Font Size
Jeremiah 11:20
New English Translation
Jeremiah 11:20
New English Translation
20 So I said,[a]
“O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[b] you are a just judge!
You examine people’s hearts and minds.[c]
I want to see you pay them back for what they have done
because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”[d]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 11:20 tn The words “So I said” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.
- Jeremiah 11:20 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.
- Jeremiah 11:20 tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions, and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” were often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives believed to be seated in them.
- Jeremiah 11:20 tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”
Genesis 18:25
New English Translation
Genesis 18:25
New English Translation
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge[a] of the whole earth do what is right?”[b]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 18:25 tn Or “ruler.”
- Genesis 18:25 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
Job 8:3
New English Translation
Job 8:3
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Job 8:3 tn The Piel verb יְעַוֵּת (yeʿavvet) means “to bend; to cause to swerve from the norm; to deviate; to pervert.” The LXX renders the first colon as “will the Lord be unjust when he judges?”
- Job 8:3 tn The first word is מִשְׁפָּת (mishpat, “justice”). It can mean an act of judgment, place of judgment, or what is just, that is, the outcome of the decision. It basically describes an umpire’s decision. The parallel word is צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “righteousness,” or “what is right”). The basic idea here is that which conforms to the standard, what is right. See S. H. Scholnick, “The Meaning of Mishpat in the Book of Job,” JBL 101 (1982): 521-29.
- Job 8:3 tn Some commentators think that the second verb should be changed in order to avoid the repetition of the same word and to reflect the different words in the versions. The suggestion is to read יְעַוֵּה (yeʿavveh) instead; this would mean “to cause someone to deviate,” for the root means “to bend.” The change is completely unwarranted; the LXX probably chose different words for stylistic reasons (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 198). The repetition in the Hebrew text is a common type; it strengthens the enormity of the charge Job seems to be making.
Psalm 11:7
New English Translation
Psalm 11:7
New English Translation
7 Certainly[a] the Lord is just;[b]
he rewards godly deeds.[c]
The upright will experience his favor.[d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 11:7 tn Or “for.”
- Psalm 11:7 tn Or “righteous.”
- Psalm 11:7 tn Heb “he loves righteous deeds.” The “righteous deeds” are probably those done by godly people (see v. 5). The Lord “loves” such deeds in the sense that he rewards them. Another option is to take צְדָקוֹת (tsedaqot) as referring to God’s acts of justice (see Ps 103:6). In this case one could translate, “he loves to do just deeds.”
- Psalm 11:7 tn Heb “the upright will see his face.” The singular subject (“upright”) does not agree with the plural verb. However, collective singular nouns can be construed with a plural predicate (see GKC 462 §145.b). Another possibility is that the plural verb יֶחֱזוּ (yekhezu) should be emended to an original singular form. To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 17:15 and Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (raʾah), not חָזָה (khazah), is used]). On the form פָנֵימוֹ (fanemo, “his face”) see GKC 300-301 §103.b, n. 3.
Psalm 50:6
New English Translation
Psalm 50:6
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Psalm 50:6 tn Or “justice.”
- Psalm 50:6 tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).
Psalm 51:4
New English Translation
Psalm 51:4
New English Translation
4 Against you—you above all[a]—I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So[b] you are just when you confront me;[c]
you are right when you condemn me.[d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:4 tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hataʾ, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “above all,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”
- Psalm 51:4 tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lemaʿan) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea—the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.
- Psalm 51:4 tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).
- Psalm 51:4 tn Heb “when you judge.”
Proverbs 21:12
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:12
New English Translation
12 The Righteous One[a] considers[b] the house[c] of the wicked;
he overthrows the wicked to their ruin.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:12 tn In the book of Proverbs, the Hebrew term צַּדִּיק (tsaddiq) normally refers to a human being, and that is a possible translation here (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB), although it would have to refer to a righteous person who was a judge or a ruler with the right to destroy the wicked. Many commentators and English versions simply interpret this as a reference to God (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
- Proverbs 21:12 tn The form מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is now used with the meaning “to consider; to give attention to; to ponder.” It is the careful scrutiny that is given to the household of the wicked before judgment is poured out on them.
- Proverbs 21:12 tn Heb “house.” This term probably means “household” here—the family. One way to read the line is that the righteous judge (human or divine) takes into consideration the wicked person’s family before judging the wicked person. The other—and more plausible—interpretation is that the judge considers the household of the wicked and then on the basis of what was observed judges them.
- Proverbs 21:12 tn Heb “to evil” (i.e., catastrophe); cf. NLT “to disaster.”
Ecclesiastes 3:17
New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 3:17
New English Translation
17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;
for there is an appropriate time for every activity,
and there is a time of judgment[a] for every deed.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 3:17 tn The phrase “a time of judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 Timothy 4:8
New English Translation
2 Timothy 4:8
New English Translation
8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on[a] his appearing.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Timothy 4:8 tn Grk “all who have loved.”
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.