Amsal 1:24-28

1:24 However, ¹  because ²  I called but you refused to listen, ³ 

because ⁴  I stretched out my hand ⁵  but no one paid attention,

1:25 because ⁶  you neglected ⁷  all my advice,

and did not comply ⁸  with my rebuke,

1:26 so ⁹  I myself will laugh ¹⁰  when disaster strikes you, ¹¹ 

I will mock when what you dread ¹²  comes,

1:27 when what you dread ¹³  comes like a whirlwind, ¹⁴ 

and disaster strikes you ¹⁵  like a devastating storm, ¹⁶ 

when distressing trouble ¹⁷  comes on you.

1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;

they will diligently seek ¹⁸  me, but they will not find me.

Amsal 14:6

14:6 The scorner ¹⁹  seeks wisdom but finds none, ²⁰ 

but understanding is easy ²¹  for a discerning person.

Amsal 21:25

21:25 What the sluggard desires ²²  will kill him, ²³ 

for his hands ²⁴  refuse to work.

Pengkhotbah 10:15

10:15 The toil of a stupid fool ²⁵  wears him out, ²⁶ 

because he does not even know the way to the city. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 1:15

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ²⁸ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 58:2-4

58:2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements, ³⁰ 

like a nation that does what is right

and does not reject the law of their God.

They ask me for just decrees;

they want to be near God.

58:3 They lament, ³¹  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ³² 

you oppress your workers. ³³ 

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ³⁴  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ³⁵ 

Do not fast as you do today,

trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

Yehezkiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ³⁶  and they sit in front of you as ³⁷  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ³⁸  them. For they talk lustfully, ³⁹  and their heart is set on ⁴⁰  their own advantage. ⁴¹ 

Markus 6:18-20

6:18 For John had repeatedly told ⁴²  Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ⁴³  6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But ⁴⁴  she could not 6:20 because Herod stood in awe of ⁴⁵  John and protected him, since he knew that John ⁴⁶  was a righteous and holy man. When Herod ⁴⁷  heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, ⁴⁸  and yet ⁴⁹  he liked to listen to John. ⁵⁰ 

Yohanes 7:34

7:34 You will look for me ⁵¹  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”

Yohanes 8:21

Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going

8:21 Then Jesus ⁵²  said to them again, ⁵³  “I am going away, and you will look for me ⁵⁴  but will die in your sin. ⁵⁵  Where I am going you cannot come.”

Yohanes 13:33

13:33 Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me, ⁵⁶  and just as I said to the Jewish religious leaders, ⁵⁷  ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ ⁵⁸  now I tell you the same. ⁵⁹ 

Roma 9:31-33

9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ⁶⁰  a law of righteousness ⁶¹  did not attain it. ⁶²  9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ⁶³  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ⁶⁴  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ⁶⁵  9:33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall, ⁶⁶ 

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ⁶⁷ 

Roma 10:3

10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

[1:24]  ¹ tn The term “however” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the contrast between the offer in 1:23 and the accusation in 1:24-25. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:24]  ² tn The particle יַעַן (ya’an, “because”) introduces a causal clause which forms part of an extended protasis; the apodosis is 1:26.

[1:24]  ³ tn The phrase “to listen” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn The term “because” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[1:24]  ⁵ sn This expression is a metonymy of adjunct; it is a gesture that goes with the appeal for some to approach.

[1:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “and.”

[1:25]  ⁷ tn The verb III פָּרַע means “to let go; to let alone” (BDB 828 s.v.). It can refer to unkempt hair of the head (Lev 10:6) or lack of moral restraint: “to let things run free” (Exod 32:25; Prov 28:19). Here it means “to avoid, neglect” the offer of wisdom (BDB 829 s.v. 2).

[1:25]  ⁸ tn The verbs are characteristic perfects or indefinite pasts. For the word “comply, consent,” see 1:20.

[1:26]  ⁹ tn The conclusion or apodosis is now introduced.

[1:26]  ¹⁰ sn Laughing at the consequences of the fool’s rejection of wisdom does convey hardness against the fool; it reveals the folly of rejecting wisdom (e.g., Ps 2:4). It vindicates wisdom and the appropriateness of the disaster (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 60).

[1:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is either (1) a genitive of worth: “the disaster due you” or (2) an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.” The term “disaster” (אֵיד, ’ed) often refers to final life-ending calamity (Prov 6:15; 24:22; BDB 15 s.v. 3). The preposition ב (bet) focuses upon time here.

[1:26]  ¹² tn Heb “your dread” (so NASB); KJV “your fear”; NRSV “panic.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is a subjective genitive: “that which you dread.”

[1:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “your dread.” See note on 1:31.

[1:27]  ¹⁴ sn The term “whirlwind” (NAB, NIV, NRSV; cf. TEV, NLT “storm”) refers to a devastating storm and is related to the verb שׁוֹא (sho’, “to crash into ruins”; see BDB 996 s.v. שׁוֹאָה). Disaster will come swiftly and crush them like a devastating whirlwind.

[1:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.”

[1:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like a storm.” The noun סוּפָה (sufah, “storm”) is often used in similes to describe sudden devastation (Isa 5:28; Hos 8:7; Amos 1:14).

[1:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “distress and trouble.” The nouns “distress and trouble” mean almost the same thing so they may form a hendiadys. The two similar sounding terms צוּקָה (tsuqah) and צָרָה (tsarah) also form a wordplay (paronomasia) which also links them together.

[1:28]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).

[14:6]  ¹⁹ sn The “scorner” (לֵץ, lets) is intellectually arrogant; he lacks any serious interest in knowledge or religion. He pursues wisdom in a superficial way so that he can appear wise. The acquisition of wisdom is conditioned by one’s attitude toward it (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 149).

[14:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and there is not.”

[14:6]  ²¹ sn The Niphal of קָלַל (qalal) means “to appear light; to appear trifling; to appear easy.”

[21:25]  ²² tn Heb “the desire of the sluggard” (so ASV, NASB). This phrase features a subject genitive: “what the sluggard desires.” The term תַּאֲוַת (ta’avat, “desire; craving”) is a metonymy of cause. The craving itself will not destroy the sluggard, but what will destroy him is what the craving causes him to do or not to do. The lazy come to ruin because they desire the easy way out.

[21:25]  ²³ tn The verb תְּמִיתֶנּוּ (tÿmitennu) is the Hiphil imperfect with a suffix: “will kill him.” It is probably used hyperbolically here for coming to ruin (cf. NLT), although it could include physical death.

[21:25]  ²⁴ sn “Hands” is figurative for the whole person; but “hands” is retained in the translation because it is often the symbol to express one’s ability of action.

[10:15]  ²⁵ tn The plural form of הַכְּסִילִים (hakkÿsilim, from כְּסִיל, kÿsil, “fool”) denotes (1) plural of number: referring to several fools or (2) plural of habitual character or plural of intensity (referring to a single person characterized by a habitual or intense quality of foolishness). The latter is favored because the two verbs in 10:15 are both singular in form: “wearies him” (תְּיַגְּעֶנּוּ, tÿyaggÿ’ennu) and “he does [not] know” (לֹא־יָדַע, lo’-yada’); see GKC 440-41 §135.p. The article on הַכְּסִילִים is used in the generic sense.

[10:15]  ²⁶ tn This line may be interpreted in one of three ways: (1) “the labor of fools wearies him because he did not know enough to go to a town,” referring to the labor of the peasants who had not been able to find a place in town where life was easier; (2) “the labor of the fools so wearies everyone of them (singular pronoun taken in a distributive sense) so much that he even does not know how to go to town,” that is, he does not even know how to do the easiest thing in the world; (3) “let the labor of fools so weary him that he may not even know how to go to town,” taking the verb as a jussive, describing the foolish man described in 10:12-14. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:592–93.

[10:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he does not know to go to the city.”

[1:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ²⁹ sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[58:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”

[58:3]  ³¹ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ³² tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ³³ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”

[33:31]  ³⁶ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ³⁷ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ³⁸ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ³⁹ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ⁴¹ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[6:18]  ⁴² tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[6:18]  ⁴³ sn It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. This was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.

[6:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[6:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

[6:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ⁴⁸ tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D ˹ 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

[6:20]  tn Or “terribly disturbed,” “rather perplexed.” The verb ἀπορέω (aporew) means “to be in perplexity, with the implication of serious anxiety” (L&N 32.9).

[6:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

[6:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:34]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “seek me.”

[8:21]  ⁵² tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ⁵³ tn The expression οὖν πάλιν (oun palin) indicates some sort of break in the sequence of events, but it is not clear how long. The author does not mention the interval between 8:12-20 and this next recorded dialogue. The feast of Tabernacles is past, and the next reference to time is 10:22, where the feast of the Dedication is mentioned. The interval is two months, and these discussions could have taken place at any time within that interval, as long as one assumes something of a loose chronological framework. However, if the material in the Fourth Gospel is arranged theologically or thematically, such an assumption would not apply.

[8:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ⁵⁵ tn The expression ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε (en th Jamartia Jumwn apoqaneisqe) is similar to an expression found in the LXX at Ezek 3:18, 20 and Prov 24:9. Note the singular of ἁμαρτία (the plural occurs later in v. 24). To die with one’s sin unrepented and unatoned would be the ultimate disaster to befall a person. Jesus’ warning is stern but to the point.

[13:33]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “You will seek me.”

[13:33]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem in general, or to the Jewish religious leaders in particular, who had sent servants to attempt to arrest Jesus on that occasion (John 7:33-35). The last option is the one adopted in the translation above.

[13:33]  ⁵⁸ sn See John 7:33-34.

[13:33]  ⁵⁹ tn The words “the same” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[9:31]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ⁶¹ tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ⁶² tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[9:32]  ⁶³ tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ⁶⁴ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  tn Grk “but as by works.”

[9:32]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[9:33]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

[9:33]  ⁶⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.