Yohanes 7:46

7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

Amsal 12:18

12:18 Speaking recklessly ¹  is like the thrusts of a sword,

but the words ²  of the wise bring ³  healing. ⁴ 

Amsal 26:4-5

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, ⁵ 

lest you yourself also be like him. ⁶ 

26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, ⁷ 

lest he be wise in his own estimation. ⁸ 

Yeremia 23:29

23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! ⁹  It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! ¹⁰  I, the Lord, so affirm it! ¹¹ 

Yeremia 23:1

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says, ¹²  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ¹³  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ¹⁴ 

Kolose 1:24-25

1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ¹⁵  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ¹⁶  the word of God,

Kolose 4:6

4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Ibrani 4:12-13

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ¹⁷  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Wahyu 1:16

1:16 He held ¹⁸  seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His ¹⁹  face shone like the sun shining at full strength.

Wahyu 2:16

2:16 Therefore, ²⁰  repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people ²¹  with the sword of my mouth.

Wahyu 19:15

19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ²²  He ²³  will rule ²⁴  them with an iron rod, ²⁵  and he stomps the winepress ²⁶  of the furious ²⁷  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ²⁸ 

¹ tn The term בּוֹטֶה (boteh) means “to speak rashly [or, thoughtlessly]” (e.g., Lev 5:4; Num 30:7).

² tn Heb “the tongue” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The term לָשׁוֹן (lashon, “tongue”) functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said.

³ tn The term “brings” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

⁴ sn Healing is a metonymy of effect. Healing words are the opposite of the cutting, irresponsible words. What the wise say is faithful and true, gentle and kind, uplifting and encouraging; so their words bring healing.

⁵ sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).

⁶ sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.

⁷ sn The apparent contradiction with the last verse has troubled commentators for some time. The Rabbis solved it by saying that v. 4 referred to secular things, but v. 5 referred to sacred or religious controversies. While this does not resolve the issue, it does give a sound application for the two verses together – in negligible issues one should just ignore the stupid person, but in issues that matter the fool must be dealt with, lest credence be given to what he says (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 266). The text presents two proverbs each of which presents an aspect of the whole truth. One should not lower himself to the level of the fool, but there are times when the lesser of two evils is to do so, other than let the fool gain confidence that he is a wise person or be considered wise by others. Paul, for example, talked like a “fool” to correct the foolish ideas of the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:16-17; 12:11).

⁸ tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

⁹ tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.

¹¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹³ sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.

¹⁴ tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.

sn Verses 1-4 of ch. 23 are an extended metaphor in which the rulers are compared to shepherds and the people are compared to sheep. This metaphor has already been met with in 10:21 and is found elsewhere in the context of the Lord’s covenant with David (cf. 2 Sam 7:7-8; Ps 78:70-72). The sheep are God’s people and he is the ultimate shepherd who is personally concerned about their care (cf. Pss 23:1; 80:2). He has set rulers over them as his under-shepherds and they are responsible to him for the care of his sheep (see 22:3-4). They have been lax shepherds, allowing the sheep to be scattered and destroyed. So he will punish them. As the true shepherd of Israel he will regather his scattered flock and place new shepherds (rulers) over them. These verses lead to a promise of an ideal ruler set over an Israel which has experienced a new and better Exodus (vv. 6-8). For a more complete development of this metaphor with similar messianic and eschatological implications see Ezek 34. The metaphor has been interpreted in the translation but some of the flavor left in the simile.

¹⁵ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

¹⁶ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.

¹⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

¹⁹ tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²⁰ tc The “therefore” (οὖν, oun) is not found in א 2053 2329 2351 Ï^A or the Latin mss. It is, however, included in impressive witnesses such as {A C 046 1006 1611 sy^p,h co}. Though the conjunction looks at first glance like a scribal clarification, its omission may be explained on the basis of its similarity to the last three letters of the verb “repent” (μετανόησον, metanohson; since οὖν is a postpositive conjunction in Greek, the final three letters of the verb [-σον, -son] would have been immediately followed by ουν). A scribe could have simply passed over the conjunction in his copy when he saw the last three letters of the imperative verb. A decision is difficult, however, because of the motivation to add to the text and the quality of witnesses that lack the conjunction.

²¹ tn Grk “with them”; the referent (those people who follow the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁴ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

²⁵ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

sn A quotation from Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27, 12:5).

²⁶ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

²⁷ tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

²⁸ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”