Genesis 50:8

50:8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.

Deuteronomy 31:12-13

31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 31:13 Then their children, who have not known this law, ¹  will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire ²  to worship ³  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ⁴  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ⁵  worshiped ⁶  beyond the Euphrates, ⁷  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ⁸  will worship ⁹  the Lord!”

Psalms 148:12-13

148:12 you young men and young women,

you elderly, along with you children!

148:13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty extends over the earth and sky.

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Fear God Now Because Old Age and Death Come Quickly

12:1 So remember ¹⁰  your Creator in the days of your youth –

before ¹¹  the difficult ¹²  days come,

and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Ephesians 6:4

6:4 Fathers, ¹³  do not provoke your children to anger, ¹⁴  but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

¹ tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).

² tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

³ tn Or “to serve.”

⁴ tn Or “will serve.”

⁵ tn Heb “your fathers.”

⁶ tn Or “served.”

⁷ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

⁸ tn Heb “house.”

⁹ tn Or “will serve.”

¹⁰ tn The imperative זְכֹר (zekhor, “Remember!”) is a figurative expression (metonymy of association) for obeying God and acknowledging his lordship over one’s life (e.g., Num 15:40; Deut 8:18; Pss 42:6-7; 63:6-8; 78:42; 103:18; 106:7; 119:52, 55; Jer 51:50; Ezek 20:43; Jonah 2:7; Mal 4:4). The exhortation to fear God and obey his commands in 12:13-14 spells out what it means to “remember” God.

¹¹ tn The temporal adjective עַד (’ad, “before”) appears three times in 12:1-7 (vv. 1b, 2a, 6a). Likewise, the temporal preposition בְּ (bet, “when”) is repeated (vv. 3a, 4b). These seven verses comprise one long sentence in Hebrew: The main clause is 12:1a (“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”), while 12:1b-7 consists of five subordinate temporal clauses (“before…before…when…when…before…”).

¹² tn The adjective רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) does not refer here to ethical evil, but to physical difficulty, injury, pain, deprivation and suffering (e.g., Deut 31:17, 21; 32:23; 1 Sam 10:19; Neh 1:3; 2:17; Pss 34:20; 40:13; 88:4; 107:26; Eccl 11:10; Jer 2:27; Lam 3:38); see HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4.b; BDB 949 s.v. רָעָה 2.

¹³ tn Or perhaps “Parents” (so TEV, CEV). The plural οἱ πατέρες (Joi patere", “fathers”) can be used to refer to both the male and female parent (BDAG 786 s.v. πατήρ 1.b).

¹⁴ tn Or “do not make your children angry.” BDAG 780 s.v. παροργίζω states “make angry.” The Greek verb in Col 3:21 is a different one with a slightly different nuance.