Mazmur 126:2

126:2 At that time we laughed loudly

and shouted for joy. ¹ 

At that time the nations said, ² 

“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”

Yesaya 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ³  when he punishes, ⁴ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ⁵ 

Yehezkiel 20:14

20:14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

[126:2]  ¹ tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”

[126:2]  ² tn Heb “they said among the nations.”

[5:16]  ³ tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

[5:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

[5:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

[5:16]  sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.