1 Raja-raja 10:7

10:7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! ¹  Your wisdom and wealth ²  surpass what was reported to me.

Mazmur 31:19

31:19 How great is your favor, ³ 

which you store up for your loyal followers! ⁴ 

In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter ⁵  in you. ⁶ 

Zakharia 9:17

9:17 How precious and fair! ⁷  Grain will make the young men flourish and new wine the young women.

Zakharia 9:1

The Coming of the True King

9:1 An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, ⁸  with its focus on Damascus: ⁹ 

The eyes of all humanity, ¹⁰  especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,

Kolose 2:9

2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives ¹¹  in bodily form,

Kolose 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ¹²  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ¹³ 

Yohanes 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ¹⁴  at night ¹⁵  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ¹⁶  that you do unless God is with him.”

[10:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “good.”

[31:19]  ³ tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”

[31:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “for those who fear you.”

[31:19]  ⁵ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 34:21-22).

[31:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”

[9:17]  ⁷ sn This expostulation best fits the whole preceding description of God’s eschatological work on behalf of his people. His goodness is especially evident in his nurturing of the young men and women of his kingdom.

[9:1]  ⁸ sn The land of Hadrach was a northern region stretching from Aleppo in the north to Damascus in the south (cf. NLT “Aram”).

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Damascus its resting place.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix on “resting place” (מְנֻחָתוֹ, mÿnukhato), however, precludes “land” or even “Hadrach,” both of which are feminine, from being the antecedent. Most likely “word” (masculine) is the antecedent, i.e., the “word of the Lord” is finding its resting place, that is, its focus in or on Damascus.

[9:1]  ¹⁰ tc Though without manuscript and version support, many scholars suggest emendation here to clarify what, to them, is an unintelligible reading. Thus some propose עָדֵי אָרָם (’ade ’aram, “cities of Aram”; cf. NAB, NRSV) for עֵין אָדָם (’en ’adam, “eye of man”) or אֲדָמָה (’adamah, “ground”) for אָדָם (’adam, “man”), “(surface of) the earth.” It seems best, however, to see “eye” as collective and to understand the passage as saying that the attention of the whole earth will be upon the Lord (cf. NIV, NLT).

[2:9]  ¹¹ sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.

[2:1]  ¹² tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[3:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.

[3:2]  ¹⁶ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.