Ulangan 4:29-30

4:29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul. ¹  4:30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, ²  if you return to the Lord your God and obey him ³ 

Ulangan 4:1

The Privileges of the Covenant

4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances ⁴  I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ⁵  is giving you.

1 Samuel 7:3

7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. ⁶  Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you ⁷  from the hand of the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 7:1

7:1 Then the people ⁸  of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

Kisah Para Rasul 8:1-2

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ⁹  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ¹⁰  persecution began ¹¹  against the church in Jerusalem, ¹²  and all ¹³  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ¹⁴  of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Some ¹⁵  devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation ¹⁶  over him. ¹⁷ 

Kisah Para Rasul 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ¹⁸  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ¹⁹  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ²⁰  against the native Hebraic Jews, ²¹  because their widows ²²  were being overlooked ²³  in the daily distribution of food. ²⁴ 

Kisah Para Rasul 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ²⁵  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ²⁶  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ²⁷  against the native Hebraic Jews, ²⁸  because their widows ²⁹  were being overlooked ³⁰  in the daily distribution of food. ³¹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 7:13-14

7:13 On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph’s family ³²  became known to Pharaoh. 7:14 So Joseph sent a message ³³  and invited ³⁴  his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people ³⁵  in all.

Yesaya 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ³⁶ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ³⁷ 

and sinful people their plans. ³⁸ 

They should return ³⁹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁴⁰ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁴¹ 

Yeremia 4:1

4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,

“if you want to come back to me ⁴² 

you must get those disgusting idols ⁴³  out of my sight

and must no longer go astray. ⁴⁴ 

Yeremia 29:12-13

29:12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, ⁴⁵  I will hear your prayers. ⁴⁶  29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, ⁴⁷ 

Ratapan 3:40-41

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ⁴⁸ 

and let us return to the Lord.

3:41 Let us lift up our hearts ⁴⁹  and our hands

to God in heaven:

Hosea 6:1

Superficial Repentance Breeds False Assurance of God’s Forgiveness

6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!

He himself has torn us to pieces,

but he will heal us!

He has injured ⁵⁰  us,

but he will bandage our wounds!

Hosea 12:6

12:6 But you must return ⁵¹  to your God,

by maintaining love and justice,

and by waiting ⁵²  for your God to return to you. ⁵³ 

Hosea 14:1

Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance

14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for your sin has been your downfall! ⁵⁴ 

Zakharia 1:3-4

1:3 Therefore say to the people: ⁵⁵  The Lord who rules over all ⁵⁶  says, “Turn ⁵⁷  to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will turn to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. 1:4 “Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Turn now from your evil wickedness,”’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the Lord.

Kisah Para Rasul 26:20

26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ⁵⁸  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ⁵⁹  performing deeds consistent with ⁶⁰  repentance.

[4:29]  ¹ tn Or “mind and being.” See Deut 6:5.

[4:30]  ² sn The phrase is not used here in a technical sense for the eschaton, but rather refers to a future time when Israel will be punished for its sin and experience exile. See Deut 31:29.

[4:30]  ³ tn Heb “hear his voice.” The expression is an idiom meaning “obey,” occurring in Deut 8:20; 9:23; 13:18; 21:18, 20; 26:14, 17; 27:10; 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 8, 10, 20.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).

[7:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.

[7:3]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.

[7:3]  ⁷ tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “men.”

[8:1]  ⁹ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ¹³ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “countryside.”

[8:2]  ¹⁵ tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:2]  ¹⁶ sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.

[8:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”

[6:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  sn The Greek-speaking Jews were the Hellenists, Jews who to a greater or lesser extent had adopted Greek thought, customs, and lifestyle, as well as the Greek language. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was a focal point for them, but they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.

[6:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ²² sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ²³ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[6:1]  sn The daily distribution of food. The early church saw it as a responsibility to meet the basic needs of people in their group.

[6:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  sn The Greek-speaking Jews were the Hellenists, Jews who to a greater or lesser extent had adopted Greek thought, customs, and lifestyle, as well as the Greek language. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was a focal point for them, but they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.

[6:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ²⁹ sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[6:1]  sn The daily distribution of food. The early church saw it as a responsibility to meet the basic needs of people in their group.

[7:13]  ³² tn BDAG 194 s.v. γένος 2. gives “family, relatives” here; another alternative is “race” (see v. 19).

[7:14]  ³³ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:14]  ³⁴ tn Or “Joseph had his father summoned” (BDAG 121 s.v. ἀποστέλλω 2.b).

[7:14]  ³⁵ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[55:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ³⁹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁴⁰ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁴¹ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[4:1]  ⁴² tn Or “If you, Israel, want to turn [away from your shameful ways (those described in 3:23-25)]…then you must turn back to me.” Or perhaps, “Israel, you must turn back…Yes, you must turn back to me.”

[4:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “disgusting things.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Or possibly, “If you get those disgusting idols out of my sight, you will not need to flee.” This is less probable because the normal meaning of the last verb is “to wander,” “ to stray.”

[29:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “come and pray to me.” This is an example of verbal hendiadys where two verb formally joined by “and” convey a main concept with the second verb functioning as an adverbial qualifier.

[29:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “You will call out to me and come to me in prayer and I will hear your prayers.” The verbs are vav consecutive perfects and can be taken either as unconditional futures or as contingent futures. See GKC 337 §112.kk and 494 §159.g and compare the usage in Gen 44:22 for the use of the vav consecutive perfects in contingent futures. The conditional clause in the middle of 29:13 and the deuteronomic theology reflected in both Deut 30:1-5 and 1 Kgs 8:46-48 suggest that the verbs are continent futures here. For the same demand for wholehearted seeking in these contexts which presuppose exile see especially Deut 30:2, 1 Kgs 8:48.

[29:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

[3:40]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

[3:41]  ⁴⁹ tc The MT reads the singular noun לְבָבֵנוּ (lÿvavenu, “our heart”) but the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) and many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural noun לְבָבֵינוּ (lÿvavenu, “our hearts”). Hebrew regularly places plural pronouns on singular nouns used as a collective (135 times on the singular “heart” and only twice on the plural “hearts”). The plural “hearts” in any Hebrew construction is actually rather rare. The LXX renders similar Hebrew constructions (singular “heart” plus a plural pronoun) with the plural “hearts” about 1/3 of the time, therefore it cannot be considered evidence for the reading. The Vulgate may have been influenced by the LXX. Although a distributive sense is appropriate for a much higher percentage of passages using the plural “hearts” in the LXX, no clear reason for the differentiation in the LXX has emerged. Likely the singular Hebrew form is original but the meaning is best represented in English with the plural.

[6:1]  ⁵⁰ tn “has struck”; NRSV “struck down.”

[12:6]  ⁵¹ tn The verb תָשׁוּב (tashuv, Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to return”) functions as an imperfect of moral obligation, introducing the following imperatives (e.g., Gen 20:9; Exod 4:15). For this function of the imperfect, see IBHS 508-9 §31.4g.

[12:6]  ⁵² tn The verb וְקַוֵּה (vÿqavveh, vav + Piel imperative 2nd person masculine singular from קָוָה, qavah, “to wait for”) means “to hope for, wait for, look eagerly for” (BDB 875 s.v. קָוָה 1; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b). The Qal meaning refers to a general hope; the Piel meaning refers to hope directed toward an object, or hope inserted within a sequence of expectation and fulfillment. When the Piel is used in reference to a thing, it refers to waiting expectantly for something to occur (e.g., Gen 49:18; Isa 5:2, 4, 7; 59:9, 11; Jer 8:15; 13:16; 14:19; Ps 69:21; Job 3:9; 6:19; 11:20). When it is used in reference to God, it refers to the people of God waiting expectantly for God to do something or to fulfill his promise (e.g., Pss 25:5, 21; 27:14; 37:34; 40:2; 52:11; 130:5; Isa 8:17; 25:9; 26:8; 33:2; 51:5; 60:9; Hos 12:7). The personal object can be introduced by the preposition לְ (lamed, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.a) or אֶל (’el, “for”; HALOT 1082 s.v. קָוָה 2.b; e.g., Pss 27:14; 37:34; Isa 51:5; Hos 12:7). The point seems to be that if Israel will repent and practice moral righteousness, she can look to God in confident expectation that he will intervene on her behalf by relenting from judgment and restoring the covenant blessings.

[12:6]  ⁵³ tn The phrase “to return to you” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied; it is provided in the translation for clarity. This ellipsis fills out the implicit connotations of the verb קָוָה (qavah, “to wait for”).

[14:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”

[1:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “to them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁵⁶ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Zechariah (53 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv) is common in covenant contexts. To turn from the Lord is to break the covenant and to turn to him (i.e., to repent) is to renew the covenant relationship (cf. 2 Kgs 17:13).

[26:20]  ⁵⁸ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

[26:20]  ⁵⁹ sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

[26:20]  ⁶⁰ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.