

David Goes to Gath

21:9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there’s nothing here.” David said, “There’s nothing like it! Give it to me!” 21:10 So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. 21:11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,

‘Saul struck down his thousands,

But David his tens of thousands’?”

21:12 David thought about what they said ¹⁶  and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. 21:13 He altered his behavior in their presence. ¹⁷  Since he was in their power, ¹⁸  he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard.

21:14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me?

Mazmur 35:12

35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; ¹⁹ 

I am overwhelmed with sorrow. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 38:20

38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;

though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. ²¹ 

Mazmur 55:12-15

55:12 Indeed, ²²  it is not an enemy who insults me,

or else I could bear it;

it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, ²³ 

or else I could hide from him.

55:13 But it is you, ²⁴  a man like me, ²⁵ 

my close friend in whom I confided. ²⁶ 

55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; ²⁷ 

in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.

55:15 May death destroy them! ²⁸ 

May they go down alive into Sheol! ²⁹ 

For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

Mazmur 109:4-13

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ³⁰ 

but I continue to pray. ³¹ 

109:5 They repay me evil for good, ³² 

and hate for love.

109:6 ³³ Appoint an evil man to testify against him! ³⁴ 

May an accuser stand ³⁵  at his right side!

109:7 When he is judged, he will be found ³⁶  guilty! ³⁷ 

Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.

109:8 May his days be few! ³⁸ 

May another take his job! ³⁹ 

109:9 May his children ⁴⁰  be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10 May his children ⁴¹  roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! ⁴² 

109:11 May the creditor seize ⁴³  all he owns!

May strangers loot his property! ⁴⁴ 

109:12 May no one show him kindness! ⁴⁵ 

May no one have compassion ⁴⁶  on his fatherless children!

109:13 May his descendants ⁴⁷  be cut off! ⁴⁸ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ⁴⁹ 

Yeremia 18:20-21

18:20 Should good be paid back with evil?

Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. ⁵⁰ 

Just remember how I stood before you

pleading on their behalf ⁵¹ 

to keep you from venting your anger on them. ⁵² 

18:21 So let their children die of starvation.

Let them be cut down by the sword. ⁵³ 

Let their wives lose their husbands and children.

Let the older men die of disease ⁵⁴ 

and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

Matius 27:5

27:5 So ⁵⁵  Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.

Matius 27:25

27:25 In ⁵⁶  reply all the people said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Roma 12:17

12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. ⁵⁷ 

Roma 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ⁵⁸  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ⁵⁹  – which is your reasonable service.

Roma 5:15

5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. ⁶⁰  For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, ⁶¹  how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!

Roma 5:1

The Expectation of Justification

5:1 ⁶² Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have ⁶³  peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Pengkhotbah 3:9

Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing

3:9 What benefit can a worker ⁶⁴  gain from his toil? ⁶⁵ 

[24:17]  ¹ tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”

[31:2]  ² tn Heb “stuck close after.”

[31:2]  ³ tn Heb “the Philistines.”

[31:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the battle was heavy against Saul.”

[31:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the shooters, men with the bow.”

[31:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “stuck close after.”

[31:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Philistines.”

[21:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “trembled to meet.”

[21:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “let not a man know anything about the matter [for] which I am sending you and [about] which I commanded you.”

[21:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “servants.”

[21:2]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew expression here refers to a particular, but unnamed, place. It occurs in the OT only here, in 2 Kgs 6:8, and in Ruth 4:1, where Boaz uses it to refer to Naomi’s unnamed kinsman-redeemer. A contracted form of the expression appears in Dan 8:13.

[21:3]  ¹² tn Heb “under your hand.”

[21:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “servants.”

[21:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “have kept themselves from women” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “haven’t had sexual relations recently”; NLT “have not slept with any women recently.”

[21:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “servants’.”

[21:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “placed these matters in his heart.”

[21:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in their eyes.”

[21:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in their hand.”

[35:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they repay me evil instead of good.”

[35:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[there is] bereavement to my soul.”

[38:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”

[55:12]  ²² tn Or “for.”

[55:12]  ²³ tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

[55:13]  ²⁴ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[55:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.

[55:15]  ²⁸ tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.

[55:15]  ²⁹ sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.

[109:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[109:5]  ³² tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”

[109:6]  ³³ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

[109:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

[109:6]  ³⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).

[109:7]  ³⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.

[109:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).

[109:8]  ³⁸ tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.

[109:8]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.

[109:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ⁴¹ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.

[109:11]  ⁴³ tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).

[109:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the product of his labor.”

[109:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

[109:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

[109:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ⁴⁸ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[18:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “They are plotting to kill me”; Heb “They have dug a pit for my soul.” This is a common metaphor for plotting against someone. See BDB 500 s.v. כָּרָה Qal and for an example see Pss 7:16 (7:15 HT) in its context.

[18:20]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “to speak good concerning them” going back to the concept of “good” being paid back with evil.

[18:20]  ⁵² tn Heb “to turn back your anger from them.”

[18:20]  sn See Jer 14:7-9, 19-21 and 15:1-4 for the idea.

[18:21]  ⁵³ tn Heb “be poured out to the hand [= power] of the sword.” For this same expression see Ezek 35:5; Ps 63:10 (63:11 HT). Comparison with those two passages show that it involved death by violent means, perhaps death in battle.

[18:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “be slain by death.” The commentaries are generally agreed that this refers to death by disease or plague as in 15:2. Hence, the reference is to the deadly trio of sword, starvation, and disease which were often connected with war. See the notes on 15:2.

[27:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the leaders’ response to Judas.

[27:25]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “answering, all the people said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[12:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.

[12:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ⁵⁹ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[12:1]  sn Taken as predicate adjectives, the terms alive, holy, and pleasing are showing how unusual is the sacrifice that believers can now offer, for OT sacrifices were dead. As has often been quipped about this text, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”

[5:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “but not as the transgression, so also [is] the gracious gift.”

[5:15]  ⁶¹ sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

[5:1]  ⁶² sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.

[5:1]  ⁶³ tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א¹ B² F G P Ψ 0220^vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739^c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS⁴ appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220^vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א¹ might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220^vid, probably א¹ 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA²⁷ as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.

[3:9]  ⁶⁴ tn The term הָעוֹשֶׂה (ha’oseh, article + Qal active participle ms from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do”) functions substantively (“the worker”); see BDB 794 s.v. עָשַׂה II.1. This is a figurative description of man (metonymy of association), and plays on the repetition of עָשַׂה (verb: “to do,” noun: “work”) throughout the passage. In the light of God’s orchestration of human affairs, man’s efforts cannot change anything. It refers to man in general with the article functioning in a generic sense (see IBHS 244-45 §13.5.1f; Joüon 2:511 §137.m).

[3:9]  ⁶⁵ sn This rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man gains nothing from his toil!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). Any advantage that man might gain from his toil is nullified by his ignorance of divine providence.