How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? Psalm 62:3 ESV Attack – The Hebrew word tehotetu is a hapax legomenon, i.e., this is its only occurrence in the Tanakh. What does it mean? Take a guess. NIV – assault. NASB – assail. ESV…
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they dug a pit before me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah. Psalm 57:6 NASB Into the midst – The fundamental principle of biblical justice is “measure for measure.” This idea can be found throughout Scripture. We notice…
Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” Genesis 18:23 NASB Sweep away – The Hebrew word translated “sweep away” is tispeh. It comes from the root safah, a verb that means “to sweep away, to destroy, to consume.” The consonants are Samech-Pey-Hey (to twist or turn, the…
Let your moderation be known to all men: the Lord is near. Philippians 4:5 NASB Near – This is a funny sounding word in Greek – eggus. It literally means “close or near.” Therefore, our English translation looks just fine. But Paul is a deeper thinker than pashat meanings. He is making an allusion to…
Let your moderation be known to all men: the Lord is near. Philippians 4:5 NASB Moderation – The Greek word here is epieikes. It comes from the word eikos (meaning “fair or equitable”) but Paul adds epi to the beginning to make the word stronger. With this addition, “moderation” probably does not convey the right…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23 NASB Weightier provisions – Were you able to give an answer…
“Far it be from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicker are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly.” Genesis 18:25 NASB Deal justly – The truth is that Abraham didn’t really…
“Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Genesis 18:25 NASB Deal justly – What does it mean to “do justice”? How does it make you feel to be accused of judging someone, even if you know that you stand on biblical principles? How do you feel when…
“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” Isaiah 42:1 NASB Justice – I sincerely hope that you do not pray for this prophecy to come true. There is no doubt that one day…
Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? Psalm 90:11 NASB Power – Read the first verse of this psalm. No, not the first English verse. Read the first verse in the Hebrew text. Let me help you: tefillah le-Moshe ish ha-Elohim (A prayer of…
