Numbers 20:10-12

20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, ¹  must we bring ²  water out of this rock for you?” 20:11 Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.

The Lord’s Judgment

20:12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough ³  to show me as holy ⁴  before ⁵  the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.” ⁶ 

Job 2:10

2:10 But he replied, ⁷  “You’re talking like one of the godless ⁸  women would do! Should we receive ⁹  what is good from God, and not also ¹⁰  receive ¹¹  what is evil?” ¹²  In all this Job did not sin by what he said. ¹³ 

Job 26:4

26:4 To whom ¹⁴  did you utter these words?

And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth? ¹⁵ 

Job 34:4-9

34:4 Let us evaluate ¹⁶  for ourselves what is right; ¹⁷ 

let us come to know among ourselves what is good.

34:5 For Job says, ‘I am innocent, ¹⁸ 

but God turns away my right.

34:6 Concerning my right, should I lie? ¹⁹ 

My wound ²⁰  is incurable,

although I am without transgression.’ ²¹ 

34:7 What man is like Job,

who ²²  drinks derision ²³  like water!

34:8 He goes about ²⁴  in company ²⁵  with evildoers,

he goes along ²⁶  with wicked men. ²⁷ 

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’ ²⁸ 

Job 35:2-4

35:2 “Do you think this to be ²⁹  just:

when ³⁰  you say, ‘My right before God.’ ³¹ 

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ³² 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ³³ 

35:4 I ³⁴  will reply to you, ³⁵ 

and to your friends with you.

Job 42:6

42:6 Therefore I despise myself, ³⁶ 

and I repent in dust and ashes!

Jeremiah 17:9

17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad. ³⁷  Who can understand it?

Matthew 26:33

26:33 Peter ³⁸  said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!”

Matthew 26:41

26:41 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:51

26:51 But ³⁹  one of those with Jesus grabbed ⁴⁰  his sword, drew it out, and struck the high priest’s slave, ⁴¹  cutting off his ear.

John 16:9

16:9 concerning sin, because ⁴²  they do not believe in me; ⁴³ 

Acts 23:3-5

23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! ⁴⁴  Do ⁴⁵  you sit there judging me according to the law, ⁴⁶  and in violation of the law ⁴⁷  you order me to be struck?” 23:4 Those standing near him ⁴⁸  said, “Do you dare insult ⁴⁹  God’s high priest?” 23:5 Paul replied, ⁵⁰  “I did not realize, ⁵¹  brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’” ⁵² 

Acts 26:9-11

26:9 Of course, ⁵³  I myself was convinced ⁵⁴  that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ⁵⁵  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ⁵⁶  against them when they were sentenced to death. ⁵⁷  26:11 I punished ⁵⁸  them often in all the synagogues ⁵⁹  and tried to force ⁶⁰  them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged ⁶¹  at them, I went to persecute ⁶²  them even in foreign cities.

James 3:10

3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. ⁶³ 

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ⁶⁴  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ⁶⁵ 

James 3:9

3:9 With it we bless the Lord ⁶⁶  and Father, and with it we curse people ⁶⁷  made in God’s image.

[20:10]  ¹ tn The word is הַמֹּרִים (hammorim, “the rebels”), but here as a vocative: “you rebels.” It was a harsh address, although well-earned.

[20:10]  ² tn The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?” The emphasis is clearly on “from this rock!” The verb is the imperfect tense; it has one of the modal nuances here, probably obligatory – “must we do this?”

[20:12]  ³ tn Or “to sanctify me.”

[20:12]  ⁴ sn Using the basic meaning of the word קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be separate, distinct, set apart”), we can understand better what Moses failed to do. He was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile – very human. The leader has to be aware of what image he is conveying to the people.

[20:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[20:12]  ⁶ tn There is debate as to exactly what the sin of Moses was. Some interpreters think that the real sin might have been that he refused to do this at first, but that fact has been suppressed from the text. Some think the text was deliberately vague to explain why they could not enter the land without demeaning them. Others simply, and more likely, note that in Moses there was unbelief, pride, anger, impatience – disobedience.

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “he said to her.”

[2:10]  ⁸ tn The word “foolish” (נָבָל, naval) has to do with godlessness more than silliness (Ps 14:1). To be foolish in this sense is to deny the nature and the work of God in life its proper place. See A. Phillips, “NEBALA – A Term for Serious Disorderly Unruly Conduct,” VT 25 (1975): 237-41; and W. M. W. Roth, “NBL,” VT 10 (1960): 394-409.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn The verb קִבֵּל (qibbel) means “to accept, receive.” It is attested in the Amarna letters with the meaning “receive meekly, patiently.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn The adverb גָּם (gam, “also, even”) is placed here before the first clause, but belongs with the second. It intensifies the idea (see GKC 483 §153). See also C. J. Labuschagne, “The Emphasizing Particle GAM and Its Connotations,” Studia Biblica et Semitica, 193-203.

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn The two verbs in this sentence, Piel imperfects, are deliberative imperfects; they express the reasoning or deliberating in the interrogative sentences.

[2:10]  ¹² tn A question need not be introduced by an interrogative particle or adverb. The natural emphasis on the words is enough to indicate it is a question (GKC 473 §150.a).

[2:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “sin with his lips,” an idiom meaning he did not sin by what he said.

[26:4]  ¹⁴ tn The verse begins with the preposition and the interrogative: אֶת־מִי (’et-mi, “with who[se help]?”). Others take it as the accusative particle introducing the indirect object: “for whom did you utter…” (see GKC 371 §117.gg). Both are possible.

[26:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “has gone out from you.”

[34:4]  ¹⁶ sn Elihu means “choose after careful examination.”

[34:4]  ¹⁷ tn The word is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) again, with the sense of what is right or just.

[34:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “righteous,” but in this context it means to be innocent or in the right.

[34:6]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is the Piel imperfect of כָּזַב (kazav), meaning “to lie.” It could be a question: “Should I lie [against my right?] – when I am innocent. If it is repointed to the Pual, then it can be “I am made to lie,” or “I am deceived.” Taking it as a question makes good sense here, and so emendations are unnecessary.

[34:6]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text has only “my arrow.” Some commentators emend that word slightly to get “my wound.” But the idea could be derived from “arrows” as well, the wounds caused by the arrows. The arrows are symbolic of God’s affliction.

[34:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “without transgression”; but this is parallel to the first part where the claim is innocence.

[34:7]  ²² tn Heb “he drinks,” but coming after the question this clause may be subordinated.

[34:7]  ²³ tn The scorn or derision mentioned here is not against Job, but against God. Job scorns God so much, he must love it. So to reflect this idea, Gordis has translated it “blasphemy” (cf. NAB).

[34:8]  ²⁴ tn The perfect verb with the vav (ו) consecutive carries the sequence forward from the last description.

[34:8]  ²⁵ tn The word חֶבְרַה (khevrah, “company”) is a hapax legomenon. But its meaning is clear enough from the connections to related words and this context as well.

[34:8]  ²⁶ tn The infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition may continue the clause with the finite verb (see GKC 351 §114.p).

[34:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “men of wickedness”; the genitive is attributive (= “wicked men”).

[34:9]  ²⁸ tn Gordis, however, takes this expression in the sense of “being in favor with God.”

[35:2]  ²⁹ tn The line could be read as “do you reckon this for justice? Here “to be” is understood.

[35:2]  ³⁰ tn The word “when” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[35:2]  ³¹ tn The brief line could be interpreted in a number of ways. The MT simply has “my right from God.” It could be “I am right before God,” “I am more just/right than God” (identifying the preposition as a comparative min (מִן); cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 463), “I will be right before God,” or “My just cause against God.”

[35:3]  ³² tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ³³ tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”

[35:4]  ³⁴ tn The emphatic pronoun calls attention to Elihu who will answer these questions.

[35:4]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds, “with words,” but since this is obvious, for stylistic reasons it has not been included in the translation.

[42:6]  ³⁶ tn Or “despise what I said.” There is no object on the verb; Job could be despising himself or the things he said (see L. J. Kuyper, “Repentance of Job,” VT 9 [1959]: 91-94).

[17:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).

[26:33]  ³⁸ tn Grk “answering, Peter said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[26:51]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And behold one.” 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).

[26:51]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “extending his hand, drew out his sword, and struck.” Because rapid motion is implied in the circumstances, the translation “grabbed” was used.

[26:51]  ⁴¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[16:9]  ⁴² tn Or “that.” It is very difficult to determine whether ὅτι (Joti; 3 times in 16:9, 10, 11) should be understood as causal or appositional/explanatory: Brown and Bultmann favor appositional or explanatory, while Barrett and Morris prefer a causal sense. A causal idea is preferable here, since it also fits the parallel statements in vv. 10-11 better than an appositional or explanatory use would. In this case Jesus is stating in each instance the reason why the world is proven guilty or wrong by the Spirit-Paraclete.

[16:9]  ⁴³ sn Here (v. 9) the world is proven guilty concerning sin, and the reason given is their refusal to believe in Jesus. In 3:19 the effect of Jesus coming into the world as the Light of the world was to provoke judgment, by forcing people to choose up sides for or against him, and they chose darkness rather than light. In 12:37, at the very end of Jesus’ public ministry in John’s Gospel, people were still refusing to believe in him.

[23:3]  ⁴⁴ sn You whitewashed wall. This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (L&N 88.234; see also BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). Paul was claiming that the man’s response was two-faced (Ezek 13:10-16; Matt 23:27-28). See also Deut 28:22.

[23:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And do.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[23:3]  ⁴⁶ tn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[23:3]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 769 s.v. παρανομέω has “παρανομῶν κελεύεις in violation of the law you order Ac 23:3.”

[23:4]  ⁴⁸ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[23:4]  ⁴⁹ tn L&N 33.393 has for λοιδορέω (loidorew) “to speak in a highly insulting manner – ‘to slander, to insult strongly, slander, insult.’”

[23:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “said.”

[23:5]  ⁵¹ tn Or “know.”

[23:5]  ⁵² sn A quotation from Exod 22:28. This text defines a form of blasphemy. Paul, aware of the fact that he came close to crossing the line, backed off out of respect for the law.

[26:9]  ⁵³ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”

[26:10]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”

[26:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[26:11]  ⁵⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[26:11]  ⁶⁰ tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).

[26:11]  ⁶¹ tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”

[26:11]  ⁶² tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”

[3:10]  ⁶³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[3:9]  ⁶⁶ tc Most later mss (Ï), along with several versional witnesses, have θεόν (qeon, “God”) here instead of κύριον (kurion, “Lord”). Such is a predictable variant since nowhere else in the NT is God described as “Lord and Father,” but he is called “God and Father” on several occasions. Further, the reading κύριον is well supported by early and diversified witnesses (̲⁰ א A B C P Ψ 33 81 945 1241 1739), rendering it as the overwhelmingly preferred reading.

[3:9]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpous) has generic force, referring to both men and women.