Proverbs 1:21

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

in the entrances of the gates in the city ²  she utters her words: ³ 

Proverbs 2:3-4

2:3 indeed, if ⁴  you call out for ⁵  discernment ⁶  –

raise your voice ⁷  for understanding –

2:4 if ⁸  you seek ⁹  it like silver, ¹⁰ 

and search for it ¹¹  like hidden treasure,

Psalms 27:4

27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –

this is what I desire!

I want to live ¹²  in the Lord’s house ¹³  all the days of my life,

so I can gaze at the splendor ¹⁴  of the Lord

and contemplate in his temple.

Psalms 84:10

84:10 Certainly ¹⁵  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ¹⁶ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ¹⁷  to the temple of my God

than live ¹⁸  in the tents of the wicked.

Psalms 92:13

92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

Matthew 7:24

Hearing and Doing

7:24 “Everyone ¹⁹  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ²⁰  a wise man ²¹  who built his house on rock.

Luke 1:6

1:6 They ²²  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ²³  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ²⁴ 

Luke 10:39

10:39 She ²⁵  had a sister named Mary, who sat ²⁶  at the Lord’s feet ²⁷  and listened to what he said.

Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ²⁸  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ²⁹  it!”

John 8:31-32

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ³⁰  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ³¹  you are really ³²  my disciples 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ 

Acts 2:42

The Fellowship of the Early Believers

2:42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, ³⁴  to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ³⁵ 

Acts 17:11-12

17:11 These Jews ³⁶  were more open-minded ³⁷  than those in Thessalonica, ³⁸  for they eagerly ³⁹  received ⁴⁰  the message, examining ⁴¹  the scriptures carefully every day ⁴²  to see if these things were so. 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few ⁴³  prominent ⁴⁴  Greek women and men.

James 1:22-25

1:22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. 1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ⁴⁵  who gazes at his own face ⁴⁶  in a mirror. 1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets ⁴⁷  what sort of person he was. 1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ⁴⁸  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ⁴⁹  will be blessed in what he does. ⁵⁰ 

[1:21]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “she speaks her words.”

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Both particles retain their individual meanings, otherwise the verse would begin with a strong adversative and be a contrast to what has been said.

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “summon.”

[2:3]  ⁶ sn The noun recalls the second purpose of the book (1:2). It is also cognate to the last word of 2:2, forming a transition. The two objects of the prepositions in this verse are actually personifications, as if they could be summoned.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “give your voice”; the expression is idiomatic for raising or lifting the voice to make a sound that carries further (e.g., Jer 2:15). This deliberate expression indicates that something significant is being uttered. J. H. Greenstone says, “If it [understanding] does not come at your first call, raise your voice to a higher pitch, put forth greater efforts” (Proverbs, 17).

[2:4]  ⁸ tn The conditional particle now reiterates the initial conditional clause of this introductory section (1-4); the apodosis will follow in v. 5.

[2:4]  ⁹ tn The verb בָּקַשׁ (baqash) means “to search for; to seek; to investigate” (BDB 134 s.v.). This calls for the same diligence one would have in looking for silver.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ sn The two similes affirm that the value placed on the object will influence the eagerness and diligence in the pursuit and development of wisdom (e.g., Job 28:9-11). The point is not only that the object sought is valuable, but that the effort will be demanding but rewarding.

[2:4]  ¹¹ sn The verb חָפַשׂ (khafas) means “to dig; to search” (BDB 344 s.v.; cf. NCV “hunt for it”). The Arabic cognate means “to dig for water.” It is used literally of Joseph searching his brothers’ sacks (Gen 44:12) and figuratively for searching the soul (Ps 64:7). This is a more emphatic word than the one used in the first colon and again emphasizes that acquiring wisdom will be demanding.

[27:4]  ¹² tn Heb “my living.”

[27:4]  ¹³ sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[27:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “beauty.”

[84:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ¹⁸ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[7:24]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[7:24]  ²⁰ tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[7:24]  ²¹ tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anhr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") in vv. 48 and 49.

[1:6]  ²² tn Grk “And they.” 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.

[1:6]  ²³ tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).

[10:39]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:39]  ²⁶ tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.

[10:39]  ²⁷ sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).

[11:28]  ²⁸ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ²⁹ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[8:31]  ³⁰ tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), 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; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31]  ³¹ tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ³² tn Or “truly.”

[8:32]  ³³ tn Or “the truth will release you.” The translation “set you free” or “release you” (unlike the more traditional “make you free”) conveys more the idea that the hearers were currently in a state of slavery from which they needed to be freed. The following context supports precisely this idea.

[2:42]  ³⁴ sn Fellowship refers here to close association involving mutual involvement and relationships.

[2:42]  ³⁵ tn Grk “prayers.” This word was translated as a collective singular in keeping with English style.

[17:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ³⁷ tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.

[17:11]  ³⁸ sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).

[17:11]  ³⁹ tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”

[17:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.

[17:11]  ⁴¹ tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.

[17:11]  ⁴² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[17:12]  ⁴³ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

[17:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “respected.”

[1:23]  ⁴⁵ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[1:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”

[1:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “in his doing.”