Mazmur 2:1

Psalm 2 ¹ 

2:1 Why ²  do the nations rebel? ³ 

Why ⁴  are the countries ⁵  devising ⁶  plots that will fail? ⁷ 

Yesaya 32:6

32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; ⁸ 

his mind plans out sinful deeds. ⁹ 

He commits godless deeds ¹⁰ 

and says misleading things about the Lord;

he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite ¹¹ 

and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. ¹² 

Yesaya 55:7-8

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ¹³ 

and sinful people their plans. ¹⁴ 

They should return ¹⁵  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹⁶ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹⁷ 

55:8 “Indeed, ¹⁸  my plans ¹⁹  are not like ²⁰  your plans,

and my deeds ²¹  are not like ²²  your deeds,

Yesaya 59:7

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ²³ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ²⁴ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 65:2

65:2 I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 66:18

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ²⁷  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ²⁸  they will come and witness my splendor.

Hosea 4:1

The Lord’s Covenant Lawsuit against the Nation Israel

4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! ²⁹ 

For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit ³⁰  against the people of Israel. ³¹ 

For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land,

nor do they acknowledge God. ³² 

[2:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ² tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.

[32:6]  ⁸ tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.

[32:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”

[32:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”

[32:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”

[32:6]  ¹² tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”

[55:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹⁷ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[55:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).

[55:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ²² tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[59:7]  ²³ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”

[65:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”

[66:18]  ²⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[66:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

[4:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “sons of Israel” (so NASB); KJV “children of Israel”; NAB, NRSV “people of Israel.”

[4:1]  ³⁰ tn The noun רִיב (riv, “dispute, lawsuit”) is used in two contexts: (1) nonlegal contexts: (a) “dispute” between individuals (e.g., Gen 13:7; Isa 58:1; Jer 15:10) or (b) “brawl; quarrel” between people (e.g., Exod 17:7; Deut 25:1); and (2) legal contexts: (a) “lawsuit; legal process” (e.g., Exod 23:3-6; Deut 19:17; 21:5; Ezek 44:24; Ps 35:23), (b) “lawsuit; legal case” (e.g., Deut 1:12; 17:8; Prov 18:17; 25:9), and (c) God’s “lawsuit” on behalf of a person or against his own people (Hos 4:1; 12:3; Mic 6:2; HALOT 1225-26 s.v. רִיב). The term in Hosea refers to a covenant lawsuit in which Yahweh the suzerain lodges a legal case against his disobedient vassal, accusing Israel and Judah of breach of covenant which will elicit the covenant curses.

[4:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “with the inhabitants of the land” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “against the inhabitants of the land.”

[4:1]  ³² tn Heb “there is no truthfulness nor loyalty nor knowledge of God in the land.” Here “knowledge of God” refers to recognition of his authority and obedience to his will.