Proverbs 21:16

21:16 The one who wanders ¹  from the way of wisdom ² 

will end up ³  in the company of the departed. ⁴ 

Psalms 14:3

14:3 Everyone rejects God; ⁵ 

they are all morally corrupt. ⁶ 

None of them does what is right, ⁷ 

not even one!

Psalms 36:3

36:3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;

he does not care about doing what is wise and right. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 18:26

18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; ⁹  because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die.

Ezekiel 33:12-13

33:12 “And you, son of man, say to your people, ¹⁰  ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. ¹¹  As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. ¹²  The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness ¹³  if he sins.’ ¹⁴  33:13 Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die.

Zephaniah 1:6

1:6 and those who turn their backs on ¹⁵  the Lord

and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” ¹⁶ 

Matthew 12:43-45

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

12:43 “When ¹⁷  an unclean spirit ¹⁸  goes out of a person, ¹⁹  it passes through waterless places ²⁰  looking for rest but ²¹  does not find it. 12:44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ²²  When it returns, ²³  it finds the house ²⁴  empty, swept clean, and put in order. ²⁵  12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ²⁶  the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”

Matthew 12:2

12:2 But when the Pharisees ²⁷  saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 4:10

4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, ²⁸  Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” ²⁹ 

Hebrews 6:4-6

6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6:6 and then have committed apostasy, ³⁰  to renew them again to repentance, since ³¹  they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again ³²  and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6:2

6:2 teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

[21:16]  ¹ tn The text uses “man” as the subject and the active participle תּוֹעֶה (to’eh) as the predicate. The image of “wandering off the path” signifies leaving a life of knowledge, prudence, and discipline.

[21:16]  ² tn Or “prudence”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “understanding”; NLT “common sense.”

[21:16]  ³ tn Heb “will remain” or “will rest.” The Hebrew word נוּחַ (nuakh) does not here carry any of the connotations of comforting repose in death that the righteous enjoy; it simply means “to remain; to reside; to dwell.” The choice of this verb might have an ironic twist to it, reminding the wicked what might have been.

[21:16]  ⁴ sn The departed are the Shades (the Rephaim). The literal expression “will rest among the Shades” means “will be numbered among the dead.” So once again physical death is presented as the punishment for folly.

[14:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”

[14:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[14:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[36:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “he ceases to exhibit wisdom to do good.” The Hiphil forms are exhibitive, indicating the outward expression of an inner attitude.

[18:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[33:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sons of your people.”

[33:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the day of his rebellion.” The statement envisions a godly person rejecting what is good and becoming sinful. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:247-48.

[33:12]  ¹² tn Heb “and the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble in it in the day of his turning from his wickedness.”

[33:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “by it.”

[33:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after.”

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who do not seek the Lord and do not inquire of him.” The present translation assumes the first verb refers to praying for divine help and the second to seeking his revealed will through an oracle. Note the usage of the two verbs in 2 Chr 20:3-4.

[12:43]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:43]  ¹⁸ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[12:43]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.

[12:43]  ²⁰ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

[12:43]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:44]  ²² tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

[12:44]  ²³ tn Grk “comes.”

[12:44]  ²⁴ tn The words “the house” are not in Greek but are implied.

[12:44]  ²⁵ sn The image of the house empty, swept clean, and put in order refers to the life of the person from whom the demon departed. The key to the example appears to be that no one else has been invited in to dwell. If an exorcism occurs and there is no response to God, then the way is free for the demon to return. Some see the reference to exorcism as more symbolic; thus the story’s only point is about responding to Jesus. This is possible and certainly is an application of the passage.

[12:45]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

[12:2]  ²⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[4:10]  ²⁸ tc The majority of later witnesses (C² D L Z 33 Ï) have “behind me” (ὀπίσω μου; opisw mou) after “Go away.” But since this is the wording in Matt 16:23, where the text is certain, scribes most likely added the words here to conform to the later passage. Further, the shorter reading has superior support (א B C*^vid K P W Δ 0233 Ë^1,13 565 579* 700 al). Thus, both externally and internally, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.

[4:10]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.

[6:6]  ³⁰ tn Or “have fallen away.”

[6:6]  ³¹ tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).

[6:6]  ³² tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”