Amsal 1:20-21

Warning Against Disregarding Wisdom

1:20 Wisdom ¹  calls out ²  in the street,

she shouts loudly ³  in the plazas; ⁴ 

1:21 at the head of the noisy ⁵  streets she calls,

in the entrances of the gates in the city ⁶  she utters her words: ⁷ 

Amsal 9:1-3

The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly ⁸ 

9:1 Wisdom has built her house;

she has carved out its seven pillars. ⁹ 

9:2 She has prepared her meat, ¹⁰  she has mixed her wine;

she also has arranged her table. ¹¹ 

9:3 She has sent out her female servants;

she calls out on the highest places ¹²  of the city.

Yesaya 49:1-6

Ideal Israel Delivers the Exiles

49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! ¹³ 

Pay attention, you people who live far away!

The Lord summoned me from birth; ¹⁴ 

he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. ¹⁵ 

49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

he hid me in the hollow of his hand;

he made me like a sharpened ¹⁶  arrow,

he hid me in his quiver. ¹⁷ 

49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.” ¹⁸ 

49:4 But I thought, ¹⁹  “I have worked in vain;

I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” ²⁰ 

But the Lord will vindicate me;

my God will reward me. ²¹ 

49:5 So now the Lord says,

the one who formed me from birth ²²  to be his servant –

he did this ²³  to restore Jacob to himself,

so that Israel might be gathered to him;

and I will be honored ²⁴  in the Lord’s sight,

for my God is my source of strength ²⁵  –

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant ²⁶  of Israel? ²⁷ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ²⁸ 

so you can bring ²⁹  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Yesaya 55:1-3

The Lord Gives an Invitation

55:1 “Hey, ³⁰  all who are thirsty, come to the water!

You who have no money, come!

Buy and eat!

Come! Buy wine and milk

without money and without cost! ³¹ 

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ³² 

Why spend ³³  your hard-earned money ³⁴  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ³⁵  to me and eat what is nourishing! ³⁶ 

Enjoy fine food! ³⁷ 

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ³⁸ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ³⁹  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ⁴⁰ 

Matius 3:3

3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ⁴¹ 

“The voice ⁴²  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ⁴³  his paths straight.’” ⁴⁴ 

Matius 4:17

4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: ⁴⁵  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matius 28:19-20

28:19 Therefore go ⁴⁶  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ⁴⁷  28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ⁴⁸  I am with you ⁴⁹  always, to the end of the age.” ⁵⁰ 

Markus 13:10

13:10 First the gospel must be preached to all nations.

Markus 16:15-16

16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

Lukas 24:47

24:47 and repentance ⁵¹  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ⁵²  in his name to all nations, ⁵³  beginning from Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ 

Yohanes 7:37

Teaching About the Spirit

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, ⁵⁵  Jesus stood up and shouted out, ⁵⁶  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and

Kisah Para Rasul 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts ⁵⁷  of the earth.”

Kisah Para Rasul 22:21

22:21 Then ⁵⁸  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Roma 15:18-21

15:18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience ⁵⁹  of the Gentiles, by word and deed, 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 15:20 And in this way I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person’s foundation, 15:21 but as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” ⁶⁰ 

[1:20]  ¹ tn The noun חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom”) is the abstract feminine plural form. It probably functions as a plural of intensity, stressing the all-embracing, elevated wisdom (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 272). As in 8:1-9:11, Wisdom is personified as a righteous woman in 1:20-33.

[1:20]  ² sn The verb רָנַן (ranan, “to cry out, give a ringing cry”) always expresses excitement, whether of joyful praise or lamentable sorrow (BDB 943 s.v.). Here it is an excited summons.

[1:20]  ³ tn Heb “she gives her voice.” The expression means to shout loudly (BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.x).

[1:20]  ⁴ sn The word רְחֹבוֹת (rÿkhovot, “plazas”) refers to the wide plazas or broad open spaces near the gate where all the people assembled. The personification of wisdom as a woman crying out in this place would be a vivid picture of the public appeal to all who pass by.

[1:21]  ⁵ tc MT reads הֹמִיּוֹת (homyyot, “noisy streets”; Qal participle feminine plural from הָמָה [hamah], “to murmur; to roar”), referring to the busy, bustling place where the street branches off from the gate complex. The LXX reads τειχέων (teicewn) which reflects חֹמוֹת (khomot), “walls” (feminine plural noun from חוֹמָה [khomah], “wall”): “She proclaims on the summits of the walls.” MT is preferred because it is the more difficult form. The LXX textual error was caused by simple omission of yod (י). In addition, the LXX expands the verse to read, “she sits at the gates of the princes, at the gates of the city she boldly says.” The shorter MT reading is preferred.

[1:21]  ⁶ sn The phrase “in the city” further defines the area of the entrance just inside the gate complex, the business area. In an ancient Near Eastern city, business dealings and judicial proceedings would both take place in this area.

[1:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “she speaks her words.”

[9:1]  ⁸ sn Chapter 9 forms the conclusion of the lengthy introduction to the book. Both wisdom and folly will make their final appeals; and both appeal to the simpletons. Wisdom offers life with no mention of pleasure; folly offers pleasure with no mention of death. The first twelve verses concern accepting wisdom: the invitation of wisdom (1-6), the description of the responses (7-11), and the consequence (12). Verses 13-18 concern accepting folly: the invitation (13-17) and the consequence (18).

[9:1]  ⁹ sn Wisdom is personified as a wise woman. She has prepared a house and established it on seven pillars. This is a reference to the habitable world (e.g., 8:31). For the equation of the house and the world, e.g., 8:29; Job 38:6; and Psalm 104:5 (also G. Boström, Proverbiastudien [LUÅ], 1-14). The “seven pillars” have been variously interpreted, but since seven is a number for completeness and sacredness, the idea seems to be that wisdom produced a perfect world.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “she has killed her killing.” Cf. KJV “hath killed her beasts”; NAB “has dressed her meat”; NASB “has prepared her food.”

[9:2]  ¹¹ sn Wisdom has prepared a sumptuous banquet in this house and sends out her maids to call the simple to come and eat (M. Lichtenstein, “The Banquet Motif in Keret and in Proverbs 9,” JANESCU 1 [1968/69]: 19-31). The figures of meat and wine represent the good teaching of wisdom that will be palatable and profitable (implied comparisons). Compare Isaiah 55:1-2 and John 6:51, 55 for similar uses of the figures. The idea of mixing wine could refer to the practice of mixing wine with spices or with water (as the LXX text assumes; e.g., Prov 23:30; Isa 5:22). Mixed wine was the most intoxicating; thus, her wisdom is attractive. All the imagery lets the simple know that what wisdom has to offer is marvelous.

[9:3]  ¹² tn The text uses two synonymous terms in construct to express the superlative degree.

[49:1]  ¹³ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”

[49:1]  sn The Lord’s special servant, introduced in chap. 42, speaks here of his commission.

[49:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “called me from the womb.”

[49:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”

[49:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”

[49:2]  ¹⁷ sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.

[49:3]  ¹⁸ sn This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to the exiled nation (cf. 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20), but in vv. 5-6 this servant says he has been commissioned to reconcile Israel to God, so he must be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal “Israel” who, like Moses of old, mediates a covenant for the nation (see v. 8), leads them out of bondage (v. 9a), and carries out God’s original plan for Israel by positively impacting the pagan nations (see v. 6b). By living according to God’s law, Israel was to be a model of God’s standards of justice to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6-8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant, the ideal “Israel,” will succeed by establishing justice throughout the earth.

[49:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”

[49:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.

[49:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”

[49:5]  ²² tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:5]  ²³ tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.

[49:5]  ²⁴ tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”

[49:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.

[49:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ²⁷ sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

[49:6]  ²⁸ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[55:1]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.

[55:1]  ³¹ sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”

[55:2]  ³² tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ³³ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ³⁵ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[55:2]  sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).

[55:3]  ³⁸ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  sn To live here refers to covenantal blessing, primarily material prosperity and national security (see vv. 4-5, 13, and Deut 30:6, 15, 19-20).

[55:3]  ³⁹ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”

[3:3]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ⁴² tn Or “A voice.”

[3:3]  ⁴³ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[3:3]  ⁴⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[4:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and to say.”

[28:19]  ⁴⁶ tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuqentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.

[28:19]  ⁴⁷ tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the original text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19,” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.

[28:20]  ⁴⁸ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ⁴⁹ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ⁵⁰ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.

[24:47]  ⁵¹ sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ⁵² tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ⁵³ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ⁵⁴ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[24:47]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:37]  ⁵⁵ sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.

[7:37]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”

[1:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “to the ends.”

[22:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[15:18]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “unto obedience.”

[15:21]  ⁶⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 52:15.