Psalms 25:8-9

25:8 The Lord is both kind and fair; ¹ 

that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. ² 

25:9 May he show ³  the humble what is right! ⁴ 

May he teach ⁵  the humble his way!

Psalms 73:16-17

73:16 When I tried to make sense of this,

it was troubling to me. ⁶ 

73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, ⁷ 

and understood the destiny of the wicked. ⁸ 

Psalms 73:22

73:22 I was ignorant ⁹  and lacked insight; ¹⁰ 

I was as senseless as an animal before you. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 30:2-3

30:2 Surely ¹²  I am more brutish ¹³  than any other human being, ¹⁴ 

and I do not have human understanding; ¹⁵ 

30:3 I have not learned wisdom,

nor do I have knowledge ¹⁶  of the Holy One. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 29:18-19

29:18 At that time ¹⁸  the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,

and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. ¹⁹ 

29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;

the poor among humankind will take delight ²⁰  in the Holy One of Israel. ²¹ 

Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ²² 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²³  –

fools ²⁴  will not stray into it.

Matthew 18:3-4

18:3 and said, “I tell you the truth, ²⁵  unless you turn around and become like little children, ²⁶  you will never ²⁷  enter the kingdom of heaven! 18:4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Mark 10:15

10:15 I tell you the truth, ²⁸  whoever does not receive ²⁹  the kingdom of God like a child ³⁰  will never ³¹  enter it.”

Romans 10:14

10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them ³² ?

Romans 10:1

10:1 Brothers and sisters, ³³  my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites ³⁴  is for their salvation.

Colossians 3:18

Exhortation to Households

3:18 Wives, submit to your ³⁵  husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ³⁶  brothers and sisters ³⁷  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ³⁸  from God our Father! ³⁹ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

James 1:10

1:10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. ⁴² 

James 1:21

1:21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly ⁴³  welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ⁴⁴  a slave ⁴⁵  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ⁴⁶  Greetings!

James 2:1-2

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ⁴⁷  do not show prejudice ⁴⁸  if you possess faith ⁴⁹  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁰  2:2 For if someone ⁵¹  comes into your assembly ⁵²  wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes,

[25:8]  ¹ tn Heb “good and just.”

[25:8]  ² tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”

[25:9]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

[25:9]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[73:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”

[73:17]  ⁷ tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).

[73:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.

[73:22]  ⁹ tn Or “brutish, stupid.”

[73:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I was not knowing.”

[73:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “an animal I was with you.”

[30:2]  ¹² tn The particle כִּי (ki) functions in an asseverative sense, “surely; indeed; truly” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).

[30:2]  ¹³ tn The noun בַּעַר (ba’ar) means “brutishness”; here it functions as a predicate adjective. It is followed by מֵאִישׁ (me’ish) expressing comparative degree: “more than a man” or “more than any man,” with “man” used in a generic sense. He is saying that he has fallen beneath the level of mankind. Cf. NRSV “I am too stupid to be human.”

[30:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “than man.” The verse is using hyperbole; this individual feels as if he has no intelligence at all, that he is more brutish than any other human. Of course this is not true, or he would not be able to speculate on the God of the universe at all.

[30:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the understanding of a man,” with “man” used attributively here.

[30:3]  ¹⁶ sn The construction uses repetition to make the point emphatically: “I do not know the knowledge of the Holy One.” Agur’s claim to being “brutish” is here clarified – he is not one of those who has knowledge or understanding of God. C. H. Toy thinks the speaker is being sarcastic in reference to others who may have claimed such knowledge (Proverbs [ICC], 521).

[30:3]  ¹⁷ tn The epithet “the Holy One” is the adjective “holy” put in the masculine plural (as in 9:10). This will harmonize with the plural of majesty used to explain the plural with titles for God. However, NRSV takes the plural as a reference to the “holy ones,” presumably referring to angelic beings.

[29:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “In that day” (KJV).

[29:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”

[29:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).

[29:19]  ²¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[35:8]  ²² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ²³ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ²⁴ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[18:3]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:3]  ²⁶ sn The point of the comparison become like little children has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit, as well as willingness to be dependent and receive from others, than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[18:3]  ²⁷ tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.

[10:15]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:15]  ²⁹ sn On receive see John 1:12.

[10:15]  ³⁰ sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[10:15]  ³¹ tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.

[10:14]  ³² tn Grk “preaching”; the words “to them” are supplied for clarification.

[10:1]  ³³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[10:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “on behalf of them”; the referent (Paul’s fellow Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:18]  ³⁵ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with ἀνδράσιν (andrasin, “husbands”) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (“your”); see ExSyn 215.

[1:2]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ³⁹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:10]  ⁴² tn Grk “a flower of grass.”

[1:21]  ⁴³ tn Or “with meekness.”

[1:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[2:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:2]  ⁵¹ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, “equivalent to τὶς someone.”

[2:2]  ⁵² tn Grk “synagogue.” Usually συναγωγή refers to Jewish places of worship (e.g., Matt 4:23, Mark 1:21, Luke 4:15, John 6:59). The word can be used generally to refer to a place of assembly, and here it refers specifically to a Christian assembly (BDAG 963 s.v. 2.b.).