Deuteronomy 6:24

6:24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him ¹  so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day.

Proverbs 9:12

9:12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage, ² 

but if you are a mocker, ³  you alone must ⁴  bear it. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 32:39

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ⁶  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

James 1:25

1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ⁷  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ⁸  will be blessed in what he does. ⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on the word “his” in v. 17.

² tn The text simply has the preposition לְ (lamed) with a suffix; but this will be the use of the preposition classified as “interest,” either for advantage or disadvantage (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 48-49, §271).

³ tn The perfect tense is here in a conditional clause because of the conjunction following the first colon of the verse that begins with “if.” The perfect tense then lays down the antithetical condition – “if you mock,” or “if you are a mocker.”

⁴ tn The use of the imperfect tense here could be the simple future tense (cf. NASB, NRSV “you…will bear it”), but the obligatory nuance is more appropriate – “you must bear it.” These words anticipate James’ warnings that the words we speak will haunt us through life (e.g., James 3:1-12).

⁵ tc The LXX has an addition: “Forsake folly, that you may reign forever; and seek discretion and direct understanding in knowledge.”

⁶ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

⁷ tn Grk “continues.”

⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

⁹ tn Grk “in his doing.”