Mazmur 14:5

14:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹ 

for God defends the godly. ² 

Mazmur 24:6

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. ³  (Selah)

Mazmur 73:15

73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts, ⁴ 

I would have betrayed your loyal followers. ⁵ 

Mazmur 87:6

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ⁶ 

“This one was born there.” ⁷  (Selah)

Matius 3:9

3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Galatia 3:26-29

3:26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. ⁸  3:27 For all of you who ⁹  were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave ¹⁰  nor free, there is neither male nor female ¹¹  – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, ¹²  heirs according to the promise.

Galatia 3:1

Justification by Law or by Faith?

3:1 You ¹³  foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell ¹⁴  on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed ¹⁵  as crucified!

Pengkhotbah 2:9

2:9 So ¹⁶  I was far wealthier ¹⁷  than all my predecessors in Jerusalem,

yet I maintained my objectivity: ¹⁸ 

[14:5]  ¹ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.

[14:5]  ² tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[24:6]  ³ tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).

[24:6]  sn This verse presents a somewhat idealized view of Jacob’s descendants as devoted worshipers of the Lord.

[73:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”

[73:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation of the godly” (Ps 14:5), “generation of the ones seeking him” (Ps 24:6), and “generation of the upright” (Ps 112:2). In Deut 14:1 the Israelites are referred to as God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).

[87:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ⁷ tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.

[3:26]  ⁸ tn Or “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

[3:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “For as many of you as.”

[3:28]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.

[3:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “male and female.”

[3:29]  ¹² tn Grk “seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “deceived”; the verb βασκαίνω (baskainw) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn The vav prefixed to וְגָדַלְתִּי (vÿgadalti, vav + Qal perfect first common singular from גָּדַל, gadal, “to be great; to increase”) functions in a final summarizing sense, that is, it introduces the concluding summary of 2:4-9.

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I became great and I surpassed” (וְהוֹסַפְתִּי וְגָדַלְתִּי, vÿgadalti vÿhosafti). This is a verbal hendiadys in which the second verb functions adverbially, modifying the first: “I became far greater.” Most translations miss the hendiadys and render the line in a woodenly literal sense (KJV, ASV, RSV, NEB, NRSV, NAB, NASB, MLB, Moffatt), while only a few recognize the presence of hendiadys here: “I became greater by far” (NIV) and “I gained more” (NJPS).

[2:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “yet my wisdom stood for me,” meaning he retained his wise perspective despite his great wealth.