1 Raja-raja 15:5

15:5 He did this ¹  because David had done what he approved ²  and had not disregarded any of his commandments ³  his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.

Keluaran 32:8

32:8 They have quickly turned aside ⁴  from the way that I commanded them – they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

Keluaran 32:1

The Sin of the Golden Calf

32:1 ⁵ When the people saw that Moses delayed ⁶  in coming down ⁷  from the mountain, they ⁸  gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, ⁹  make us gods ¹⁰  that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, ¹¹  the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what ¹²  has become of him!”

1 Samuel 12:20-21

12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. ¹³  However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. ¹⁴ 

1 Samuel 12:2

12:2 Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day.

1 Samuel 16:7-12

16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by ¹⁵  his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. ¹⁶  People look on the outward appearance, ¹⁷  but the Lord looks at the heart.”

16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. ¹⁸  But Samuel ¹⁹  said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 16:9 Then Jesse presented ²⁰  Shammah. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. ²¹  But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ²²  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. ²³  Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!”

Mazmur 40:4

40:4 How blessed ²⁴  is the one ²⁵  who trusts in the Lord ²⁶ 

and does not seek help from ²⁷  the proud or from liars! ²⁸ 

Mazmur 101:3

101:3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. ²⁹ 

I hate doing evil; ³⁰ 

I will have no part of it. ³¹ 

Mazmur 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ³² 

may the Lord remove them, ³³  along with those who behave wickedly! ³⁴ 

May Israel experience peace! ³⁵ 

Amsal 4:27

4:27 Do not turn ³⁶  to the right or to the left;

turn yourself ³⁷  away from evil. ³⁸ 

[15:5]  ¹ tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ² tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

[15:5]  ³ tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”

[32:8]  ⁴ tn The verb is a perfect tense, reflecting the present perfect nuance: “they have turned aside” and are still disobedient. But the verb is modified with the adverb “quickly” (actually a Piel infinitive absolute). It has been only a matter of weeks since they heard the voice of God prohibiting this.

[32:1]  ⁵ sn This narrative is an unhappy interlude in the flow of the argument of the book. After the giving of the Law and the instructions for the tabernacle, the people get into idolatry. So this section tells what the people were doing when Moses was on the mountain. Here is an instant violation of the covenant that they had just agreed to uphold. But through it all Moses shines as the great intercessor for the people. So the subject matter is the sin of idolatry, its effects and its remedy. Because of the similarities to Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, modern critics have often said this passage was written at that time. U. Cassuto shows how the language of this chapter would not fit an Iron Age setting in Dan. Rather, he argues, this story was well enough known for Jeroboam to imitate the practice (Exodus, 407-10). This chapter can be divided into four parts for an easier exposition: idolatry (32:1-6), intercession (32:7-14), judgment (32:15-29), intercession again (32:30-33:6). Of course, these sections are far more complex than this, but this gives an overview. Four summary statements for expository points might be: I. Impatience often leads to foolish violations of the faith, II. Violations of the covenant require intercession to escape condemnation, III. Those spared of divine wrath must purge evil from their midst, and IV. Those who purge evil from their midst will find reinstatement through intercession. Several important studies are available for this. See, among others, D. R. Davis, “Rebellion, Presence, and Covenant: A Study in Exodus 32-34,” WTJ 44 (1982): 71-87; M. Greenberg, “Moses’ Intercessory Prayer,” Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies (1978): 21-35; R. A. Hamer, “The New Covenant of Moses,” Judaism 27 (1978): 345-50; R. L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Aaron, the Priesthood, and the Golden Calf,” RevExp 74 (1977): 523-35; J. N. Oswalt, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” EvQ 45 (1973): 13-20.

[32:1]  ⁶ tn The meaning of this verb is properly “caused shame,” meaning cause disappointment because he was not coming back (see also Judg 5:28 for the delay of Sisera’s chariots [S. R. Driver, Exodus, 349]).

[32:1]  ⁷ tn The infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition is used here epexegetically, explaining the delay of Moses.

[32:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the people.”

[32:1]  ⁹ tn The imperative means “arise.” It could be serving here as an interjection, getting Aaron’s attention. But it might also have the force of prompting him to get busy.

[32:1]  ¹⁰ tn The plural translation is required here (although the form itself could be singular in meaning) because the verb that follows in the relative clause is a plural verb – that they go before us).

[32:1]  ¹¹ tn The text has “this Moses.” But this instance may find the demonstrative used in an earlier deictic sense, especially since there is no article with it.

[32:1]  ¹² tn The interrogative is used in an indirect question (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).

[12:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”

[12:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”

[16:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

[16:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.

[16:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[16:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and caused him to pass before.”

[16:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “caused to pass by.”

[16:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.

[16:11]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.

[16:12]  ²³ tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”

[40:4]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[40:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

[40:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

[40:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

[40:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

[101:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

[101:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

[101:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

[125:5]  ³² tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ³³ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[4:27]  ³⁶ sn The two verbs in this verse are from different roots, but nonetheless share the same semantic domain. The first verb is תֵּט (tet), a jussive from נָטָה (natah), which means “to turn aside” (Hiphil); the second verb is the Hiphil imperative of סוּר (sur), which means “to cause to turn to the side” (Hiphil). The disciple is not to leave the path of righteousness; but to stay on the path he must leave evil.

[4:27]  ³⁷ tn Heb “your foot” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The term רַגְלְךָ (raglÿkha, “your foot”) is a synecdoche of part (= foot) for the whole person (= “yourself”).

[4:27]  ³⁸ tc The LXX adds, “For the way of the right hand God knows, but those of the left hand are distorted; and he himself will make straight your paths and guide your goings in peace.” The ideas presented here are not out of harmony with Proverbs, but the section clearly shows an expansion by the translator. For a brief discussion of whether this addition is Jewish or early Christian, see C. H. Toy, Proverbs (ICC), 99.