Bible Commentaries

Esther 6:11-14 — Haman’s humiliation 6:11-14 Haman covered his head (Esther 6:12; cf. Esther 4:1-2) as a sign of his grief (cf. 2 Samuel 15:30; 2 Samuel 19:4; Jeremiah 14:3-4; Ezekiel 24:17). His friends evidently realized that unseen forces were maintaining the blessing that they had observed

Job 26:1-23 — 4. Job’s third reply to Bildad chs. 26-27 Job’s long speech here contrasts strikingly with Bildad’s short preceding speech (ch. 25). In the first of these two chapters, Job addressed his remarks to Bildad’s most recent comments. In the second, he broadened his view to include all three of his companions. The "you" in Job 26:2-4 is singular in Hebrew, but the "you" in Job 27:5 is plural.

Psalms 5:1-12 — Psalms 5 This is another prayer of David that arose out of opposition by enemies (cf. Psalms 3, 4), as is clear from the content. In contrast to Psalms 4, this one is a morning prayer. The Jews regarded each new day as beginning with sundown. Both are individual laments that contain elements of confidence, but this one also has characteristics of a community lament (Psalms 5:11-12) and an imprecation.

Isaiah 50:4-9 — The Servant’s confidence 50:4-9 This is the third Servant Song (cf. Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12). Like the second song, this one is autobiographical, but unlike the first and second songs it contains no reference to the Servant. That it is the Servant

Jeremiah 43:9 — Yahweh instructed Jeremiah to perform another symbolic act (cf. Jeremiah 13:4-7; Jeremiah 19:1-13; Jeremiah 27:1 to Jeremiah 28:16; Ezekiel 4:1-12; Ezekiel 5:1-4; Ezekiel 12:3-6; Ezekiel 12:18; Ezekiel 37:15-17). He was to hide some large stones in the mortar of the brick courtyard, in front of an official government building

Ezekiel 8:5 — Chronicles 33:15), and King Josiah had destroyed a later rebuilt version of it (2 Kings 23:6). The people could have raised it up again after Josiah’s death. Any idol provoked the Lord to jealousy because He is the only true God (cf. Exodus 20:1-4; Deuteronomy 4:23-24). God is jealous in the sense that He does not want people to pursue idols because idols divert people from the true God and destroy them eventually (cf. Deuteronomy 4:16; Deuteronomy 32:16; 1 Kings 14:22; Psalms 78:58).

Zechariah 14:3 — Yahweh would then take the role of the divine warrior and fight for His people Israel (cf. Zechariah 1:3; Zechariah 9; Zechariah 10:4-5; Zechariah 12:1-9). He had done this previously in the Exodus and on numerous other occasions (cf. Exodus 14:13-14; Joshua 10:14; Joshua 23:3; Judges 4:15; 2 Chronicles 20:15). "In their quest for world peace, some denominations have removed

Zechariah 14:5 — The Israelites would flee for safety through this valley with mountains on either side (cf. 2 Samuel 15:16; 2 Samuel 15:30; 2 Kings 25:4; Ezekiel 11:22-25). Compare the Israelites’ flight through the Red Sea during the Exodus. The valley would reach as far as Azel (lit. be joined to, or be at the side of, near; cf. Micah 1:11), a site presently unknown but obviously some distance

Mark 13 overview — C. Jesus’ teaching on Mt. Olivet ch. 13 The Olivet Discourse is the longest section of Jesus’ teaching that Mark recorded (cf. Mark 4:1-34; Mark 7:1-23). Mark used this discourse as a bridge between Jesus’ controversies with Israel’s leaders (Mark 11:27 to Mark 12:44) and the account of His passion (chs. 14-15). It provides assurance that the leaders who had plotted against

Luke 3:15-17 — was not the Messiah. Matthew’s account of these words stressed the importance of Jesus’ Jewish hearers repenting personally and nationally. Luke tailored his account to Gentiles and stressed the judgment that Jesus would bring (cf. Isaiah 4:4). The presence of only one article before "Holy Spirit" and "fire" in the Greek text suggests that John was referring to one baptism. It is probably the baptism that Jesus will initiate when He returns to earth as the messianic

John 12:23 — Jesus’ interview with these Gentiles was the occasion of His revelation that the time for His death, resurrection, and ascension was at hand (cf. John 12:27; John 13:1; John 17:1). Until now, that hour had not been near (cf. John 2:4; John 4:21; John 4:23; John 7:30; John 8:20). As mentioned earlier, Jesus’ references to His glorification in the fourth Gospel are references to His death, resurrection, and ascension. The title "Son of Man" was Jesus’ favorite

John 4:1-26 — 1. The interview with the Samaritan woman 4:1-26 There are several connections between this section and the preceding ones that provide continuity. One is the continuation of water as a symbol (cf. John 2:6; John 3:5; John 4:10-15). Another is the continuation of conversation in which Jesus reveals

Acts 2:23 — Peter pointed out that Jesus’ crucifixion had been no accident but was part of God’s eternal plan (cf. Acts 3:18; Acts 4:28; Acts 13:29). Peter laid guilt for Jesus’ death at the Jews’ feet (cf. Acts 2:36; Acts 3:15; Acts 4:10; Acts 5:30; Acts 7:52; Acts 10:39; Acts 13:28) and on the Gentile Romans (cf. Acts 4:27; Luke 23:24-25). Note Peter’s reference

Ephesians 4:26 — The second exhortation is to avoid sinning when angry and to deal with sin quickly if it does accompany anger (cf. Psalms 4:4). Anger is not sinful in itself (cf. John 2:13-16). There is such a thing as righteous indignation (cf. Ephesians 5:6; Mark 3:5). [Note: See Daniel B. Wallace, "Orgizesthe in Ephesians 4:26 : Command or Condition?" Criswell Theological Review

Ephesians 4:9 — In Ephesians 4:9-11 Paul commented on the meaning of "ascended" and "gave" in his citation. For Christ to have ascended to heaven He first had to descend to "the lower parts of the earth." This is probably a reference to Jesus’

Colossians 4:18 — D. Paul’s personal conclusion 4:18 Paul normally used a secretary to write his letters and then added a personal word at the end in his own handwriting to authenticate his authorship (cf. Romans 16:22; Galatians 6:11). Here he requested his readers’ prayers for him in his house

1 John 2:7 — referred to no new responsibility with which his readers might be unfamiliar. He referred to the old commandment they had known about from the beginning of their experience as Christians (i.e., the command to love each other, 1 John 2:9-11; cf. John 13:34-35). The command to "love one another" appears at least a dozen times in the New Testament: John 13:34; John 15:9; John 15:12; John 15:17; Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11; 1 John 3:23; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 4:11-12;

1 John 4:19 — God’s love for us. We need not fear standing before our Judge because we love Him and He loves us. This verse is the climax of the body of this epistle. "The ultimate ground of Christian assurance (including confidence on the judgment day, 1 John 4:17) is not to be found in our loving, however ’complete’ (1 John 4:18), but in God’s prior love for us . . ." [Note: Smalley, p. 261. Cf. Dodd, pp. 122-23.]   "God always makes the first move in the game of

3 John 1:11 —      John’s encouragement doubtless strengthened Gaius’ resolve to resist Diotrephes. "Of God" and "seen God" are terms John used in his first epistle (cf. 1 John 3:6; 1 John 3:10; 1 John 4:1-4; 1 John 4:6-7). God’s children do good works because God is their Father and they share His nature (1 John 3:9). The person who does evil may be a Christian, but he is behaving like Satan when he does evil. John was not accusing Diotrephes

Revelation 7:12 — these people (cf. Revelation 5:12-13). It is "that spontaneous act of thanks which men utter when they realize more vividly than ever before their happiness." [Note: R. H. Preston and A. T. Hanson, The Revelation of Saint John the Divine, p. 47.] "Glory" (doxa) is the honor due Him because of His good reputation, specifically for delivering them (cf. Revelation 1:6; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:12-13; Revelation 19:1). [Note: W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament