Exodus 34:7

34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ¹  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ²  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Leviticus 20:5

20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, ³  to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. ⁴ 

Leviticus 26:29

26:29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. ⁵ 

Leviticus 26:39-40

Restoration through Confession and Repentance

26:39 “‘As for the ones who remain among you, they will rot away because of ⁶  their iniquity in the lands of your enemies, and they will also rot away because of their ancestors’ ⁷  iniquities which are with them. 26:40 However, when ⁸  they confess their iniquity and their ancestors’ iniquity which they committed by trespassing against me, ⁹  by which they also walked ¹⁰  in hostility against me ¹¹ 

Numbers 14:18

14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, ¹²  forgiving iniquity and transgression, ¹³  but by no means clearing ¹⁴  the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.’ ¹⁵ 

Numbers 14:33

14:33 and your children will wander ¹⁶  in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, ¹⁷  until your dead bodies lie finished ¹⁸  in the wilderness.

Numbers 14:1

The Israelites Respond in Unbelief

14:1 ¹⁹ Then all the community raised a loud cry, ²⁰  and the people wept ²¹  that night.

Numbers 15:2-3

15:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, ²²  which I am giving you, ²³  15:3 and you make an offering by fire to the Lord from the herd or from the flock (whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a freewill offering or in your solemn feasts) to create a pleasing aroma to the Lord,

Numbers 15:2

15:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, ²⁴  which I am giving you, ²⁵ 

Numbers 21:1

Victory at Hormah

21:1 ²⁶ When the Canaanite king of Arad ²⁷  who lived in the Negev ²⁸  heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.

Numbers 21:6

21:6 So the Lord sent poisonous ²⁹  snakes ³⁰  among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.

Numbers 21:1

Victory at Hormah

21:1 ³¹ When the Canaanite king of Arad ³²  who lived in the Negev ³³  heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.

Numbers 21:29

21:29 Woe to you, Moab.

You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! ³⁴ 

He has made his sons fugitives,

and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.

Numbers 21:2

21:2 So Israel made a vow ³⁵  to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver ³⁶  this people into our ³⁷  hand, then we will utterly destroy ³⁸  their cities.”

Numbers 23:26

23:26 But Balaam replied ³⁹  to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, ⁴⁰  I must do’?”

Job 5:4

5:4 His children are far ⁴¹  from safety,

and they are crushed ⁴²  at the place where judgment is rendered, ⁴³ 

nor is there anyone to deliver them. ⁴⁴ 

Job 21:19

21:19 You may say, ⁴⁵  ‘God stores up a man’s ⁴⁶  punishment for his children!’ ⁴⁷ 

Instead let him repay ⁴⁸  the man himself ⁴⁹ 

so that ⁵⁰  he may know it!

Psalms 79:8

79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! ⁵¹ 

Quickly send your compassion our way, ⁵² 

for we are in serious trouble! ⁵³ 

Psalms 109:14

109:14 May his ancestors’ ⁵⁴  sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! ⁵⁵ 

Isaiah 14:20-21

14:20 You will not be buried with them, ⁵⁶ 

because you destroyed your land

and killed your people.

The offspring of the wicked

will never be mentioned again.

14:21 Prepare to execute ⁵⁷  his sons

for the sins their ancestors have committed. ⁵⁸ 

They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,

or fill the surface of the world with cities.” ⁵⁹ 

Isaiah 65:6-7

65:6 Look, I have decreed: ⁶⁰ 

I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;

I will pay them back exactly what they deserve, ⁶¹ 

65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” ⁶²  says the Lord.

“Because they burned incense on the mountains

and offended ⁶³  me on the hills,

I will punish them in full measure.” ⁶⁴ 

Jeremiah 2:9

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case ⁶⁵  against you,” says the Lord.

“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. ⁶⁶ 

Jeremiah 32:18

32:18 You show unfailing love to thousands. ⁶⁷  But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. ⁶⁸  You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all. ⁶⁹ 

Matthew 23:34-36

23:34 “For this reason I ⁷⁰  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ⁷¹  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ⁷²  and some you will flog ⁷³  in your synagogues ⁷⁴  and pursue from town to town, 23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ⁷⁵  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 23:36 I tell you the truth, ⁷⁶  this generation will be held responsible for all these things! ⁷⁷ 

[34:7]  ¹ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ² sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[20:5]  ³ tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.

[20:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[26:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.” The phrase “you will eat” has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:39]  ⁶ tn Heb “in” (so KJV, ASV; also later in this verse).

[26:39]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers’” (also in the following verse).

[26:40]  ⁸ tn Heb “And.” Many English versions take this to be a conditional clause (“if…”) though there is no conditional particle (see, e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV; but see the very different rendering in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 190). The temporal translation offered here (“when”) takes into account the particle אָז (’az, “then”), which occurs twice in v. 41. The obvious contextual contrast between vv. 39 and 40 is expressed by “however” in the translation.

[26:40]  ⁹ tn Heb “in their trespassing which they trespassed in me.” See the note on Lev 5:15, although the term is used in a more technical sense there in relation to the “guilt offering.”

[26:40]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and also which they walked.”

[26:40]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with me.”

[14:18]  ¹² tn The expression is רַב־חֶסֶד (rav khesed) means “much of loyal love,” or “faithful love.” Some have it “totally faithful,” but that omits the aspect of his love.

[14:18]  ¹³ tn Or “rebellion.”

[14:18]  ¹⁴ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the verbal activity of the imperfect tense, which here serves as a habitual imperfect. Negated it states what God does not do; and the infinitive makes that certain.

[14:18]  ¹⁵ sn The Decalogue adds “to those who hate me.” The point of the line is that the effects of sin, if not the sinful traits themselves, are passed on to the next generation.

[14:33]  ¹⁶ tn The word is “shepherds.” It means that the people would be wilderness nomads, grazing their flock on available land.

[14:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you shall bear your whoredoms.” The imagery of prostitution is used throughout the Bible to reflect spiritual unfaithfulness, leaving the covenant relationship and following after false gods. Here it is used generally for their rebellion in the wilderness, but not for following other gods.

[14:33]  ¹⁸ tn The infinitive is from תָּמַם (tamam), which means “to be complete.” The word is often used to express completeness in a good sense – whole, blameless, or the like. Here and in v. 35 it seems to mean “until your deaths have been completed.” See also Gen 47:15; Deut 2:15.

[14:1]  ¹⁹ sn This chapter forms part of the story already begun. There are three major sections here: dissatisfaction with the reports (vv. 1-10), the threat of divine punishment (vv. 11-38), and the defeat of the Israelites (vv. 39-45). See K. D. Sakenfeld, “The Problem of Divine Forgiveness in Num 14,” CBQ 37 (1975): 317-30; also J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.

[14:1]  ²⁰ tn The two verbs “lifted up their voice and cried” form a hendiadys; the idiom of raising the voice means that they cried aloud.

[14:1]  ²¹ tn There are a number of things that the verb “to weep” or “wail” can connote. It could reflect joy, grief, lamentation, or repentance, but here it reflects fear, hopelessness, or vexation at the thought of coming all this way and being defeated by the Canaanite armies. See Judg 20:23, 26.

[15:2]  ²² tn Heb “the land of your habitations.”

[15:2]  ²³ tn The Hebrew participle here has the futur instans use of the participle, expressing that something is going to take place. It is not imminent, but it is certain that God would give the land to Israel.

[15:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the land of your habitations.”

[15:2]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew participle here has the futur instans use of the participle, expressing that something is going to take place. It is not imminent, but it is certain that God would give the land to Israel.

[21:1]  ²⁶ sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.

[21:1]  ²⁷ sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).

[21:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.

[21:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “fiery.”

[21:6]  ³⁰ tn The designation of the serpents/ snakes is נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim), which is similar to the word for “bronze” (נְחֹשֶׁת, nÿkhoshet). This has led some scholars to describe the serpents as bronze in color. The description of them as fiery indicates they were poisonous. Perhaps the snake in question is a species of adder.

[21:1]  ³¹ sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.

[21:1]  ³² sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).

[21:1]  ³³ tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.

[21:29]  ³⁴ sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.

[21:2]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.

[21:2]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”

[21:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “my.”

[21:2]  ³⁸ tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.

[23:26]  ³⁹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[23:26]  ⁴⁰ tn This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the verse. It is something of an independent accusative case, since it is picked up with the sign of the accusative: “all that the Lord speaks, it I must do.”

[5:4]  ⁴¹ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse describe the condition of the accursed situation. Some commentators follow the LXX and take these as jussives, making this verse the curse that the man pronounced upon the fool. Rashi adds “This is the malediction with which I have cursed him.” That would make the speaker the one calling down the judgment on the fool rather than responding by observation how God destroyed the habitation of the fool.

[5:4]  ⁴² tn The verb יִדַּכְּאוּ (yiddakkÿ’u) could be taken as the passive voice, or in the reciprocal sense (“crush one another”) or reflexive (“crush themselves”). The context favors the idea that the children of the foolish person will be destroyed because there is no one who will deliver them.

[5:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in the gate.” The city gate was the place of both business and justice. The sense here seems to fit the usage of gates as the place of legal disputes, so the phrase “at the place of judgment” has been used in the translation.

[5:4]  ⁴⁴ tn The text simply says “and there is no deliverer.” The entire clause could be subordinated to the preceding clause, and rendered simply “without a deliverer.”

[21:19]  ⁴⁵ tn These words are supplied. The verse records an idea that Job suspected they might have, namely, that if the wicked die well God will make their children pay for the sins (see Job 5:4; 20:10; as well as Exod 20:5).

[21:19]  ⁴⁶ tn The text simply has אוֹנוֹ (’ono, “his iniquity”), but by usage, “the punishment for the iniquity.”

[21:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “his sons.”

[21:19]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb שָׁלַם (shalam) in the Piel has the meaning of restoring things to their normal, making whole, and so reward, repay (if for sins), or recompense in general.

[21:19]  ⁴⁹ tn The text simply has “let him repay [to] him.”

[21:19]  ⁵⁰ tn The imperfect verb after the jussive carries the meaning of a purpose clause, and so taken as a final imperfect: “in order that he may know [or realize].”

[79:8]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “do not remember against us sins, former.” Some understand “former” as an attributive adjective modifying sins, “former [i.e., chronologically prior] sins” (see BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). The present translation assumes that ראשׁנים (“former”) here refers to those who lived formerly, that is, the people’s ancestors (see Lam 5:7). The word is used in this way in Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14 and Eccl 1:11.

[79:8]  ⁵² tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.

[79:8]  ⁵³ tn Heb “for we are very low.”

[109:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

[109:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

[14:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).

[14:21]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”

[14:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “for the sin of their fathers.”

[14:21]  ⁵⁹ sn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:320, n. 10) suggests that the garrison cities of the mighty empire are in view here.

[65:6]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Look, it is written before me.”

[65:6]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “I will pay back into their lap.”

[65:7]  ⁶² tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”

[65:7]  ⁶³ tn Or perhaps, “taunted”; KJV “blasphemed”; NAB “disgraced”; NASB “scorned”; NIV “defied”; NRSV “reviled.”

[65:7]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.

[2:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “bring charges against you.”

[2:9]  ⁶⁶ tn The words “your children and” are supplied in the translation to bring out the idea of corporate solidarity implicit in the passage.

[32:18]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “to thousands of generations.” The contrast of showing steadfast love to “thousands” to the limitation of punishing the third and fourth generation of children for their parents’ sins in Exod 20:5-6; Deut 5:9-10; Exod 34:7 has suggested to many commentators and translators (cf., e.g., NRSV, TEV, NJPS) that reference here is to “thousands of generations.” The statement is, of course, rhetorical emphasizing God’s great desire to bless as opposed to the reluctant necessity to punish. It is part of the attributes of God spelled out in Exod 34:6-7.

[32:18]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “pays back into the bosom of their children the sin of their parents.”

[32:18]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “Nothing is too hard for you who show…and who punishes…the great [and] powerful God whose name is Yahweh of armies, [you who are] great in counsel…whose eyes are open…who did signs…” Jer 32:18-22 is a long series of relative clauses introduced by participles or relative pronouns in vv. 18-20a followed by second person vav consecutive imperfects carrying on the last of these relative clauses in vv. 20b-22. This is typical of hymnic introductions to hymns of praise (cf., e.g., Ps 136) but it is hard to sustain the relative subordination which all goes back to the suffix on “hard for you.” The sentences have been broken up but the connection with the end of v. 17 has been sacrificed for conformity to contemporary English style.

[23:34]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[23:34]  ⁷¹ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ⁷² sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ⁷³ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ⁷⁴ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ⁷⁵ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).

[23:36]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:36]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”