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Psalm 97-99

Psalm 97^[a]

97 The Lord reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice.
²Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.^[b]
³Fire goes before him;
on every side^[c] it burns up his enemies.
⁴His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
⁵The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth.
⁶The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
⁷All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him.^[d]
⁸Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns^[e] of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
⁹For you, O Lord, are the Most High^[f] over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods.
¹⁰You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects^[g] the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power^[h] of the wicked.
¹¹The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.^[i]
¹²You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord.
Give thanks to his holy name.^[j]

Psalm 98^[k]

A psalm.

98 Sing to the Lord a new song,^[l]
for he performs^[m] amazing deeds.
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.^[n]
²The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;^[o]
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
³He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.^[p]
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.^[q]
⁴Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
⁵Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music.
⁶With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord.
⁷Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
⁸Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
⁹before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,^[r]
and the nations in a just manner.

Psalm 99^[s]

99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.^[t]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;^[u]
the earth shakes.^[v]
²The Lord is elevated^[w] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
³Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He^[x] is holy!
⁴The king is strong;
he loves justice.^[y]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;^[z]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
⁵Praise^[aa] the Lord our God.
Worship^[ab] before his footstool.
He is holy!
⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.^[ac]
They^[ad] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
⁷He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;^[ae]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
⁸O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.^[af]
⁹Praise^[ag] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.

Footnotes

Psalm 97:1 sn Psalm 97. The psalmist depicts the Lord as the sovereign, just king of the world who comes in power to vindicate his people.
Psalm 97:2 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
Psalm 97:3 tn Heb “all around.”
Psalm 97:7 tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. NIV).
Psalm 97:8 tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
Psalm 97:9 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
Psalm 97:10 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives…and delivers them.”
Psalm 97:10 tn Heb “hand.”
Psalm 97:11 tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zaraʿ, “planted”) to זָרַח (zarakh, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.
Psalm 97:12 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זָכַר (zakhar, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 30:4. The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.
Psalm 98:1 sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.
Psalm 98:1 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.
Psalm 98:1 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.
Psalm 98:1 tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.
Psalm 98:2 tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”
Psalm 98:3 tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
Psalm 98:3 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).
Psalm 98:9 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…”).
Psalm 99:1 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
Psalm 99:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”
Psalm 99:1 sn Cherubim are winged angels. As depicted in the OT, they possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubim suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubim in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
Psalm 99:1 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
Psalm 99:2 tn Heb “great.”
Psalm 99:3 tn The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (ʿaz, “strong”).
Psalm 99:4 tn Heb “you establish fairness.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “exalt.”
Psalm 99:5 tn Or “bow down.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”
Psalm 99:6 tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.
Psalm 99:7 sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.
Psalm 99:8 tn Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. NIV, NRSV). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. NEB “and held them innocent”).
Psalm 99:9 tn Or “exalt.”

Romans 16

Personal Greetings

16 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant^[a] of the church in Cenchrea, ²so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila,^[b] my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. ⁵Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus,^[c] who was the first convert^[d] to Christ in the province of Asia.^[e] ⁶Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. ⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[f] my compatriots^[g] and my fellow prisoners. They are well known^[h] to the apostles,^[i] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. ⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my good friend Stachys. ¹⁰Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹Greet Herodion, my compatriot.^[j] Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. ¹²Greet Tryphena^[k] and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend^[l] Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother who was also a mother to me.^[m] ¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters^[n] with them. ¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the believers^[o] who are with them. ¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷Now I urge you, brothers and sisters,^[p] to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them! ¹⁸For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds^[q] of the naive. ¹⁹Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. ²⁰The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my compatriots.^[r] ²²I, Tertius, who am writing this letter, greet you in the Lord. ²³Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and our brother Quartus greet you.^[s]

²⁵^[t] Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages, ²⁶but now is disclosed, and through the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.

Footnotes

Romans 16:1 tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.
Romans 16:3 sn On Prisca and Aquila see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. Paul uses the name Prisca, while the author of Acts uses the diminutive form of the name Priscilla.
Romans 16:5 sn The spelling Epenetus is also used by NIV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Epaenetus (NASB, NKJV, NRSV).
Romans 16:5 tn Grk “firstfruit.” This is a figurative use referring to Epenetus as the first Christian convert in the region.
Romans 16:5 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
Romans 16:7 tn Or “Junias.” sn The feminine name Junia, though common in Latin, is quite rare in Greek (apparently only three instances of it occur in Greek literature outside Rom 16:7, according to the data in the TLG [D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 922]). The masculine Junias (as a contraction for Junianas), however, is rarer still: Only one instance of the masculine name is known in extant Greek literature (Epiphanius mentions Junias in his Index discipulorum 125). Further, since there are apparently other husband-wife teams mentioned in this salutation (Prisca and Aquila [v. 3], Philologus and Julia [v. 15]), it might be natural to think of Junia as a feminine name. (This ought not be pressed too far, however, for in v. 12 all three individuals are women [though the first two are linked together], and in vv. 9-11 all the individuals are men.) In Greek only a difference of accent distinguishes between Junias (male) and Junia (female). If it refers to a woman, it is possible (1) that she had the gift of apostleship (not the office), or (2) that she was not an apostle but along with Andronicus was esteemed by (or among) the apostles. As well, the term “prominent” probably means “well known,” suggesting that Andronicus and Junia(s) were well known to the apostles (see note on the phrase “well known” which follows).
Romans 16:7 tn Or “kinsmen,” “relatives,” “fellow countrymen.”
Romans 16:7 tn Or “prominent, outstanding, famous.” The term ἐπίσημος (episēmos) is used either in an implied comparative sense (“prominent, outstanding”) or in an elative sense (“famous, well known”). The key to determining the meaning of the term in any given passage is both the general context and the specific collocation of this word with its adjuncts. When a comparative notion is seen, that to which ἐπίσημος is compared is frequently, if not usually, put in the genitive case (cf., e.g., 3 Macc 6:1 [Ελεαζαρος δέ τις ἀνὴρ ἐπίσημος τῶν ἀπὸ τής χώρας ἱερέων “Eleazar, a man prominent among the priests of the country”]; cf. also Pss. Sol. 17:30). When, however, an elative notion is found, ἐν (en) plus a personal plural dative is not uncommon (cf. Pss. Sol. 2:6). Although ἐν plus a personal dative does not indicate agency, in collocation with words of perception, (ἐν plus) dative personal nouns are often used to show the recipients. In this instance, the idea would then be “well known to the apostles.” See M. H. Burer and D. B. Wallace, “Was Junia Really an Apostle? A Re-examination of Rom 16.7,” NTS 47 (2001): 76-91, who argue for the elative notion here.
Romans 16:7 tn Or “among the apostles.” See discussion in the note on “well known” for these options.
Romans 16:11 tn Or “kinsman,” “relative,” “fellow countryman.”
Romans 16:12 sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).
Romans 16:12 tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”
Romans 16:13 tn Grk “and his mother and mine.”
Romans 16:14 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
Romans 16:15 tn Grk “saints.”
Romans 16:17 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
Romans 16:18 tn Grk “hearts.”
Romans 16:21 tn Grk “kinsmen, relatives, fellow countrymen.”
Romans 16:23 tc Most mss (D [F G 629 without “Jesus Christ”] Ψ [630] 1175 1241 1505 1881 M al) include here 16:24 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.” Other mss (P 33 104 365) include the verse after 16:27. The verse is entirely lacking in P^{46, 61} א A B C 81 1739 2464 co. The strength of the external evidence, combined with uncertainty in other mss over where the verse should be located and the fact that it is a repetition of v. 20b, strongly favors omission of the verse. The present translation follows NA²⁸ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.
Romans 16:25 tc There is a considerable degree of difference among the mss regarding the presence and position of the doxology of 16:25-27. Five situations present themselves from the ms tradition. The doxology is found in the ancient witnesses in three separate locations: (1) here after 16:23 (P⁶¹ א B C D 81 365 630 1739 2464 al co), (2) after 14:23 (Ψ 0209^vid M), or (3) after 15:33 (P⁴⁶). The situation is further complicated in that some of the mss have these verses in two places: (4) after 14:23 and after 16:23 (A P 33 104); or (5) after 14:23 and after 15:33 (1506). The uncertain position of the doxology might suggest that it was added by later scribes. But since the mss containing the doxology are so early and widespread, it almost certainly belongs in Romans; it is only a question of where. Further, the witnesses that omit the doxology are few: F G 629 Hier^mss. (And of these, G has a blank space of several lines large enough for the doxology to belong there.) Only two positions (after chapter 14 only and at the end of the letter only) deserve particular notice because the situation of the mss showing the doxology in two places dates back to the 5th century. Later copyists, faced with the doxology in two different places in the mss they knew, may have decided to copy the doxology in both places, since they were unwilling to consciously omit any text. Because the textual disruption of the doxology is so early, TCGNT 472 suggests two possibilities: either (1) that Paul may have sent two different copies of Romans—a copy lacking chapter 16 and a copy with the full text of the epistle as we now have it, or (2) Marcion or some of his followers circulated a shortened form of the epistle that lacked chapters 15 and 16. Those mss that lacked chapters 15-16 would naturally conclude with some kind of doxology after chapter 14. On the other hand, H. Gamble (The Textual History of the Letter to the Romans [SD], 123-32) argues for the position of the doxology at 14:23, since to put the doxology at 16:25 would violate Paul’s normal pattern of a grace-benediction at the close of the letter. Gamble further argues for the inclusion of 16:24, since the mss that put the doxology after chapter 14 almost always present 16:24 as the letter’s closing, whereas most of the mss that put the doxology at its traditional position drop 16:24, perhaps because it would be redundant before 16:25-27. A decision is difficult, but the weight of external evidence, since it is both early and geographically widespread, suggests that the doxology belongs here after 16:23 and that v. 24 is not authentic. For a full discussion, see TCGNT 470-73.

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Old/New Testament

Psalm 97[a]

Psalm 98[k]

A psalm.

Psalm 99[s]

Footnotes

Personal Greetings

Footnotes

Psalm 97^[a]

Psalm 98^[k]

Psalm 99^[s]