22:21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders 4 of the Israelite clans: 22:22 “El, God, the Lord! 5 El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! 6 Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, 7 don’t spare us 8 today! 22:23 If we have built 9 an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making 10 burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering 11 tokens of peace 12 on it, the Lord himself will punish us. 13 22:24 We swear we have done this because we were worried that 14 in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? 15 22:25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’ 16 In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying 17 the Lord. 22:26 So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, 22:27 but as a reminder to us and you, 18 and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence 19 with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. 20 Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’ 21 22:28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing 22 to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors 23 made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’ 24 22:29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace 25 aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!” 26
22:30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, 27 they were satisfied. 28 22:31 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, 29 “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. 30 Now 31 you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.” 32
15:1 A gentle response 33 turns away anger,
but a harsh word 34 stirs up wrath. 35
1 tn Or “announced.”
2 sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.
3 sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.
4 tn Heb “answered and spoke to the heads of.”
5 sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (’el), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yÿhvah), “Yahweh” (or “the
6 tn Heb “he knows.”
7 tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the
8 tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.
9 tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”
10 tn Heb “or if to offer up.”
11 tn Heb “or if to make.”
12 tn Or “peace offerings.”
13 tn Heb “the
14 tn Heb “Surely, from worry concerning a matter we have done this, saying.”
15 tn Heb “What is there to you and to the
16 tn Heb “You have no portion in the
17 tn Heb “fearing.”
18 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
19 tn Heb “to do the service of the
20 tn Or “peace offerings.”
21 tn Heb “You have no portion in the
22 tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
23 tn Heb “fathers.”
24 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
25 tn Or “peace offerings.”
26 sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.
27 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
28 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
29 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
30 tn Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the
31 tn On the use of אָז in a logical sense, see Waltke-O’Connor, Hebrew Syntax, 667.
32 tn Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the
33 tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judg 8:1-3) that brings peace.
34 tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judg 12:1-6).
35 tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.
36 tn The conjunction “so” is supplied here to bring out the force of the latter part of this Greek sentence, which the translation divides up because of English style. Luke, in compiling his account, is joining a tradition with good precedent.
37 sn When Luke says it seemed good to me as well he is not being critical of the earlier accounts, but sees himself stepping into a tradition of reporting about Jesus to which he will add uniquely a second volume on the early church when he writes the Book of Acts.
38 tn Grk “having followed”; the participle παρηκολουθηκότι (parhkolouqhkoti) has been translated causally.
39 sn An orderly account does not necessarily mean that all events are recorded in the exact chronological sequence in which they occurred, but that the account produced is an orderly one. This could include, for example, thematic or topical order rather than strict chronological order.