Yeremia 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ¹ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ²  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Yehezkiel 20:32

20:32 “‘What you plan ³  will never happen. You say, “We will be ⁴  like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.” ⁵ 

Roma 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁶  to this present world, ⁷  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁸  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Efesus 4:17

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ⁹  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ¹⁰  of their thinking. ¹¹ 

Efesus 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ¹²  urge you to live ¹³  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁴ 

Pengkhotbah 4:3-4

4:3 But better than both is the one who has not been born ¹⁵ 

and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth. ¹⁶ 

Labor Motivated by Envy

4:4 Then I considered ¹⁷  all the skillful work ¹⁸  that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than ¹⁹  competition ²⁰  between one person and another. ²¹ 

This also is profitless – like ²²  chasing the wind.

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ² tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated here “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ’otot) refers both to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as the changes in the position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.

[20:32]  ³ tn Heb “what comes upon your mind.”

[20:32]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew could also read: “Let us be.”

[20:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “serving wood and stone.”

[20:32]  sn This verse echoes the content of 1 Sam 8:20.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁸ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[4:17]  ⁹ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

[4:17]  ¹⁰ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

[4:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

[4:1]  ¹² tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[4:3]  ¹⁵ tn The word “born” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[4:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “saw.”

[4:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ’et-kol-’amal vÿ’et kol-kishron) is a nominal hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two independent phrases are used to connote the same thing). The second functions adverbially, modifying the first, which retains its full nominal function: “all the skillful work.”

[4:4]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ²⁰ tn The noun קִנְאַה (qin’ah, “competition”) has a wide range of meanings: “zeal; jealousy; envy; rivalry; competition; suffering; animosity; anger; wrath” (HALOT 1110 s.v.; BDB 888 s.v.). Here, as in 9:6, it denotes “rivalry” (BDB 888 s.v. 1) or “competitive spirit” (HALOT 1110 s.v. 1.b). The LXX rendered it ζῆλος (zhlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).

[4:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”

[4:4]  ²² tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.