Mazmur 10:2-7

10:2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; ¹ 

the oppressed are trapped ²  by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up. ³ 

10:3 Yes, ⁴  the wicked man ⁵  boasts because he gets what he wants; ⁶ 

the one who robs others ⁷  curses ⁸  and ⁹  rejects the Lord. ¹⁰ 

10:4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,

“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.” ¹¹ 

10:5 He is secure at all times. ¹² 

He has no regard for your commands; ¹³ 

he disdains all his enemies. ¹⁴ 

10:6 He says to himself, ¹⁵ 

“I will never ¹⁶  be upended,

because I experience no calamity.” ¹⁷ 

10:7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; ¹⁸ 

his tongue injures and destroys. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 52:1

Psalm 52 ²⁰ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²¹  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” ²² 

52:1 Why do you boast about your evil plans, ²³  O powerful man?

God’s loyal love protects me all day long! ²⁴ 

Keluaran 15:9-10

15:9 The enemy said, ‘I will chase, ²⁵  I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil;

my desire ²⁶  will be satisfied on them.

I will draw ²⁷  my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ ²⁸ 

15:10 But ²⁹  you blew with your breath, and ³⁰  the sea covered them.

They sank ³¹  like lead in the mighty waters.

Ayub 21:14-15

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ³²  know your ways. ³³ 

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that ³⁴  we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray ³⁵  to him?’ ³⁶ 

Yesaya 10:13-15

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ³⁷ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ³⁸  I brought down rulers. ³⁹ 

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ⁴⁰ 

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ⁴¹ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

Yesaya 37:24-25

37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ⁴² 

‘With my many chariots I climbed up

the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions, ⁴³ 

its thickest woods.

37:25 I dug wells

and drank water. ⁴⁴ 

With the soles of my feet I dried up

all the rivers of Egypt.’

Daniel 7:8

7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. ⁴⁵  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ⁴⁶  things.

Daniel 7:11

7:11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching ⁴⁷  until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into ⁴⁸  the flaming fire.

Daniel 7:25

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass ⁴⁹  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ⁵⁰  will be to change times established by law. ⁵¹ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ⁵²  and half a time.

Daniel 8:11

8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, ⁵³  from whom ⁵⁴  the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary ⁵⁵  was thrown down.

Daniel 11:36-37

11:36 “Then the king ⁵⁶  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ⁵⁷  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁵⁸  11:37 He will not respect ⁵⁹  the gods of his fathers – not even the god loved by women. ⁶⁰  He will not respect any god; he will elevate himself above them all.

Wahyu 13:5-6

13:5 The beast ⁶¹  was given a mouth speaking proud words ⁶²  and blasphemies, and he was permitted ⁶³  to exercise ruling authority ⁶⁴  for forty-two months. 13:6 So ⁶⁵  the beast ⁶⁶  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, ⁶⁷  that is, those who dwell in heaven.

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “because of the pride of [the] wicked he burns [i.e. hotly pursues] [the] oppressed.” The singular forms רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) and עָנִי (’aniy, “oppressed”) are collective and representative, as indicated in the next line, which uses plural verb forms to describe the actions of both.

[10:2]  ² tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 describe either what typically happens (from the psalmist’s perspective) or what the psalmist was experiencing at the time he offered this prayer.

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “they are trapped in the schemes which they have thought up.” The referents of the two pronominal suffixes on the verbs have been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent of the first suffix (“they”) is taken as the oppressed, while the referent of the second (“they”) is taken to be the wicked (cf. NIV, which renders “wicked” in the previous line as a collective singular). Others take the referent of both occurrences of “they” in the line to be the wicked (cf. NRSV, “let them be caught in the schemes they have devised”).

[10:3]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ⁵ tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ⁸ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ⁹ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[10:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the wicked [one], according to the height of his nose, he does not seek, there is no God, all his thoughts.” The phrase “height of his nose” probably refers to an arrogant or snooty attitude; it likely pictures one with his nose turned upward toward the sky in pride. One could take the “wicked” as the subject of the negated verb “seek,” in which case the point is that the wicked do not “seek” God. The translation assumes that this statement, along with “there is no God,” is what the wicked man thinks to himself. In this case God is the subject of the verb “seek,” and the point is that God will not hold the wicked man accountable for his actions. Verse 13 strongly favors this interpretation. The statement “there is no God” is not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that he is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see v. 11).

[10:5]  ¹² tn Heb “they are firm, his ways, at every time.” The verb חַיִל (khayil, “be firm, be strong”) occurs only here and in Job 20:21, where it has the sense “endure.”

[10:5]  ¹³ tc Heb “[on a] height, your judgments from before him.” If the MT is retained, then the idea may be that God’s “judgments” are high above (i.e., not recognized) by the wicked man. However, the syntax is awkward. The translation assumes an emendation of מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) to סָרוּ (saru, “[your judgments] are turned aside”), the final mem (ם) being dittographic (note the initial mem on the immediately following word [מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, mishÿfatekha, “your judgments”). “Judgments” probably refers here to God’s laws or commands, rather than his judicial decisions or acts of judgment.

[10:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all his enemies, he snorts against them.” This may picture the wicked man defiantly challenging his enemies because he is confident of success. Another option is to take יָפִיחַ (yafiakh) from the root יָפַח (yafakh, “to testify”) and translate “he testifies against all his enemies,” implying that he gets the upper hand over them in legal battles. The noun יָפֵחַ (yafeakh, “witness”) is attested in biblical Hebrew (see Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3). The verb, however, is not clearly attested.

[10:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he says in his heart/mind.”

[10:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.” The traditional accentuation of the MT understands these words with the following line.

[10:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “who, not in calamity.” If אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is taken as a relative pronoun here, then one could translate, “[I] who [am] not in calamity.” Some emend אֲשֶׁר to אֹשֶׁר (’osher, “happiness”; see HALOT 99 s.v. אֹשֶׁר); one might then translate, “[I live in] happiness, not in calamity.” The present translation assumes that אֲשֶׁר functions here as a causal conjunction, “because, for.” For this use of אֲשֶׁר, see BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.c (where the present text is not cited).

[10:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[with] a curse his mouth is full, and lies and injury.”

[10:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “under his tongue are destruction and wickedness.” The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 90:10. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10.

[52:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.

[52:1]  ²¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[52:1]  ²² tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”

[52:1]  sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s head shepherd (1 Sam 21:7), informed Saul of David’s whereabouts (see 1 Sam 21-22).

[52:1]  ²³ tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”

[52:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.

[15:9]  ²⁵ sn W. C. Kaiser observes the staccato phrases that almost imitate the heavy, breathless heaving of the Egyptians as, with what reserve of strength they have left, they vow, “I will…, I will…, I will…” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:395).

[15:9]  ²⁶ tn The form is נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”). But this word refers to the whole person, the body and the soul, or better, a bundle of appetites in a body. It therefore can figuratively refer to the desires or appetites (Deut 12:15; 14:26; 23:24). Here, with the verb “to be full” means “to be satisfied”; the whole expression might indicate “I will be sated with them” or “I will gorge myself.” The greedy appetite was to destroy.

[15:9]  ²⁷ tn The verb רִיק (riq) means “to be empty” in the Qal, and in the Hiphil “to empty.” Here the idea is to unsheathe a sword.

[15:9]  ²⁸ tn The verb is יָרַשׁ (yarash), which in the Hiphil means “to dispossess” or “root out.” The meaning “destroy” is a general interpretation.

[15:10]  ²⁹ tn “But” has been supplied here.

[15:10]  ³⁰ tn Here “and” has been supplied.

[15:10]  ³¹ tn The verb may have the idea of sinking with a gurgling sound, like water going into a whirlpool (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 124; S. R. Driver, Exodus, 136). See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, “The Song of Miriam,” JNES 14 (1955): 243-47.

[21:14]  ³² tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ³³ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[21:15]  ³⁴ tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”

[21:15]  ³⁵ tn The verb פָּגַע (paga’) means “to encounter; to meet,” but also “to meet with request; to intercede; to interpose.” The latter meaning is a derived meaning by usage.

[21:15]  ³⁶ tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.

[10:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ³⁸ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[10:14]  ⁴⁰ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[10:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[37:24]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[37:24]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”

[37:25]  ⁴⁴ tc The Hebrew text has simply, “I dug and drank water.” But the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:24 has “foreign waters.” זָרִים (zarim, “foreign”) may have accidentally dropped out of the Isaianic text by homoioteleuton (cf. NCV, NIV, NLT). Note that the preceding word, מַיִם (mayim, “water) also ends in mem (ם). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has “foreign waters” for this line. However, in several other passages the 1QIsa^a scroll harmonizes with 2 Kgs 19 against the MT (Isa 36:5; 37:9, 20). Since the addition of “foreign” to this text in Isaiah by a later scribe would be more likely than its deletion, the MT reading should be accepted.

[7:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”

[7:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.

[7:11]  ⁴⁷ tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “I was watching” here. It is possible that these words in the MT are a dittography from the first part of the verse.

[7:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Aram “and given over to” (so NRSV).

[7:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

[7:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ⁵² sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

[8:11]  ⁵³ sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel Michael (cf. 12:1).

[8:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.

[8:11]  ⁵⁵ sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

[11:36]  ⁵⁶ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[11:37]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “consider.”

[11:37]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “[the one] desired by women.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:5]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “and there was given to him.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:5]  ⁶² tn For the translation “proud words” (Grk “great things” or “important things”) see BDAG 624 s.v. μέγας 4.b.

[13:5]  ⁶³ tn Grk “to it was granted.”

[13:5]  ⁶⁴ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

[13:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ⁶⁷ tc The reading “and his dwelling place” does not occur in codex C, but its omission is probably due to scribal oversight since the phrase has the same ending as the phrase before it, i.e., they both end in “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou). This is similar to the mistake this scribe made in 12:14 with the omission of the reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou).