2 Samuel 12:13

12:13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven ¹  your sin. You are not going to die.

2 Samuel 24:10

24:10 David felt guilty ²  after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

Mazmur 25:11

25:11 For the sake of your reputation, ³  O Lord,

forgive my sin, because it is great. ⁴ 

Mazmur 32:5

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ⁵  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ⁶  (Selah)

Yeremia 3:13

3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, ⁷ 

and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.

You must confess ⁸  that you have given yourself to ⁹  foreign gods under every green tree,

and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.

Lukas 15:18-19

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ¹⁰  against heaven ¹¹  and against ¹²  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ¹³  like one of your hired workers.”’

Lukas 15:1

The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin

15:1 Now all the tax collectors ¹⁴  and sinners were coming ¹⁵  to hear him.

Yohanes 1:9

1:9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, ¹⁶  was coming into the world. ¹⁷ 

[12:13]  ¹ tn Heb “removed.”

[24:10]  ² tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”

[25:11]  ³ tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the Lord’s reputation as a merciful God will be enhanced.

[25:11]  ⁴ sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness.

[32:5]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”

[3:13]  ⁸ tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.

[3:13]  ⁹ tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.

[3:13]  tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”

[15:18]  ¹⁰ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ¹¹ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ¹² tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ¹³ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[15:1]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[15:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “were drawing near.”

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “every man” (but in a generic sense, “every person,” or “every human being”).

[1:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world.” The participle ἐρχόμενον (ercomenon) may be either (1) neuter nominative, agreeing with τὸ φῶς (to fw"), or (2) masculine accusative, agreeing with ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon). Option (1) results in a periphrastic imperfect with ἦν (hn), ἦν τὸ φῶς… ἐρχόμενον, referring to the incarnation. Option (2) would have the participle modifying ἄνθρωπον and referring to the true light as enlightening “every man who comes into the world.” Option (2) has some rabbinic parallels: The phrase “all who come into the world” is a fairly common expression for “every man” (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 31.6). But (1) must be preferred here, because: (a) In the next verse the light is in the world; it is logical for v. 9 to speak of its entering the world; (b) in other passages Jesus is described as “coming into the world” (6:14, 9:39, 11:27, 16:28) and in 12:46 Jesus says: ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα (egw fw" ei" ton kosmon elhluqa); (c) use of a periphrastic participle with the imperfect tense is typical Johannine style: 1:28, 2:6, 3:23, 10:40, 11:1, 13:23, 18:18 and 25. In every one of these except 13:23 the finite verb is first and separated by one or more intervening words from the participle.

[1:9]  sn In v. 9 the world (κόσμος, kosmos) is mentioned for the first time. This is another important theme word for John. Generally, the world as a Johannine concept does not refer to the totality of creation (the universe), although there are exceptions at 11:9. 17:5, 24, 21:25, but to the world of human beings and human affairs. Even in 1:10 the world created through the Logos is a world capable of knowing (or reprehensibly not knowing) its Creator. Sometimes the world is further qualified as this world (ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, Jo kosmos Joutos) as in 8:23, 9:39, 11:9, 12:25, 31; 13:1, 16:11, 18:36. This is not merely equivalent to the rabbinic phrase “this present age” (ὁ αἰών οὗτος, Jo aiwn Joutos) and contrasted with “the world to come.” For John it is also contrasted to a world other than this one, already existing; this is the lower world, corresponding to which there is a world above (see especially 8:23, 18:36). Jesus appears not only as the Messiah by means of whom an eschatological future is anticipated (as in the synoptic gospels) but also as an envoy from the heavenly world to this world.