Jeremiah 15:17

15:17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,

laughing and having a good time.

I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you ¹ 

and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.

Psalms 26:4

26:4 I do not associate ²  with deceitful men,

or consort ³  with those who are dishonest. ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

7:2 It is better to go to a funeral ⁵ 

than a feast. ⁶ 

For death ⁷  is the destiny ⁸  of every person, ⁹ 

and the living should ¹⁰  take this ¹¹  to heart.

7:3 Sorrow ¹²  is better than laughter,

because sober reflection ¹³  is good for the heart. ¹⁴ 

7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 22:12-14

22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,

for shaved heads and sackcloth. ¹⁶ 

22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! ¹⁷ 

You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,

eat meat and drink wine.

Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ¹⁸ 

22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: ¹⁹  “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” ²⁰  says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

Amos 6:4-6

6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ²¹ 

and sprawl out on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the middle of the pen.

6:5 They sing ²²  to the tune of ²³  stringed instruments; ²⁴ 

like David they invent ²⁵  musical instruments.

6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ²⁶ 

and pour the very best oils on themselves. ²⁷ 

Yet they are not concerned over ²⁸  the ruin ²⁹  of Joseph.

Matthew 24:38

24:38 For in those days before the flood, people ³⁰  were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark.

Luke 17:27-29

17:27 People ³¹  were eating, ³²  they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage – right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then ³³  the flood came and destroyed them all. ³⁴  17:28 Likewise, just as it was ³⁵  in the days of Lot, people ³⁶  were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 17:29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁷ 

Luke 17:1

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service

17:1 Jesus ³⁸  said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe ³⁹  to the one through whom they come!

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁴⁰  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Ephesians 5:11

5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather ⁴¹  expose them. ⁴² 

[15:17]  ¹ tn Heb “because of your hand.”

[26:4]  ² tn Heb “sit.”

[26:4]  ³ tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[26:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “house of mourning.” The phrase refers to a funeral where the deceased is mourned.

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “house of drinking”; or “house of feasting.” The Hebrew noun מִשְׁתֶּה (mishteh) can denote (1) “feast; banquet,” occasion for drinking-bouts (1 Sam 25:36; Isa 5:12; Jer 51:39; Job 1:5; Esth 2:18; 5:14; 8:17; 9:19) or (2) “drink” (exilic/postexilic – Ezra 3:7; Dan 1:5, 8, 16); see HALOT 653 s.v. מִשְׁתֶּה 4; BDB 1059 s.v. שָׁתַה.

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (“death”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the end.” The noun סוֹף (sof) literally means “end; conclusion” (HALOT 747 s.v. סוֹף 1; BDB 693 s.v. סוֹף). It is used in this context in reference to death, as the preceding phrase “house of mourning” (i.e., funeral) suggests.

[7:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “all men” or “every man.”

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect tense verb יִתֵּן, yitten (from נָתָן, natan, “to give”) functions in a modal sense, denoting obligation, that is, the subject’s obligatory or necessary conduct: “should” or “ought to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 31-32, §172; IBHS 508-9 §31.4g).

[7:2]  ¹¹ tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[7:3]  ¹² tn NEB suggests “grief”; NJPS, “vexation.”

[7:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “in sadness of face there is good for the heart.”

[7:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or possibly “Though the face is sad, the heart may be glad.”

[7:4]  ¹⁵ sn The expression the house of merrymaking refers to a banquet where those who attend engage in self-indulgent feasting and riotous drinking.

[22:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.

[22:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “happiness and joy.”

[22:13]  ¹⁸ tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.

[22:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[22:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.

[6:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “beds of ivory.”

[6:5]  ²² tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”

[6:5]  ²³ tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”

[6:5]  ²⁴ sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).

[6:5]  ²⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).

[6:6]  ²⁶ sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).

[6:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”

[6:6]  ²⁸ tn Or “not sickened by.”

[6:6]  ²⁹ sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.

[24:38]  ³⁰ tn Grk “they,” but in an indefinite sense, “people.”

[17:27]  ³¹ tn Grk “They.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.

[17:27]  ³² tn These verbs (“eating… drinking… marrying… being given in marriage”) are all progressive imperfects, describing action in progress at that time.

[17:27]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[17:27]  ³⁴ sn Like that flood came and destroyed them all, the coming judgment associated with the Son of Man will condemn many.

[17:28]  ³⁵ tn Or “as it happened.”

[17:28]  ³⁶ tn Grk “they.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.

[17:29]  ³⁷ sn And destroyed them all. The coming of the Son of Man will be like the judgment on Sodom, one of the most immoral places of the OT (Gen 19:16-17; Deut 32:32-33; Isa 1:10).

[17:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[17:1]  ³⁹ sn See Luke 6:24-26.

[1:11]  ⁴⁰ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[5:11]  ⁴¹ tn The Greek conjunction καὶ (kai) seems to be functioning here ascensively, (i.e., “even”), but is difficult to render in this context using good English. It may read something like: “but rather even expose them!”

[5:11]  ⁴² tn Grk “rather even expose.”