Genesis 7:1

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. ¹ 

Genesis 10:9

10:9 He was a mighty hunter ²  before the Lord. ³  (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”)

Genesis 13:13

13:13 (Now ⁴  the people ⁵  of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) ⁶ 

Genesis 13:2

13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy ⁷  in livestock, silver, and gold.) ⁸ 

Genesis 34:27

34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ⁹  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ¹⁰ 

Luke 1:6

1:6 They ¹¹  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ¹²  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ¹³ 

Romans 2:13

2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. ¹⁴ 

Romans 3:19

3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under ¹⁵  the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

¹ tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

² tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).

³ tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”

⁴ tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.

⁵ tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.

⁶ tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.” The description of the sinfulness of the Sodomites is very emphatic. First, two nouns are used to form a hendiadys: “wicked and sinners” means “wicked sinners,” the first word becoming adjectival. The text is saying these were no ordinary sinners; they were wicked sinners, the type that cause pain for others. Then to this phrase is added “against the Lord,” stressing their violation of the laws of heaven and their culpability. Finally, to this is added מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “exceedingly,” translated here as “extremely”).

⁷ tn Heb “heavy.”

⁸ tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.

⁹ tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.

¹⁰ tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.

¹¹ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹² tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

¹³ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).

¹⁴ tn The Greek sentence expresses this contrast more succinctly than is possible in English. Grk “For not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “in,” “in connection with.”