Mazmur 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ¹  (Higgaion. ²  Selah)

Mazmur 64:9

64:9 and all people will fear. ³ 

They will proclaim ⁴  what God has done,

and reflect on his deeds.

Mazmur 67:4

67:4 Let foreigners ⁵  rejoice and celebrate!

For you execute justice among the nations,

and govern the people living on earth. ⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 33:18

33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, ⁷ 

those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness ⁸ 

Mazmur 96:13

96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ⁹ 

and the nations in accordance with his justice. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 98:9

98:9 before the Lord!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ¹¹ 

and the nations in a just manner.

Maleakhi 2:17

Resistance to the Lord through Self-deceit

2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, ¹²  and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Maleakhi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ¹³  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ¹⁴  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Pengkhotbah 3:4-10

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

3:5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

3:6 A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; ¹⁵ 

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

3:7 A time to rip, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing

3:9 What benefit can a worker ¹⁶  gain from his toil? ¹⁷ 

3:10 I have observed the burden

that God has given to people ¹⁸  to keep them occupied.

[9:16]  ¹ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ² tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[64:9]  ³ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read וַיִּרְאוּ (vayyir’u, “and they will see”) instead of וַיִּירְאוּ (vayyirÿ’u, “and they will proclaim”).

[64:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.

[67:4]  ⁵ tn Or “peoples.”

[67:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).

[33:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “look, the eye of the Lord [is] toward the ones who fear him.” The expression “the eye…[is] toward” here indicates recognition and the bestowing of favor. See Ps 34:15. The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

[33:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”

[96:13]  ⁹ tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”

[96:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”

[98:9]  ¹¹ tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).

[2:17]  ¹² tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

[3:6]  ¹⁵ tn The term לְאַבֵּד (lÿ’abbed, Piel infinitive construct from אָבַד, ’avad, “to destroy”) means “to lose” (e.g., Jer 23:1) as the contrast with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek to find”) indicates (HALOT 3 s.v. I אבד; BDB 2 s.v. אבד 3). This is the declarative or delocutive-estimative sense of the Piel: “to view something as lost” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 28, §145; IBHS 403 §24.2g).

[3:9]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.

[3:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the sons of man.”